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Post by Gooba on Aug 17, 2016 6:44:54 GMT -5
Golfers to Bet - Wyndham
Tournament: Wyndham Championship
Date: Thursday, August 18th
Venue: Sedgefield Country Club
Location: Greensboro, NC
Sedgefield Country Club will be hosting the Wyndham Championship for a ninth consecutive year beginning Thursday.
Most of the top golfers in the world will be sitting this one out, but there is still some talent in this field.
The most noteworthy golfer participating on Thursday is Jimmy Walker, who won the PGA Championship in late July. This is Walker’s first event back since winning his first major and he’ll surely be hoping to keep up his excellent play this weekend.
One unfortunate thing to note when coming into this tournament is that last year’s winner, Davis Love III, is not going to be playing. He has won this tournament three times in his career, so it’s an absence that will certainly be felt.
2014 winner Camilo Villegas and 2013 winner Patrick Reed will both, however, be playing on Thursday and that should help make up for the loss of Love III.
With that information out of the way, let’s now take a look at some of the better plays this weekend:
Golfers to Watch
Patrick Reed (19/1) - As mentioned earlier, Reed won this tournament back in 2013 and he’ll be hoping to do it again when he takes the course on Thursday. Reed was impressive that year, shooting a 14-under to defeat Jordan Spieth in a playoff. The 14th ranked golfer in the OWGR also happens to be playing pretty well coming into this one. Reed has finished tied for 11th at each of the past two tournaments, shooting a total of 15-under in those two events. Reed also has two second-place finishes on the season and will certainly be hoping to break through and win his first event of the year. He has a good shot to do so at 19/11, as he has all the talent needed to dominate a relatively weak field this weekend.
Jim Furyk (23/1) - Jim Furyk is 46 years old, but that hasn’t held him back recently. Furyk is coming off of the round of his life, shooting a 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship in early August. That was the record for best score ever shot on the TOUR and being that it was his most recent round played, Furyk should be coming into this event with a ton of confidence. He might not be able to drive the ball like some of his peers, but Furyk is excellent with his irons and knows how to make putts. At 23/11, it’s worth taking the guy that just might be on a serious roll coming into this one.
Jimmy Walker (33/1) - Jimmy Walker surprised a lot of people by winning the PGA Championship a few weeks ago, but he has actually been playing some incredible golf for nearly two years now. Walker finished 25th in the OWGR in 2015 and he is now ranked in 17th. All signs points to Walker continuing to improve, as he is just getting more and more confident each time he gets out onto a course. Walker doesn’t have anything that will wow people, but he is a solid player all around and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s a tremendous value at 33/11, as he will be hoping to make a big statement by coming out on top after his first major victory.
Camilo Villegas (150/1) - When looking for a dark horse to win this tournament, Villegas is the guy that really stands out as an insane value. As previously mentioned, Villegas won this tournament in 2014 and he was pretty dominant in doing so, shooting a 17-under to defeat both Bill Haas and Fredrik Jacobson by a stroke. Being that this is the same course Villegas won on, there are plenty of reasons to believe that he is capable of performing at a high level here again. He’s worth putting a half-unit on at 150/11.
Odds to win Men’s 2016 Wyndham Championship -
Patrick Reed 19/1
Hideki Matsuyama 20/1
Rickie Fowler 22/1
Jim Furyk 23/1
Jon Rahm 23/1
Brandt Snedeker 27/1
Ryan Moore 27/1
Webb Simpson 27/1
Bill Haas 30/1
Jimmy Walker 33/1
Kevin Na 34/1
Wesley Bryan 40/1
Justin Thomas 44/1
Kevin Kisner 50/1
Rafa Cabrera Bello 50/1
Russell Henley 50/1
Scott Piercy 50/1
Tyrrell Hatton 50/1
William McGirt 50/1
Ben Martin 65/1
Harris English 65/1
Robert Garrigus 65/1
Adam Hadwin 70/1
J.B. Holmes 70/1
Jason Dufner 70/1
Keegan Bradley 70/1
Danny Lee 75/1
Bud Cauley 80/1
Chris Kirk 80/1
Graeme McDowell 80/1
Graham Delaet 80/1
Luke Donald 80/1
Martin Laird 80/1
Scott Brown 80/1
Shane Lowry 80/1
Troy Merritt 80/1
Robert Streb 85/1
Jerry Kelly 90/1
Si Woo Kim 90/1
Brian Harman 95/1
Kyle Reifers 95/1
Alex Cejka 100/1
Billy Horschel 100/1
Boo Weekley 100/1
Brian Stuard 100/1
Bryce Molder 100/1
Cameron Tringale 100/1
Chad Campbell 100/1
Chez Reavie 100/1
David Hearn 100/1
Freddie Jacobson 100/1
Jason Bohn 100/1
Jason Gore 100/1
Jason Kokrak 100/1
Johnson Wagner 100/1
Matt Jones 100/1
Patton Kizzire 100/1
Roberto Castro 100/1
Sean OHair 100/1
Spencer Levin 100/1
Sung Kang 100/1
Retief Goosen 110/1
Harold Varner III 120/1
Jonas Blixt 120/1
Andrew Landry 150/1
Andrew Loupe 150/1
Arjun Atwal 150/1
Camilo Villegas 150/1
Derek Ernst 150/1
Geoff Ogilvy 150/1
Henrik Norlander 150/1
Kelly Kraft 150/1
Luke Guthrie 150/1
Morgan Hoffmann 150/1
Scott Stallings 150/1
Steve Wheatcroft 150/1
Luke List 180/1
Whee Kim 180/1
Abraham Ancer 200/1
Cameron Smith 200/1
Ernie Els 200/1
Hunter Mahan 200/1
Michael Thompson 200/1
Miguel Angel Carballo 200/1
Rhein Gibson 200/1
Shawn Stefani 200/1
Steve Marino 200/1
Blayne Barber 220/1
Chris Stroud 220/1
Lucas Glover 220/1
Sam Saunders 220/1
Stuart Appleby 220/1
Ben Crane 250/1
David Toms 250/1
Greg Chalmers 250/1
John Huh 250/1
Jordan Niebrugge 250/1
Ken Duke 250/1
Kyle Stanley 250/1
Seung-Yul Noh 250/1
Stewart Cink 250/1
Thomas Aiken 250/1
Andres Gonzales 280/1
Bronson Burgoon 280/1
Nick Taylor 280/1
Alex Prugh 300/1
Angel Cabrera 300/1
Brett Stegmaier 300/1
Chesson Hadley 300/1
Derek Fathauer 300/1
Hiroshi Iwata 300/1
Mark Hubbard 300/1
Matt Every 300/1
Rob Oppenheim 300/1
Scott Langley 300/1
Tim Wilkinson 300/1
Tom Hoge 300/1
Will MacKenzie 300/1
Michael Kim 320/1
Cameron Percy 350/1
Joey Garber 350/1
Peter Malnati 350/1
Scott Pinckney 350/1
Brendon de Jonge 400/1
Carlos Ortiz 400/1
Chad Collins 400/1
Dawie Van Der Walt 400/1
J.J. Henry 400/1
Justin Leonard 400/1
Lee Mccoy 400/1
Mark Wilson 400/1
Tom Gillis 400/1
Tyler Aldridge 400/1
George McNeill 450/1
Rod Pampling 450/1
Brendon Todd 500/1
Brice Garnett 500/1
D.A. Points 500/1
D.H. Lee 500/1
Darron Stiles 500/1
Dicky Pride 500/1
Erik Compton 500/1
Greg Owen 500/1
Jarrod Lyle 500/1
Jerry Haas 500/1
Lucas Lee 500/1
Martin Piller 500/1
Neal Lancaster 500/1
Robert Allenby 500/1
Steven Bowditch 500/1
Tim Herron 500/1
Wes Roach 500/1
Odds Subject to Change
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Post by Gooba on Aug 17, 2016 6:45:30 GMT -5
10 to Watch: Wyndham Championship
By Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange
1. Jimmy Walker, United States -- Playing for the first time since claiming his initial major title by holding off top-ranked Jason Day of Australia in the PGA Championship, Walker is looking for more after winning in bunches the last three seasons. After claiming his first PGA Tour victory in the Frys.com Open, he won twice more in the 2013-14 season, and last year he won twice in the first three months. A five-time winner since breaking through for his first victory at the age of 35, Walker is playing in the Wyndham for the sixth time, and even though he has missed the cut three times, he came close to winning in 2012. He opened with 66-62, and a 71 in round three proved to be costly, as he closed with a 67 to tie for fourth - four strokes behind champion Sergio Garcia.
2. Webb Simpson, United States -- The North Carolina native claimed the first of his four PGA Tour victories in the 2011 Wyndham, posting four scores of 67 or better to win by three strokes over George McNeil. Simpson, who played at Wake Forest on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship, missed the cut the first time he played at Sedgefield in 2009, but has finished outside the top 10 only twice in his last six appearances, also tying for eighth in 2010, tying for fifth in 2014 and tying for sixth last year. Not that the 2012 U.S. Open champion played badly in those other two years, tying 11th in 2013 after tying for 22nd the year before. Simpson has only two top-10 finishes this season, but tied for 13th in the PGA Championship, and Sedgefield always brings out his best.
3. Jim Furyk, United States -- Coming off his PGA Tour-record 58 and a tie for fifth in the Travelers Championship two weeks ago, Furyk is making his 10th start in what was the Greater Greensboro Open when he first played it in 1997. He recorded only his third top-10 finish in the event the last time he played it in 2011 in his only start at Sedgefield. He had a chance to win in 1999, when he shot 63 in the second round before eventually finishing second, two strokes behind Jesper Parnevik on Sweden. Furyk, who has 27 PGA Tour victories, got off to a late start this season following left wrist surgery, but his game started to come around when he tied for second behind Dustin Johnson in the U.S. Open at Baltusrol in June.
4. Hideki Matsuyama, Japan -- One of the players who skipped the Men's Olympic tournament in Rio de Janeiro over fears of the Zika virus, Matsuyama will tee it up for the first time since he tied for fourth in the PGA Championship at Baltusrol. He's had a big season, claiming his second PGA Tour victory in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, beating Rickie Fowler in a playoff. That was one of Matsuyama's six finishes in the top 10, including ties for seventh in the Masters and the Players Championship. He will be making his fourth start in the Wyndham, having missed the cut in the last two years after finishing solo 15th in 2013, when he shot 65 in the second round and 66 in the last.
5. Patrick Reed, United States -- Coming back from a tie for 11th with a final-round 64 in the Olympics, Reed is making his third appearance in the Wyndham Championship, and he claimed the first of his four PGA Tour victories at Sedgefield in 2013. He beat Jordan Spieth on the second hole of a playoff after nearly hitting his drive into the Woods, following with a brilliant shot from a poor lie to within seven feet and sinking the birdie putt. He tied for 24th in his title defense, following a 71 with three scores of 67 or better, but skipped the tournament last year. Reed hasn't won this year, but has been close with nine finishes in the top 10, including seconds in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and the Valero Texas Open.
6. Jon Rahm, Spain -- The rookie from Arizona State, the only two-time winner of the Haskins Award as NCAA player of the year, has proven that finishing as low amateur in a tie for 23rd at Baltusrol was no fluke. He has earned enough unofficial FedEx Cup points to lock up his PGA Tour card for next season, making the cut in all six tournaments he has played, including a tie for second in the RBC Canadian Open and a tie for third in the Quicken Loans National. Rahm, coming off a tie for 14th last week in the John Deere Classic, has finished outside the top 25 only twice and his adjusted scoring average of 69.070 would lead the PGA Tour if had enough rounds to qualify for the official ranking.
