The majors are over. The WGC events are over. The big-time tournaments are over. All that's left is the Wyndham Championship before the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Then the golf season is over for the 2016-17 PGA Tour season. But with the Wyndham comes loads of drama as several players are on the bubble of the top 125 in the FedEx Cup race. The significance there is that the top 125 keep their PGA Tour cards for the future, and those outside of it do not.
Let's take a look at this week's contest.
Event information
What: Wyndham Championship | Where: Greensboro, North Carolina | When: Aug. 17-20
Participants and odds
- Henrik Stenson: 12-1
- Kevin Kisner: 14-1
- Bill Haas: 22-1
- Ryan Moore: 22-1
- Webb Simpson: 22-1
- Bud Cauley: 28-1
- Ben An: 33-1
- James Hahn: 33-1
Field strength: C-
This is what a field in the week after a major normally looks like. There are some good names at the top including Stenson and Kisner, but the real juice of the tournament will be at the bottom.
Three stories to watch
1. Who gets in? Here are Nos. 120-130 in the FedEx Cup race right now. Remember, you have to be inside the top 125 to make the playoffs and keep your card.
- 120. Zac Blair
- 121. David Hearn
- 122. Richy Wyrenski
- 123. Seamus Power
- 124. Daniel Summerhays
- 125. Geoff Ogilvy
- 126. Cameron Tringale
- 127. Sam Saunders
- 128. Ryan Palmer
- 129. Billy Hurley III
- 130. J.T. Poston
Every player from No. 112 to No. 125 is playing this week and 40 of the 42 just outside the top 125 are teeing it up as well, according to the PGA Tour. We won't know exact scenarios points-wise until the cut is made on Friday, but bring me all the drama!
2. Deep winner: Remember when Davis Love III improbably won this tournament back in 2015 with Tiger Woods in the hunt on the weekend? Love was outside the top 125 at the time. Guys in that range are grinding so hard to make the cut and just grab any kind of points they can grab that sometimes they look up and find themselves on the cusp of winning. Potential players who could do that this time around include Shane Lowry (No. 145) and Johnson Wagner (No. 141).
3. The addition of Stenson: Interestingly, Henrik Stenson recently added this tournament to his schedule so he could guarantee himself the minimum number of events required (15) to keep his PGA Tour card. This will be start No. 13, and he is high enough in the FedEx Cup points to advance to the second playoff event, which would get him to his 15th start. He's cutting it close, but he's also been playing some really solid golf of late and could ride a heater into the playoffs.
Past winners
- 2016: Si Woo Kim
- 2015: Davis Love III
- 2014: Camilo Villegas
- 2013: Patrick Reed
- 2012: Sergio Garcia
That's a pretty fascinating list. A couple of major winners and a couple of young studs in Reed and Kim. Let's look at the picks this week.
Winner: Bud Cauley -- Has finished in the top 35 in four of his last six events including last week at the PGA Championship. He also has a nice history at this tournament with two top-10 finishes. Odds: 28-1
Top 10: Webb Simpson -- Owns this tournament. He has five top-11 finishes including a win since 2010 (in 2011). He's also coming off a nice showing at Quail Hollow and hasn't missed a cut since May. Odds: 22-1
Sleeper: Scott Brown -- He finished in the top 15 at the PGA Championship last week and nearly won this event in 2015 when he played in the final round with Tiger Woods (and made an ace). Odds: 66-1
So who wins the 2017 Wyndham Championship? And what massive long shot stuns the golfing world? Check out the odds below and visit SportsLine now to see the full Wyndham Championship leaderboard from the model that called Thomas' run in the PGA Championship and find out.