Wyndham Championship - Fantasy Picks - Presented by DraftKings
Once known as the Greater Greensboro Open, The Wyndham Championship has been a longstanding stop on the PGA Tour. Established in 1938, the event will be played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Past champions of the event include Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. This year’s defending champ is Camilo Villegas who last year was able to work his way back into the winner’s circle after a four-year drought.
As play commences Thursday morning, the tournament will serve as the final event of the regular season before the FedEx Cup playoffs. Consequently, any player around the top 125 serves as a storyline as they seek to either remain qualified, or earn their way in. Tiger Woods was ranked 186th last week and didn’t do himself too much good by missing the cut at the PGA Championship. He is scheduled to compete, but there has been speculation that he may withdraw. It would take a very solid performance to make the Barclays, and his game may not be in shape to make this a reality. By all accounts it looks like Tiger will not be participating in this year’s playoffs.
Other notable players in need of good finishes this week include Luke Donald (124th), Charl Schwartzel (125th), Camilo Villegas (129th), and Ryo Ishikawa (130th). Look for them to play some inspired golf this week.
Below are the players I expect to see perform well at Sedgefield, along with my weekly DraftKings lineups.
1. Webb Simpson - Winner of this event in 2011, and has played well in this event since. Finished T5 last year and T11 in 2013.
2. Adam Scott - Ranks 90th in FedEx Cup standings which is somewhat surprising considering a couple solid finishes this season (T4 at U.S. Open, T10 at Open Championship). Despite the fact that he missed the cut last week, he does seem to perform his best on larger stages. Look for him to continue to excell coming into the playoffs.
3. Brooks Koepka - Quietly becoming a young gun on Tour. Finished T5 last week at PGA Championship and T6 the previous week at World Golf Championships.
4. Justin Thomas - Coming off a tremendous week at the PGA Championship. His T18 finish could have been been closer to a top-10 if it hadn’t been for some hiccups down the stretch. Having a fantastic rookie season.
5. Brandt Snedeker - Previous winner of this event (2007), coming off a solid week (T12) and quietly having a good season. Finished T5 in this event last year.
6. Branden Grace - Struggled on the back nine on Sunday of the PGA Championship, but for a while was a legitimate contender for the title. Since the U.S. Open in June, has only finished outside the top-20 once, and has been playing some solid golf in Europe.
7. Brian Harman - Playing some of the best golf of his career. Has admitted to having increased confidence as of late, and his consistent appearance on leaderboards confirms it. Finished T3 in this event in 2013.
8. Billy Horschel - Going off a bit of a gut feeling on this one. Last year’s FedEx Cup champ has been consistently finishing around top-20 since the U.S. Open. I think he’s due for a big week.
9. Hideki Matsuyama - Finished T37 the last two weeks at Whistling Straits and Firestone - finishes which have been uncharacteristically high for him. Is almost always a top-20 finisher and constantly a solid fantasy pick, for he continually makes charges at leaderboards.
10. Will Wilcox - T8, 2nd, T21 & T10 in last four events played. Has displayed continual improvement throughout the season.
Sleeper Picks
1. Ollie Schniederjans - Recently turned pro and playing on sponsor exemptions. Continues to show he belongs on Tour after finishing T12 at the British Open, T22 at the RBC Canadian Open and T15 at Quicken Loans.
2. Stewart Cink - Motivated in that he needs a solid week to ensure a spot in the playoffs. Has been playing well lately as he seeks to get his game back in form.
3. Andres Gonzales - Finished T8 in 2013 at tis event, and has been hitting it solid over the past month.
Now let’s take a look at my DraftKings lineups for the week.
Starting Lineup
Brooks Koepka - $10,800
Branden Grace - $9,700
Will Wilcox - $8,400
Ollie Schniederjans - $8,300
Jim Herman - $6,100
Steve Wheatcroft - $6,000
Alternate Lineup
Webb Simpson - $9,500
Justin Thomas - $9,400
George Coetzee - $8,000
Brian Harman - $7,500
Stewart Cink - $7,200
Ryo Ishikawa - $7,100
This week I’m trying a different strategy. In drafting my teams, I tried very hard not to overthink anything. I made my picks quickly and decisively. Now, these aren’t simply random selections, I have given them thought. I’ve taken players who have been playing well, and in the case of Stewart Cink, Steve Wheatcroft and Ryo Ishikawa, they have some added motivation in that they need solid weeks to solidify spots in this week’s playoffs. Jim Herman is the only player who I’ve selected who could be considered somewhat stagnant lately, but he played well here a couple years back, and I think he’s due for a good week of golf.
About the Author
This article was written by Jonathan Carr (@jonathanwcarr) as part of our weekly #FantasyGolf series. Each week we preview the upcoming PGA Tour event and highlight some of the players we'll be keeping an eye on. As a scratch golfer himself, Jonathan has a keen eye for what it takes to be successful on and off the golf course. His passion for golf is surpassed only by his passion for his faith and his family. Read some of Jonathan's other articles here.
About DraftKings
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