7. Ryan Moore, United States -- Taking no time off after claiming his fifth PGA Tour victory in the John Deere Classic, Moore will be back at Sedgefield, where he claimed his first title in his 112th start on the circuit in 2009. He closed with a 65 and then beat Kevin Stadler and Jason Bohn with a birdie on the third playoff hole. Moore will be making his ninth start in what was once the Greater Greensboro Open, and he also tied for sixth in 2006 and tied for 10th last year. He moved up to 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings with his victory last week and has finished in the top 10 on six occasions this year, including solo third in the Valspar Championship and a tie for fifth in the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship.
8. Rickie Fowler, United States -- Trying to bounce back from a disappointing tie for 37th in the Men's Olympic tournament, when he played well only in a third-round 64, Fowler will tee it up in the Wyndham Championship for the first time. He has run hot-and-cold this season, starting strong by finishing fifth in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions before losing in a playoff to Matsuyama in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Then he tied for sixth in the Honda Classic, tied for eighth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship and tied for 10th in the Shell Houston Open. However, he has finished in the top 10 only twice in his last 10 tournaments and missed the cut four times, including three in a row at one point. The eighth-ranked player in the world figures to turn it around soon.
9. Bill Haas, United States -- Another North Carolina native who was an All-American at Wake Forest, Haas missed the cut the first four times he played in what is now the Wyndham Championship. However, he has turned that around with four top-10 finishes in his last seven appearances, including a tie for second two years ago. Haas chased Camilo Villegas all the way to the finish that year at Sedgefield, closing with a 64, but came up one stroke short. He also tied for 10th in 2009, tied for seventh in 2012 and tied for sixth last year. Haas is having a solid season with six results in the top 10, including a playoff loss to Charl Schwartzel in the Valspar Championship, in which he closed with a 72 and the South African caught him with a 67.
10. Brandt Snedeker, United States -- Sneds captured the first of his eight PGA Tour victories in what was then the Greater Greensboro Open in 2007 and is making his 10th start in what has become the Wyndham Championship. He shot 63 in the final round at Forest Oaks Country Club nine years ago to turn back Billy Mayfair, Jeff Overton and Tim Petrovic by two strokes. Snedeker also tied for fifth in 2009, tied for eighth the following year and tied for fifth in 2014. He got off to a great start this year, tying for third in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, losing in a playoff to Fabian Gomez of Argentina in the Sony Open in Hawaii and winning the Farmers Insurance Open. But he has only three top-10 finishes since, the latest a tie for fifth RBC Canadian Open last month.
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Post by Gooba on Aug 17, 2016 6:51:10 GMT -5
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Favorites
Reed is the favorite at +1600. His T11 last week was his fifth straight finish of at least 14th around the world. Reed won his first PGA Tour title here in 2013, beating Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Reed last played here in 2014 and was 24th.
Hideki Matsuyama is +2000. He last played at the PGA Championship and was T4 but has missed the cut here the past two years. Rickie Fowler (also +2000) was a late addition to the field as he tries to earn more Ryder Cup points. He has fallen to 12th place in the Ryder Cup standings. The Top 8 players in the points standings after next week's playoff-opening event will automatically qualify for the 12-member USA team. Fowler was 47th last week and hasn't been playing very well. He has never played here.
Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Moore (all +2200), Jon Rahm and Webb Simpson (both +2500) round out the favorites. Snedeker won this tournament in 2007 and Moore in 2009.
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Picks
For a Top 10, go with Furyk (+200), Simpson (+225) and Bill Haas (+275). Head to head, I like Reed (-130) over Fowler (even), Furyk (-110) over Matsuyama (-120), Snedeker (-105) over Moore (-125), Simpson (-110) over Rahm (-120), and Haas (-110) over Kevin Na (-120).
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Post by Gooba on Aug 18, 2016 5:17:56 GMT -5
PGA Tour Picks: Wyndham Championship Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews
I focused my preview last week on the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour and barely touched on the Olympic tournament in Rio. But clearly I'm an Olympic genius because my pick to win the gold medal was Great Britain's Justin Rose, and he did so, paying out at +1000. He beat Henrik Stenson, the Swede and tournament favorite, by two shots. I also pegged Patrick Reed as the top of four American golfers, but he finished T11. Matt Kuchar was the top finisher from the USA by earning the bronze medal.
