Bolton: Sungjae Im, Cameron Young among fantasy plays at Wyndham Championship, last-chance FedExCup Playoffs qualifier

If you, like me, are trailing in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, then it’s easy to feel like the walls are closing in with only four tournaments remaining in the fantasy season. But with the Wyndham Championship striding to the plate, I’m here to tell you that you have everything to gain and the target of your opposition has everything to lose.

That little pep talk can’t hurt, but I do speak from experience. In fact, I’m the two-time defending champion in my little league of experts, so playing defense at this time of the season isn’t as much fun as it seems from the other side. In addition to the usual uncertainty concerning weekly decisions, there’s some anxiety to hold onto what has been built over time. It’s very easy to be conservative, as it can be tough to abandon the instinct to protect, even a little bit. However, just like the most successful golfers, the best gamers stick to their process and ignore the destination.

That psychology hits like it’s for the pacesetters, but it’s good advice for all gamers no matter your position in a league. Always let the action come to you.

The reset ahead of the finale of the PGA TOUR regular season consists of reminders that there are no cuts in all three legs of the FedExCup Playoffs and FedExCup points awarded to the golfers align with the same for THE PLAYERS Championship and the four majors. So, each of the three winners in the series will earn 750 points. It’s right here in the rules. If you’re a veteran gamer who has somehow reached this point of the season and you still think that 2,000 points will be rewarded, well, at least you were forewarned later than never. (The adjustment was announced in January.)

If you’re chasing, because your personal goal may vary for any number of reasons, rely on your targets to play it safe. That means predictability.

If you haven’t already logged every start by every golfer for your opposition in Segment 3, then do yourself that solid. Mapping out who makes the most sense in every remaining stop other than the BMW Championship will help guide your decisions so as not to be stymied. The Wyndham Championship, the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the TOUR Championship will all be contested at their annual sites, but the BMW will be held at Bellerive Country Club, which hasn’t hosted TOUR members since the 2018 PGA Championship. That’ll be a wild card for all of us, so leverage that flexibility.

With no cuts in the Playoffs, save a withdrawal or disqualification, all gamers will score in all 12 rounds of the series. So, in addition to rostering some charges your opposition likely won’t, you’re going to need to be relatively aggressive with your choices for captain. But again, you have everything to gain. If you can keep your thinking that simple, it’ll make your process more fun. Be smart but also free.

Shrewd league leaders also have mapped out your potential starts, but they’re more concerned about roster management so that the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will be anchoring their squad at the TOUR Championship. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also helpful for chasers who won’t have to guess who’s most likely to be the captain to beat at East Lake Golf Club.

Those same top-of-the-leaderboard gamers not only are going to lean on the chalk at Sedgefield Country Club, but they’re hoping that you do the same because the clock is in their favor. You can offset that defense with a few zags on your roster and designate a captain that isn’t defending champion Cameron Young. More perspective on this immediately below.

With the competition heating up as the fantasy season winds down, my X has been busy with questions, and I’ve been knocking around strategies relative to personal situations. If you use the microblogging platform and wish to connect, reach out to me publicly or privately anytime.

Captain

Sungjae Im ... Once again, my selection is based on my situation. After taking one on the chin at the Rocket Classic, I need to be luckier than good to have a shot at the three-peat. