Week 33 Approach Shots: Wyndham Championship

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The Wyndham Championship marks the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season and the last chance for players to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, which begin next week at The Barclays outside New York in Jersey City, N.J.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 37th of 37 regular-season PGA TOUR events WHEN: Aug. 20-23 WHERE: Greensboro, N.C. COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club ROUND 1 TV: GOLF, 2 & 10 p.m. ET ROUND 2 TV: GOLF, 2 p.m. & 1:30 a.m. ET ROUND 3 TV: CBS, 2-5 p.m. ET ROUND 4 TV: CBS, 3-6 p.m. ET FEDEXCUP POINTS: 500 for winner KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard | Tournament page VIDEO: Opening Shot

The top-125 points earners qualify for The Barclays. Heading into the Greensboro, N.C., event, Andres Romero holds down the 125th position, three points ahead of David Mathis. Ryan Palmer (324 points) is in 127th place, followed by Todd Hamilton (321), Chris Riley (320) and Cliff Kresge (318).

A year ago, Carl Pettersson shot four rounds in the 60s, including a 6-under weekend, to defeat Scott McCarron by two strokes. Pettersson could miss the Playoffs this season, as the Sweden native is 151st in FedExCup points.

A LONG HISTORY: The Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., has been a staple on the PGA TOUR schedule since 1938. Over the span of those previous 70 years, a superior list of golf's greatest have won this event, including Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Seve Ballesteros and Gary Player. Other recent winners include Davis Love III and Rocco Mediate.

BETHPAGE STANDOUTS: Three of the top-four finishers from the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park's Black Course will be on hand for the Wyndham Championship. Lucas Glover finished at 4-under at the U.S. Open, holding off Ricky Barnes, David Duval and Phil Mickelson for his first major win. Barnes and Duval join Glover, who will be making his sixth appearance in Greensboro, in this week's field. Glover has made the cut in his previous five starts, with his best finish coming in a tie for sixth in 2006. He tied for 20th in 2007 and 2008. David Duval is making his third appearance at the Wyndham Championship. He missed the cut last year and tied for 14th in 1995.

Despite all three earning high finishes at the U.S. Open, only Glover is in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Duval is 149th in the standings, while Barnes is 141st.

HOME SWEET HOME: Last year, former North Carolina State golfer and North Carolina resident Carl Pettersson topped Scott McCarron by two strokes to claim his third career PGA TOUR win. Pettersson moved from Sweden to Greensboro during his high school years and graduated from Grimsley High, located seven miles from Sedgefield Country Club, site of the tournament. Standing at 151st in the FedExCup standings with only one week remaining in the Regular Season, Pettersson is in danger of missing the Playoffs.

SNEDEKER'S SUCCESS: At the 2007 Wyndham Championship, Brandt Snedeker picked up his first TOUR victory when he won the Greensboro tournament. After battling through injuries earlier this year, Snedeker has picked up his old form with top-five finishes in three of his last four starts -- ties for fifth at the AT&T National and RBC Canadian Open and a tie for second at the John Deere Classic. In the past month, Snedeker has moved from No. 183 in the FedExCup standings to No. 75.

RECORD-SETTING CLEMSON TIGER: Kyle Stanley, an All-America first team member from Clemson University, was recently named the 2009 Ben Hogan Award winner after his sophomore season, the top honor a collegiate golfer can earn. Stanley is a native of Gig Harbor, Wash., who set 18 Clemson records during his freshman campaign and was named the 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year. Stanley was a member of that year's U.S. Walker Cup team. Stanley made his debut as a professional at the Travelers Championship in June, where he tied for 19th.

ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens is on the scene at Sedgefield Country Club for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Stevens:

I've talked to a couple of players who've said the Playoffs have already begun for a number of guys. Here's an example: last year, Ken Duke played in THE TOUR Championship. This year, he's 134th in the FedExCup standings and is on the outside looking in for even getting into The Barclays next week. He says he probably speaks for a number of players in that same points range who are playing well but not scoring well, and this is THE week to get into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

No changes have been made this year to this week's Donald Ross layout, Sedgefield CC, who's redesign debuted last year with Carl Pettersson winning at 21 under. That said, because of the North Carolina heat, the bentgrass greens are constantly being watered, which will make them easier targets for the players but might create a bumpier putting surface.

While the tournament calls North Carolina its home, many South Carolinians, including the highest ranked player in the field, Lucas Glover, consider this a home game. Glover lives just a couple of hours away and has many family members and friends here, but he also loves the shorter Ross layout. He said he prefers it to the longer layouts, like last week's 7,674-yard test at Hazeltine.

Weather forecast for the Wyndham Championship

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Isolated t-storms Temp: 89 high/72 low Scattered t-storms Temp: 87 high/70 low Isolated t-storms Temp: 83 high/66 low Partly cloudy Temp: 86 high/65 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Wyndham Championship snippets

Rookie drought: There have been five first-time winners in '09, but no rookies. The last time the TOUR went an entire year without a rookie winner was 1998. In fact, it's only happened five times in the last 40 years -- '70, '78, '81, '86 and '98. Jeff Klauk, James Nitties and Matt Bettencourt are rookies to watch this week. Course history: In its first 4 years (1938-41), the Greensboro event was played at both Sedgefield CC and Starmount Forest CC. In 1942, it was held solely at Starmount Forest, before being cancelled in 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. From 1977 until 2007, the tournament moved to Forest Oaks Country Club. Giving back: The Victory Junction Camp, one of Wishes by Wyndham's four signature charities, has been selected as the Official Charity of the Wyndham Championship. As the tournament's title sponsor, Wyndham Worldwide presented a check for $50,000 to the camp. International affair: The Wyndham Championship has a history of producing international winners, with 12 players hailing from 10 different countries emerging victorious in Greensboro. Past international champions include Jesper Parnevik, Carl Pettersson, K.J. Choi and Shigeki Maruyama.

In the spotlight

This week: Carl Pettersson

Each week during the 2009 season, PGATOUR.COM will spotlight one key player in the field. For this week's Wyndham Championship, it's Carl Pettersson. Learn more about Carl

A victory this week earns you ...

• Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010-11 • 500 FedExCup points. Anyone who wins will be in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. • A spot in the following events in order of play: 2010 SBS Championship, 2010 Masters, 2010 PLAYERS Championship, 2010 PGA Championship

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 500-yard 15th at Sedgefield LAST YEAR: The 15th played to a stroke average of 4.152, with players recording no eagles, 39 birdies, 320 pars, 97 bogeys and 6 double bogey. DESCRIPTION: The downhill tee shot must avoid a small creek on the left and a large fairway bunker on the right. Going for the green in two will require a long carry over water and deep greenside bunkering to a severe back to front sloping green.(Click here for Sedgefield tour