As for the John Deere, Ryan Moore was the winner for his fifth career PGA Tour title. Moore shot a final-round 67 (he shot 65s the first three days to enter Sunday up by a shot) to finish at 22-under 262 at TPC Deere Run, two shots ahead of Ben Martin. Moore led the field in tee-to-green, sand saves, scrambling and greens in regulation (83.3 percent). Since Moore added the John Deere Classic back to his schedule in 2012, he hasn't finished outside the Top 25 in five starts. Moore jumped up to 23rd in the FedEx Cup points from 62nd, greatly improving his chances of being able to play in the season-ending Tour Championship. The Top 30 in points after the first three playoff events qualify there. Moore hasn't qualified for the Tour Championship since 2012.
My pick to win was Quad Cities local boy Zach Johnson, who always plays well in the John Deere. He started strong with an opening 65, but that would be his best round by far and he finished at 9-under and T34. I missed on Top 10s for Scott Brown (T16) and Matt Jones (T27) but hit a few head-to-head props.
This week the Tour heads to the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. It's the last event before the FedEx Cup playoffs, and you have to be in the Top 125 points to qualify for the first playoff event. Johnson Wagner was the bubble boy at No. 125 entering last week, but he was fifth at the John Deere and is now safe at No. 109 in the points. Martin jumped from No. 121 to No. 59. Whee Kim's third-place finish jumped him from No. 154 to No. 125. If you are wondering, the guy at No. 126 right now is Scott Stallings.
The defending champion is 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, one of the most unlikely winners last year at age 51, making him the third-oldest Tour winner ever. He entered the final round tied for 10th and four shots back but put up a 64 on Sunday on the par-70 layout to finish at 17-under for the tournament, edging out 54-hole leader Jason Gore by one shot. It was Love's third win in this event but first anywhere in seven years. The oldest Tour winner ever was Sam Snead at 52 years and 10 months at the 1965 Wyndham Championship. That was the last of his record 82 career victories. The win jumped Love from No. 186 to 76 in points last year. That was the largest jump in FedEx Cup history the week before the playoffs started. Tiger Woods was in contention through three rounds last year but shot a final-round 70 to finish T10. That was his last Tour event.
Love isn't defending his title. Every player ranked between 101 and 135 has entered the field except No. 114 Anirban Lahiri of India. A total of 10 of the world's Top 30 are set to play. It's the first event for Jim Furyk since his record 58 two weeks ago at the Travelers Championship.
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Favorites
Reed is the favorite at +1600. His T11 last week was his fifth straight finish of at least 14th around the world. Reed won his first PGA Tour title here in 2013, beating Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Reed last played here in 2014 and was 24th.
Hideki Matsuyama is +2000. He last played at the PGA Championship and was T4 but has missed the cut here the past two years. Rickie Fowler (also +2000) was a late addition to the field as he tries to earn more Ryder Cup points. He has fallen to 12th place in the Ryder Cup standings. The Top 8 players in the points standings after next week's playoff-opening event will automatically qualify for the 12-member USA team. Fowler was 47th last week and hasn't been playing very well. He has never played here.
Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Moore (all +2200), Jon Rahm and Webb Simpson (both +2500) round out the favorites. Snedeker won this tournament in 2007 and Moore in 2009.
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Picks
For a Top 10, go with Furyk (+200), Simpson (+225) and Bill Haas (+275). Head to head, I like Reed (-130) over Fowler (even), Furyk (-110) over Matsuyama (-120), Snedeker (-105) over Moore (-125), Simpson (-110) over Rahm (-120), and Haas (-110) over Kevin Na (-120).
I'm torn between Simpson and Haas (+2800) to win. The site offers a Reed/Matsuyama prop vs. the field, Fowler/Furyk vs. the field and Snedeker/Rahm/Moore vs. the field but nothing with Simpson and Haas.
Simpson is from the Charlotte area, won here in 2011, has Top-5 finishes the past two years and even named his daughter Wyndham. Haas has three Top-6 finishes here the past four years, led by a runner-up in 2014. Simpson is playing better at the moment so I'll take him.
