The First Cut is the Deepest 🔪
Hammer timeMichael Thorbjornsen was a popular winner at the Rocket Classic. A Sunday 63 (and back nine 30!) got the job done against Xander Schauffele and a few other contenders in Detroit. A nice return at +3500 pre-tournament, "Thor" is the third winner in four weeks under 25 years old on the PGA TOUR! The last two of those first-time winners are American (Koivun, Thorbjornsen). Could we be developing a young core of Team USA stars to carry our International Teams? Let's see how the next couple of weeks play out, but I guarantee Blades Brown, Michael Brennan, and Luke Clanton will catch a lot of bettors’ attention in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is an exciting trend for the PGA TOUR. Not too long ago, many in the media feared we were losing all of our young talent to LIV Golf. Turns out we have few thoroughbreds left in the stable. Toss in a couple of impressive starts by Preston Stout and Ben James, and the future looks bright at the moment for USA golf and the TOUR. Fans love elimination moments. That pass, kick, pitch, or putt that decides everything. I think about Ryan Fox's birdie at the Open Championship a bunch. Not many tournaments give you that buzzer-beater three-pointer. That's why I love this week. For more than 70% of the field at the Wyndham Championship, elimination is a harsh reality. Those unable to get inside the top 70 on the FedEx Cup rankings won't play again until mid-September. The TOUR ran the numbers, and the top 63 are in. If you are sitting at 64 (or lower), making the cut and playing well are a career priority. Most media members overlook the Wyndham, but at RTL we love it. On Sunday, a handful of players will be competing to make the playoffs and continue their season. That's as sudden death as it gets. Make the top 70 and you are guaranteed a 2027 TOUR Card. Not to mention, those in the top 70 still have a fighting chance to get inside the top 50 and earn signature status. So much is on the line the next three weeks. Whether the PGA TOUR realizes it or not, no other sport produces this many elimination endings. Wyndham Championship starts in...Double dose of DonaldDonald Ross is once again the original architect of this week's venue. The PGA TOUR has been traveling to Sedgefield Country Club since 1938. Forty-four editions of the Wyndham have been played here over its 88-year history. A super stereotypical Carolina design, SCC is covered in wall-to-wall Bermuda grass. Trees lined with pine straw under the canopies, players face a par 70 scorecard measuring 7,131 yards. Twelve par 4s generally predict our winner, as hitting the fairway and wedging it close is the formula for Wyndham week. With no significant changes to the course, Sedgefield has stood the test of generations on the PGA TOUR. A simple accuracy test, keep the ball out of the Bermuda grass rough and pay attention to the grain on these Bermuda grass greens and surrounds. Six of the top 25 in the OWGR, and every player on the FEC points list from 64 to 112 are in the field of 145 players. The top 65 and ties play the weekend for a purse of $8.5 million and those precious FEC points. In case you’re curious an average of two to three players jump into the playoffs at the Wyndham. The average winning score at the Wyndham has been relatively consistent over the last decade at 20 under par. With the wet forecast, that number may be a little low. Since the cut moved from 125 retaining their tour card to 100, we have seen stronger fields in Greensboro. Fact is, guys used to take the week off. Twenty-three of the top 100 players in the world are outside the top 63 in the FEC rankings. If they want a spot in 2027, they have to play this week and during the fall series. More meaningful golf for these guys is great for the fans. Although you may not know every player, these are the stories that really have some substance. Speaking of cutlines, the average cutline at Sedgefield over the last 10 years is -2.4 under par. It will probably be three or four under this week looking at the strength of the field and soft conditions. Just 53 bunkers, Sedgefield relies heavily on rough and grain to keep these players from going super low. Thorbjornsen came out of the middle tier on the odds board, and that range is stacked again. Two years ago, we picked Aaron Rai at 35-1; last year, it was Cameron Young at 55-1. Considering the course has been untouched for decades, we have a great idea of the skill set needed to contend. Combine the course analytic data with a few comps such as Colonial CC, Innisbrook's Copperhead, TPC Deere Run, Country Club of Jackson, and TPC River Highlands to name a few. Scorecards that force you to hit the ball straight. The field hits more fairways than the TOUR average this week. Mainly because they lay up off the tee to ensure their approach comes from the fairway. A high GIR rate (72.4%), the green surfaces pose more of a challenge than finding them from the fairway. Just because the average winner gets to 20 under par does NOT mean this is an easy course. Length plays a minor role as most of the approach weapons are short irons and wedges. Getting to the greens is one thing; playing the grain is another. With humid conditions and plenty of career pressure, we will see some competitive chaos over the weekend. Who can win the final event of 2026? Keep reading to see what it takes to win the Wyndham Championship. Read The Line media ⤵️How to win?Why is the ability to handle Bermudagrass the number one skill needed to win the Wyndham Championship? Sedgefield Country Club is covered in the south's most common weed grass used for golf courses. If you have never played on Bermuda, consider yourself lucky. Well maintained Bermudagrass makes every aspect of the game harder. Don't believe me? Let's walk through the skill set needed to contend and ultimately win the Wyndham to prove it. Donald's design features 14 tee shots. Eight of those fairways bend right to left and six move left to right. Ross consistently puts the player's perspective in question. Many of the tee boxes at SCC are elevated, hitting down to a lower fairway target. The elevation change produces the tendency to pull shots, and the movement creates a