The Fantasy Insider: Wyndham Championship

text size

It's a new course for almost the entire field, but there's no fear of the unknown in this space. Sedgefield Country Club plays to about 7,100 yards and figures to reward accuracy over raw power, and the undulations on the greens will demand patience and creativity. Keep those themes in mind as we sort through our selections.

PGATOUR.com Pick 'em

Lyons/Getty Images

Ryuji Imada won earlier this season at the AT&T Classic.

Related

Expert picks: Who will win?
Sleepers: Who could surprise?
Article: TOUR Insider: Wyndham
Inside the field
Inside the course

You need six selections and one wild-card pick, as usual. Sergio Garcia just missed for us last week, but picking Geoff Ogilvy over Padraig Harrington cost us some ground.

Group 1 Pick: Ryuji Imada
Other Options: Vijay Singh, Jeff Quinney, Billy Mayfair

I feel like every week I say something nice about Imada and then come up with an excuse for not picking him. This week, we'll go the other way. He's 13th in putting and 40th in scrambling, and on a course that no one really knows yet, those are great skills to have.

Singh is the big name in the field, but anytime I hear about challenging greens and courses that reward placement over power, I'm too scared to pick him.

Mayfair deserves a look in other formats -- he's eighth in driving accuracy and 10th in GIR and that's a good start. Quinney's profile is similar to Imada's; he'll do the little things well, so it ultimately comes down to how he's striking the ball. J.B. Holmes has withdrawn from the event, so keep him off your sheet.

Group 2 Pick: Steve Marino
Other Options: Brandt Snedeker, Brian Gay, Briny Baird

Marino can occasionally be a little wayward with the driver but otherwise there isn't an obvious hole in his game. A new track that's unknown might be conducive to a first-time winner, and Marino is going to break through soon, I feel confident of that.

Snedeker's form entering this week is much the same, he just needs to tame his driver and he's a strong contender. I expect he'll be the consensus choice in this pool, probably because he won this tournament last year on a different course.

Gay has some sleeper value; he's been somewhat of a boom or bust pick this summer, but his cashes have been healthy checks. Baird's been solid of late, with five straight checks and three Top-20 finishes; when in doubt, trust the reliable-iron player (he's second in GIR). Steve Lowery has dropped out of the event, so scratch him from your program.

Group 3 Pick: Carl Pettersson
Other Options: Bubba Watson, Kevin Sutherland, Peter Lonard

Pettersson

There's a determined, grinding quality to Pettersson's game, and as we enter a brave new world at an unknown course, that's the sort of personality worth getting behind. Much like Imada, Pettersson is at his best putting and scrambling.

I also like Sutherland on an unknown track, because his rock-solid irons will play everywhere. If he improves his putting a spec this week, he'll be in the Sunday story.

Sorry Bubba, this isn't a week to pick the power guys. If you prove me wrong, I'll be the first to doff my cap. And to anyone out there who can figure out the Lonard matrix -- his strong finishes seem to come out of nowhere -- please explain it to me. Rocco Mediate dropped out on Monday (perhaps his health led to Sunday's 85 in Michigan), so keep him off the sheet this week.

Group 4 Pick: Ben Crane
Other Options: Jerry Kelly, Ryan Moore, Tim Clark, Matthew Goggin

A lot of interesting options here: Kelly's putter is a magic wand and a big edge on this track; the length of the course plays into Clark's hands; Moore and Goggin are both going to win multiple times on the PGA TOUR, I have little doubt.

But Crane has to be the selection from this pool, an accurate ball striker, an underrated (and super) putter, a deliberate player. I like his chances to figure out the angles here a little quicker than most, and I think he's got the thick skin needed to quickly forget last week's disappointment at the PGA.

Group 5 Pick: Ken Duke
Other Options: John Senden, Tom Pernice, Corey Pavin, Dean Wilson

Duke

Teeing it up in the Carolinas, how can we not pick a name like Duke? (I think I just felt the UNC ties on the PGATOUR.COM editorial staff zap me back into submission.) In all seriousness, Duke gets the nod for his steady ball striking and play of late, and the allure of a Ryder Cup spot should provide an extra motivation boost.

Wilson was my second choice here, with a couple of sneaky thirds the last few weeks. Pavin also has to be considered on this track, and there aren't many obvious holes in Senden's game. I steered away from Pernice but I still respect the crafty veteran; despite a mediocre set of ball-striking stats, he's still 21st in scoring average.

Group 6 Pick: Brad Adamonis
Other Options: Paul Casey, Kevin Na, John Mallinger, Nathan Green

Casey is the name pick and Na has a stat-profile that will work here (straight driving, true putting), but Adamonis has the best GIR stats in this group, and I can't shake the feeling that we're going to see a surprise winner this week. Adamonis had a taste of contention at the John Deere Classic, and those lessons will serve him well here.

Mallinger's magic putter always gives him a chance, but he needed to tighten up the irons. The same story applies to Green, though I'm always pulling for the Aussies in the field, for some reason (it's not going to get me a date with Stephanie Rice, I should just drop it).

Rest of the Field: Davis Love III is on the way back, he's overdue for a run at a title, we've been saying it all summer. Thing is, I really believe it. Maybe a Carolina tournament will get his juices kick started . . . John Rollins is another sterling putter who will appreciate the course dimensions . . . Chris DiMarco's quietly had his moments this year and I think a major comeback season is in store for 2009. Perhaps he'd like to move the start time up 4-5 months and push off here . . . Mark Calcavecchia can still go low when his body feels right and the swing comes around early in the week. I'd love to watch you for four days, Calc . . . George McNeill was one of my favorite stories from Q-school a few years back, and I just have a feeling he's going to do something of note here (quietly one of the better ball-strikers around). Get him on your sleeper list.