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Post by Gooba on Aug 20, 2016 7:39:32 GMT -5
Kim shoots 60, leads Wyndham by two strokes
By The Sports Xchange
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Si Woo Kim didn't allow himself to think about the grand possibilities as he went through the final holes of the second round of the Wyndham Championship.
Kim made a form of history, though a quest for a sub-60 round was denied.
He settled for a course-record 10-under-par 60 when his final birdie attempt failed to fall Friday at Sedgefield Country Club.
"Last hole make birdie, 59," Kim said. "I'm trying to make birdie last hole."
Kim leads the tournament at 12-under after his bogey-free round. He holds a two-shot edge on four others.
But before the day was done, Lucas Glover had a bid for 59 with a birdie putt on No. 18. He left a 27-foot attempt well short, then missed the par putt and ended up with 61.
Glover, Hideki Matsuyama, Jim Furyk and first-round co-leader Kevin Na are all at 10-under. Glover, who was playing for the first time in seven weeks, played in the group behind Furyk, who posted a 58 less than two weeks ago.
Kim didn't make a big deal about his round.
"Not so much celebrate today," Kim said, though pointing out he was pleased with the round.
His last birdie attempt came on the par-4 ninth hole after his tee shot with a driver sailed left and he had a difficult approach shot. Still, his putt from 49 feet rolled next to the cup.
"Just trying to par (at that stage), but almost close there," he said.
Five golfers, including Brandt Snedeker, held the previous course mark of 61.
"I'm not thinking 59," Kim said. "I just focus on birdies."
Beginning on the backside, Kim surged into the lead with a 6-under 29 through nine holes. He then birdied No. 2.
Kim, a 21-year-old from South Korea, moved to 9-under for the day with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. He also had a birdie on No. 8, setting up the final drama.
"Greens fast and firm, no spinning," Kim said.
Glover's bid for a sub-60 score came because he had birdies on five holes during a six-hole stretch on Nos. 11-16. Earlier, he had birdies on five of his first seven holes.
Then came the three putts on No. 18.
"Lot of the long ones I was leaving short, but in the back of my head I was saying, 'Get it there. Get it there. Get it there,' " Glover said. "... Then got out of my routine a little bit. Just loss of concentration a little bit."
Like Glover, Na and fellow first-round co-leader Rafa Cabrera Bello played afternoon rounds. Cabrera Bello slipped to sixth place with a 68.
Snedeker moved into a temporary tie for second place at 7-under after a 68. Snedeker's charge included a chip on No. 8 (his second-to-last hole) that hit the flagstick, but rolled away and he settled for par. Then he posted a bogey on his last hole for the second day in a row.
Brett Stegmaier and Andrew Landry also jumped to 7-under, both posting 67s.
Landry ended his round with six consecutive pars.
"These greens out there are lightning fast and you catch a couple putts out here where you just have to really focus on your speed and try to hit lines and try to do as best as possible to get it down in two," Landry said.
Landry would move into the top 125 in FedExCup points with a tie for second place or better by the end of the weekend. He has made the cut in half of his 18 PGA Tour event this year.
Peter Malnati sits at 6-under after a second-round 69 despite needing three putts on two of the holes.
"All in all, I'm really happy with the score," Malnati said. "It certainly could have been better, but it could always be worse, too."
This is the final tournament for the season's FedExCup points. Graham DeLaet, Seung-Yul Noh, Sung Kang, Matt Jones, Whee Kim and Scott Stallings -- with rankings between 119 and 129 -- missed the cut, jeopardizing or extinguishing their chances of finishing in the top 125.
NOTES: Jimmy Walker, in his first tournament since winning the PGA Championship, missed the cut at 2-over. He shot 2-under on Friday. ... Camilo Villegas, the 2014 champion here, missed the cut at even-par after shooting 2-under in the second round. He had made the cut in five consecutive entries in this tournament. ... There is the potential for afternoon storms for the weekend rounds
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Post by Gooba on Aug 21, 2016 8:05:57 GMT -5
Kim up 4 in Wyndham, but Furyk lurks
By The Sports Xchange
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Jim Furyk might need another PGA Tour record to catch Si Woo Kim in the Wyndham Championship.