bunch of risk-reward choices off the tee. Should you play positional and sit back, or pull out the driver and attack? In either case, miss the fairway and you're in 2.5" clingy Bermudagrass rough. Two inches?!?! Yes, two. That should give you an idea of how much more difficult Bermudagrass is to play from. Less dense than the rough you are used to seeing on television, Bermudagrass takes off spin and severely limits distance control. That's on full swing shots. Unlike Detroit Golf Club, players must hit the fairway at SCC to climb the leaderboard. The penalty for missing the fairway at the Wyndham ranks ninth worst on the PGA TOUR. For a 7,100-yard golf course, that is significant. Bermudagrass grows in hot, humid conditions. This is why it is so popular down south. Since the grass is heat and humidity tolerant, courses like SCC are able to mow it very tight. The opposite of Zoysia, the ball sits very low to the ground on Bermuda. This favors the best ball strikers. Tight lies from the fairway call for precise impact if you are looking to control your spin and trajectory. Bermudagrass fairways also explode upon ground contact. This leaves wider-than-average divots in the fairway. They do grow back quicker than Bentgrass and Rye fairways, but the divots are everywhere and they cannot be replaced with the displaced grass. Bermudagrass fairway divots are filled with sand and seed. A thousand little fairway bunkers dot the short grass by the end of the week. The best ball strikers thrive on Bermudagrass from the fairway because they hit it better than their competitors. A normal scoring shot on approach allows them to separate from the field over four days. Tight lies in the fairway, also extend to the green surrounds. Those who have chipped off Bermudagrass know the challenge of going against the grain. Most Ross greens are dome-shaped and run off on the sides. This is how they drain. Lord knows it rains in Greensboro every single year for this event. The flowing water lays the grass blade down going away from the putting surface. A majority of the time when you go to chip on Bermudagrass, the blade of the club digs in. It's near impossible for a PGA TOUR player to chip into the grain. Most of the players will allow the club to dig, giving up some level of control to ensure the shot heads toward the hole. Evaluating grain and knowing how to read it takes a ton of experience. One of the main reasons why players who are used to competing/playing on Bermuda excel at Bermudagrass venues. With a GIR rate over 72%, most leaders will not need a bunch of around-the-green shots. There will be some, and the Bermudagrass grain will give these guys fits. Putting is the place where Bermudagrass plays the most pivotal role. Reading Bermudagrass greens is an acquired skill. Above and beyond normal green reading, players who excel at Port Royal (Bermuda), Seaside Golf Course (Sea Island), Country Club of Jackson (Sanderson Farms), and TPC Southwind (FedEx St. Jude) are of particular interest. Many of the longtime Florida venues which were covered in Bermudagrass are now overseeded with a Poa-trivialis blend. Venues like Sedgefield CC are now in the minority on TOUR, and they really separate the field with the flatstick. For those who don't putt on Bermudagrass, count your blessings. For those who do routinely, putt toward the rip. Half the golf hole will have a ripped edge. That serrated surface happens because the grass is laying against the mower blade. On the edge of the hole, it catches the grain and roughs the edge. Bermudagrass players know they should play more break toward the ripped side. If you struggle putting on Bermudagrass, give it a try. You’ll be amazed how much better you become at playing on Bermuda. All of that knowledge comes from experience. Many of the PGA TOUR's finest either grow up down south or they play college golf down there. As such, they grow accustomed to it. To take the conversation about the green complexes one step further, the surfaces at Sedgefield are wild. The field will putt below the TOUR average at the Wyndham. Between the grain and the bumps, the greens are very tough from outside 10'. Notorious below-average putters have putted well here for years. Much like Augusta National Golf Club, I believe Sedgefield limits a great putter’s ability to differentiate themselves. Strokes gained data will tell you the winners gain an average of seven strokes on the field with their flatstick over the last five years. Guess what? If you make putts and win, you are going to gain on the field. In many cases, the gains are more related to survival on these greens and approach putting than they are related to converting birdie chances. Limit three putts, go with the grain, and I like your chances to score. Scoring is another important element of this tournament handicap. Winners rack up approximately 25 sub-par scores on average while the winning score sits around 20 under par. Don't overlook bogey avoidance for all of the short game reasons I outlined earlier. Par 4 scoring is an obvious analytic and should be factored. Par 5 scoring is also a significant scoring metric. Players can make eagle on both 5s. Attack these eight holes (over four rounds) and it will give you a nice under-par cushion. The par 70 scorecard is also a factor. The 10 best par 70 scorers on Bermuda grass (minimum 10 rounds) over the past two years are:
Many of those rounds would have been played at SCC. Two past champions in the first four names prove we are on the right track. Historically, this has been a good venue for RTL because of the Bermudagrass factor. Understanding why it makes a difference produces a positive betting card. Enjoy the entertainment on Sunday; it should be a wild ending. The LPGA is off and traveling from Europe, so there's no other afternoon tour to compete with. A perfect summer situation where, without football, what else is there to watch but the best men in the world implode on the back nine with their careers on the line? It's going to be a wild weekend, and I cannot wait! Outright Winners - Wyndham ChampionshipRTL Weekly Editorials 📰Do you want to be a better bettor?Become a member of Read The Line today!
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