2023 Wyndham Championship Preview, Picks & Analysis
By: Derek Clements | Mon 31 Jul 2023
AS WE head into August the final event of the regular PGA Tour season takes place this week for the Wyndham Championship title at Sedgefield Country Club.
When the final putt is holed, the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will head to the FedEx St Jude Classic.
Tom Kim won in sensational fashion 12 months ago. At the age of 20 he finished with a 61, reaching the turn in a scarcely credible 27 strokes to secure his maiden title.
His English first name is a byproduct of his childhood love for the “Thomas the Tank Engine” television series. He became the second youngest winner since 1932 - overcoming a quadruple bogey on his opening hole in the first round in the process. He ended the week on 20 under par and beat Sungjae Im and John Huh by five shots.
He had earlier declared that his lifelong dream was to become a PGA Tour member, something he had achieved with a top-10 finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The win took him to 34th place in the FedEx Cup and clinched his place in the end-of-season playoffs. He finished in a tie for second place at The Open but will sadly not defend this week due to injury.
A number of players will be looking for a big week and that includes Justin Thomas. Thomas won the PGA Championship in 2017 and again last year. He is a 15-time winner but is enduring a miserable run of form this year.
A former world number one, he has slipped to 26th in the rankings and is in 79th place in the FedEx Cup standings and in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs.
Thomas has twice represented the United States in the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup three times including the 2022 event in Charlotte. He is making his fourth Wyndham Championship start and his first since 2016.
Thomas is no stranger to Sedgefield Country Club; He won the 2009 AJGA Wyndham Invitational and claimed an exemption into the Wyndham Championship as its AJGA champion. From 2008 through 2012, the winner of the AJGA tournament received an exemption into that year’s Wyndham Championship. Thomas was just 16 years old when he made his PGA Tour debut that year; he fired an opening 65 followed by a two-over-par 72 to become the third youngest player to make the 36-hole cut in PGA Tour history.
Si Woo Kim, the 2016 winner, will also be back. He is 18th in the current FedExCup point standings and 37th in the world rankings, He will make his sixth-consecutive Wyndham Championship start and his eighth overall with his best result coming in 2016 when he earned his first PGA Tour victory. He finished tied for second in 2021 after competing in an epic six-way playoff won by Kevin Kisner.
A four-time PGA Tour winner, the South Korea native won the Players Championship in 2017, The American Express in 2021 and the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this season. In addition, earlier this season, he finished tied for second at the AT&T Byron Nelson, fourth at the Memorial and tied for seventh at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He played for the international team in last year’s Presidents Cup, making his second appearance in the event and played in the World Cup in 2018. He represented South Korea in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
Tournament Winners
It was won in 2015 by Davis Love, in 2016 by Si Woo Kim, in 2017 by Henrik Stenson, in 2018 by Brandt Snedeker, in 2018 by JT Poston, in 2020 by Jim Herman, in 2021 by Kevin Kisner and last year by Tom Kim.
The Course
Sedgefield Country Club was designed by the legendary Donald Ross. It is a par 70 measuring 7,127 yards. The tournament record winning score is 258, achieved by Stenson and Poston, so get ready to see some very low scores. In 2018, Snedeker shot a 59 on his way to a second victory here.
To Win:
Justin Thomas. Just desperate for a good week
Each Way:
Shane Lowry. Looking for a decent finish as he chases a Ryder Cup place
Five to Follow:
Justin Thomas. Will be giving it everything
Shane Lowry. Looking to make it to the playoffs
Gary Woodland. Not the best season for this wonderful ball striker
JT Poston. Underrated
Brandt Snedeker. Adores this place
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