Kim shot 6-under-par 64 to stretch his lead to four strokes after the third round on Saturday at Sedgefield Country Club, but Furyk is among the golfers in pursuit.
Furyk, who is five strokes back in a tie for third, will be closely watched in Sunday's final round because two weeks ago in his most-recent tournament he notched a 58 for the lowest round in PGA Tour history in the last round of the Travelers Championship.
He said he feels comfortable this week, too.
"I like to play golf courses that I feel suit my game, that I'm comfortable on, that I enjoy playing," said Furyk, who shot 67 in round three. "I think this is a fun golf course to play."
Although fans have yelled out "58" at Furyk this week, he said that record isn't consuming him.
"It's not driving me crazy," he said. "It happened and in my mind when I'm out there playing in a tournament, it happened (and) it's over with."
Kim, a 21-year-old South Korean, wasn't quite as crisp as a day earlier when he shot a course-record 60, but he held or shared the lead the entire third round.
"First time (in) final group," Kim said. "Same (thing) trying to win. ... I think tomorrow is much pressure, but I'm just trying to keep the putter, keep confidence."
With a birdie on the last hole, he moved to 18-under 192 after 54 holes.
First-round co-leader Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain moved up to second place with a 65, while Furyk (67), Kevin Na (67) and Luke Donald (64) are in a tie for third.
"There is damage to be done," Cabrera Bello said of the final round. "The greens are brilliant. You play good and give yourselves chances."
Furyk eagled the par-5 15th hole to move to 14-under and followed that with a birdie on the next hole, but he had bogeys on the last two holes. He missed the fairway off the tee each time.
"I'm disappointed with the two bogeys," he said. "Overall, still in good position with the tournament."
Na posted five consecutive birdies through No. 10 to pull even at 15-under, but Kim responded with birdies on Nos. 13 and 15.
Na was alone in second place, two strokes back, before his double-bogey 6 on No. 18, combined with Kim's final birdie pushed him down the leaderboard.
Donald had his best round of the tournament to move up the board.
"My iron play has been very strong this week," Donald said. "I've given myself a lot of opportunities for birdie, hitting it within 10-15 feet on a lot of holes."
Brandt Snedeker, the 2007 champion in Greensboro when the tournament was played at nearby Forest Oaks Country Club, was on the leaderboard again. He took a double-bogey 5 on No. 7 but finished at 65 and was six shots back in a tie for sixth with Billy Horschel (64), Hideki Matsuyama (68) of Japan and Graeme McDowell (64) of Northern Ireland.
Friday's round was defined by a couple of candidates to shot sub-60, and the tournament's 2013 champion, Patrick Reed, joined that list on Saturday when he posted six birdies in a row for a front-nine 29. He ended up with 64 and was nine stroke down in a tie for 18th.
"I just didn't really hit many great golf shots on the back nine," Reed said. " ... So that's just something I need to do is I need to stop having these great nine-hole rounds."
Scott Langley set the tone in the third round with an early 62 that left him seven shots back in a tie for 10th.
Still, Langley has quite a bit of work to do as he entered the week No. 175 in FedEx Cup point standings, and only the top 125 qualify for the playoff opener next week, the Barclays at Bethpage Black.
NOTES: Lucas Glover, who was putting for a 59 on the final hole of Friday's second round and ended up with a three-putt bogey, birdied the first hole Saturday but shot 73 and was tied for 33rd. ... Shawn Stefani and Peter Malnati aced the 16th hole during the third round. Stefani used a 9-iron. Malnati tossed his 8-iron in the air when the ball rolled in. ... Patrick Reed, the 2013 champion here, is the tournament's most-recent winner still in the field.
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Post by Gooba on Aug 22, 2016 5:15:02 GMT -5
Kim, 21, endures delay to win first PGA Tour title
By The Sports Xchange
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Even when Si Woo Kim might have flinched, it wasn't going to prevent him from achieving something special at the Wyndham Championship.
