The Wyndham Championship represents the last chance for players to earn FedEx Cup points. The field of golfers might not be full of favorites, but someone has to win. Here are my guys:
1. John Senden --
John Senden enters the Wyndham Championship having made the cut in four of his last five events and is playing some of the best golf of his career. Senden was able to move up 23 spots to 46th in the FedEx Cup standings after he tied for fourth last weekend and wants to move into the top 30 after this weekend. Senden has been able to be successful because of his ability to set himself up for birdies (he's second on tour in birdies per round). He is consistently able to two putt for par because he ranks third in GIR (greens in regulation) and first in GIR when playing from off the fairway. Senden's tie for fourth last weekend is his best finish at a major in his career. Senden will try to continue his major momentum this weekend and take advantage of the weaker field.
2. Jonathan Byrd --
You can believe that Jonathan Byrd will go for the victory this weekend. Byrd sits at 27th on the FedEx Cup list with 7,329 points. If Byrd can manage to win his second event of the season, he'll leap all the way to 10th. Granted winning the tournament and moving from 27th to 10th will only give him an extra 3,000 points entering the playoffs, Byrd wants to prove he can fly with Golf's best. After missing the cut last weekend, Byrd will try to improve his public perception with Wyndham Championship win.
3. Lucas Glover --
Despite his very consistent play all season, Lucas Glover ranks 45th on the FedEx Cup standings. His chances at the Wyndham are pretty good. With a solid finish this weekend, Glover could get into the top 30 and receive an extra 1500 points once the FedEx Cup season points re-set. Even though Glover tied for 50th at the PGA last weekend, he entered playing a good streak of golf. Since he missed the cut at the U.S. Open, Glover has recorded a T10, T12, T11, T27 and T12. Look for Lucas to try to improve on his season best tied for fourth.
4. Bubba Watson --
Bubba Watson could play great this weekend, or he could play terrible -- but it won't be in the middle. Watson's off and on game is a lot like his bipolar success. He's ranked 1st in driving distance, but 179th in accuracy. He's managed a top five finish in half of the 10 tournament in which he's made the cut. But Watson has missed the cut in half of the 20 events he's entered. When Watson is on, he's great. He tied for fifth at the U.S. Open, tied for second at the Shell Houston and finished fourth at the Buick Invitational early in the season. I'm thinking because Watson missed the cut last weekend, he'll play well at the Wyndham.
5. Shigeki Maruyama --
For Shigeki Maruyama, the playoffs start this weekend. If he wants to make the 144 player cut, Maruyama must place in the top 10. Right now the 144th player in the field has 1669 points, which is 480 more than Maruyama's 1189. The FedEx Cup gives 675 points to a player who finishes in the top 10 -- making that the only option Maruyama has of continuing his golf season. A top 10 finish has eluded Maruyama this season, but he did finish tenth or better four times last year and has 39 top 10 finishes in his career. With the first ever FedEx Cup playoffs beginning next weekend, you can imagine there will be some preliminary competitiveness to get into the top 144. So, even though there aren't any big names in the field, that doesn't mean there won't be any excitement.
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