One more regular-season event, that’s all we have left. On one hand it means another golf season is close to wrapping up, but on the other, it means we’re just one week away from the FedEx Cup Playoffs as the top players on the planet will soon battle for $10 million.

The Wyndham Championship is the last stop on the regular-season slate with 156 players set to take on Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The biggest storyline this week will be guys battling for their jobs. If you find your name inside the Top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings at the conclusion of the week that means a spot in the playoffs, and more importantly for those players just sneaking in, full status on Tour next year.

While 125 is the magic number, some players will find themselves in the 126-150 range which secures conditional status for next year while anyone inside the Top 200 earns a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

While everyone in the field wants to find the winner’s circle come Sunday, so many players will ultimately be battling for different achievements come the weekend which will set up some serious drama coming down the stretch.

The Course

Sedgefield Country Club has played host to this event since 2008 and if there’s one thing we know about this place, driving distance isn’t the end-all-be-all.

The Par 70 will play just over 7,100 yards which is among the shortest courses on the PGA Tour. It’s a classic Donald Ross design which means plenty of doglegs, rather traditional bunkering and undulating bermuda greens.

Accuracy over distance is the name of the game here, just ask Henrik Stenson who won the event back in 2012 without carrying a driver in his bag all week. Finding the fairway is step No. 1 every week, but there’s even more emphasis this week as players will have short-irons and wedges in their hands into most Par 4’s.

Picks To Win

Cameron Smith

The Aussie had a rough go of it near the midway point of the season, but has since turned things around with three straight made cuts including a T-20 at The Open plus a T-12 finish a week ago in Memphis.

Smith’s around the green game has been his saving grace for the majority of the year, but found some form off the tee last week finishing 11th in the field in strokes gained: off the tee. He also finished 17th in strokes gained: putting for the week. He’s playing good golf and has a T-7 finish here back in 2017 to his name.

Odds: 40-1

Webb Simpson

This is a home game for the Charlotte native, plus he enters the event coming off of a second-place finish last week in Memphis. He’s actually finished second in his last two regular-season events looking back at the RBC Canadian Open.

Simpson has finished T-11 or better in seven of his 10 starts here and won the event back in 2011 for what was his first win on Tour. It’s hard not to like the former Wake Forest star in his home state this week.

Odds: 10-1

Viktor Hovland

Collin Morikawa, Matthew Wolff and Hovland make up the three-headed monster that is this year’s rookie class. Morikawa won last week in what was his sixth start as a professional, Wolff won two weeks prior in his third start as a pro so why can’t Hovland follow that with a win in what will be his fifth professional start?

With his elite ball-striking and accuracy off the tee, Hovland’s game should translate very well at this old school track. If the putter is remotely hot this week, Hovland should be in contention and we could see a 22-year-old (Morikawa) a 20-year-old (Wolff) and a 21-year-old win on Tour in a span of six weeks.

Odds: 25-1

Power Rankings

1. Webb Simpson

2. Hideki Matsuyama

3. Jordan Spieth

4. Paul Casey

5. Collin Morikawa

6. Chez Reavie

7. Billy Horschel

8. Cameron Smith

9. Viktor Hovland

10. Shane Lowry

 

Odds via OddsShark