Kim withstood a few shaky moments down the stretch and some inclement weather but had a big enough lead to capture his first PGA Tour win Sunday at Sedgefield Country Club.
Kim's 3-under-par 67 in the final round gave him a five-shot victory over runner-up Luke Donald. Kim finished at 21 under, tying the tournament record for overall score.
"Just trying to keep aggressive playing," Kim said. "Thinking comfortable. ... Feel confidence, so I don't have any fear to attacking the pin."
Kim turned out to be a solid front-runner and no one in the field made a sustained rally.
"You had to play a perfect round of golf," Brandt Snedeker said. "If he did what he has been doing all week, he's really, really tough to catch. I would have liked to have made a couple more birdies early on the back nine, put some pressure on him."
Kim said he would have a dinner party with his father, who attended the tournament, to celebrate the victory.
With a storm approaching as Kim went to the 17th tee box, play was suspended for one hour and 21 minutes. He led Donald (67) by four shots at the time, with six golfers still to finish.
Kim, a 21-year-old South Korean, is the youngest international champion on the PGA Tour since Seve Ballesteros of Spain won in 1978. That also was in Greensboro.
"I'm very happy being the youngest winner," Kim said.
Kim built a seven-shot lead while on the front side before a rough stretch with darkening skies.
Kim took a bogey on No. 10 as rain began to move in. But he held a five-stroke lead over Kevin Na and Snedeker at the time.
But after Kim made three bogeys on the first five holes of the back nine, Jim Furyk was within four shots.
Furyk's bogey at No. 15, which had played as one of the easiest holes of the tournament, derailed his charge.
Then a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th seemed to steady Kim, who began the day with a four-shot advantage. Kim also birdied the last hole.
While inclement weather was possible the previous two days, nothing struck and Sunday's interruption was the first of the tournament.
Kim led since posting a course-record 60 in the second round. His sudden struggles with three bogeys during a five-hole stretch in the final round came after only one bogey in a 53-hole span.
"He looked like he was very much in control of his game and he was going to be a hard man to catch," Donald said. "He seems to cope with it extremely well. Hats off to him."
Donald made a big move from No. 99 to No. 48 in FedExCup points.
Hideki Matsuyama (67) and Snedeker (67) tied for third.
Furyk's double-bogey 6 on the last hole left him with a 70 and a tie for 10th eight strokes off the pace.
Na (70) faded late in the round for the second day in a row and also tied for 10th. He played the last seven holes at 3 over without a birdie.
The tournament was the last chance for many golfers with the FedExCup playoffs beginning next week with the Barclays at Bethpage Black.
Shawn Stefani (66), who began the week at No. 133, did enough to move into the top 125 at No. 123. He had three 66s during the tournament and tied for 14th.
"It's pretty emotional, actually," Stefani said. "Started to get a little emotional on 18. ... I knew I had to come in here and have a good week. Top 15, I thought would do it for sure. Just been a whirlwind of emotions this week."
Blayne Barber (66) also finished at 12 under and moved up several spots from his previous No. 120 slot.
Kyle Stanley (68) tied for 14th and moved from No. 127 to No. 116.
"Sort of a stressful week," Stanley said. "At the same time, I'm taking the positives out of the way I played the past couple weeks. I knew I had to put two good weeks together and so to be able to do it I'm pretty happy with that."
Tim Wilkinson (70) tied for 22nd place and was left outside the top 125 at No. 132. He had two three-putts during the round.
NOTES: Scott Brown aced the third hole, doing so for the second year in a row. He's the first player in the tournament's history with more than one hole-in-one. He joins Joe Ozaki (1997-98 on seventh hole at Bermuda Dunes) as the only players in PGA Tour history to ace the same hole in back-to-back years. ... Kevin Kisner's 63 was the best score of the final round and he moved to a tie for 10th place. ... Carl Pettersson won the 2008 tournament upon the first year of the event returning to Sedgefield Country Club. His 21-under score stood alone as the best in the tournament on the course until Kim matched it.
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