While the fourth and final major of the season is in the books, the PGA Tour rolls along, with its next stop in Greensboro, NC for the 2017 Wyndham Championship. A majority of the top names have opted to sit this tournament out, but last year’s British Open winner Henrik Stenson headlines a still-formidable field. Let’s check out which ones have a legitimate shot at coming away with the Wyndham Championship crown this weekend.
It’s been a fairly underwhelming season thus far for the Swede. Stenson has only competed in 12 tournaments on tour this year, and has missed the cut in five of them. However, of the seven cuts he’s made, he has finished in the top 25 six times. He’s in a particularly strong run of form recently, as he’s finished inside the top 20 in four of his last five tournaments, including a T13 at the recently-concluded PGA Championship.
Stenson doesn’t have much experience on this course, but he’s still easily the best player in the field. If he can carry over his strong play of late, he should be the player to beat this weekend.
It remains to be seen what state Kisner will be in mentally after his disappointment in the PGA Championship. The 33-year-old was leading through three rounds at Quail Hollow until a disastrous 74 in the fourth round dropped him all the way down to T7.
It won’t be a complete shock if he doesn’t quite recover and turns in a dud performance at Greensboro. But there’s also a good chance he can bounce back at Sedgefield Country Club, a course where he’s had some good success on in recent years. He finished T8 at the Wyndham Championship back in 2014, and went T10 in 2016.
You really don’t know what you’re going to get from Dufner from tournament to tournament. One weekend he can be winning by three strokes at the Memorial, and others he can be languishing in the 50s like he was in both the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.
While Dufner’s lows can be pretty disastrous, when he’s on, he’s a legitimate threat to win any tournament he’s in. That should be the case once again at Greensboro, where he will be one of the best players on the field.
Simpson has had a rough time in majors this season. He missed the cut at the Masters, and finished in the 30s in the US Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. Simpson has been just fine in non-majors, though. In fact, he’s finished well inside the top 20 in five of his last seven non-major tournaments, including two top-10 finishes.
Simpson also has a pretty stellar record at Greensboro. He won it all back in 2011, and also finished T11, T5, and T6 and from 2013 to 2015. With such a strong history at the course, Simpson should definitely be a strong candidate to claim his first win of the season this weekend.
It’s been a while since Glover has been in legitimate contention to win a tournament. Apart from his T6 at the Players Championship, Glover has not cracked to top 20 in any of his last 11 starts. However, the 37-year-old does have some decent experience at Greensboro, and has finished T18 and T22 in each of the last two years. While Glover’s not the sexiest name, he’s still capable of staying in the mix, and with a few lucky breaks, he’s got a chance to spring a surprise.
While Glover’s not the sexiest pick, he’s still capable of staying in the mix, and with a few lucky breaks, he’s got a chance to spring a surprise.
Writer’s Prediction
Dufner (+2,500) delivers his A-game as he comes away with the win at Wyndham.
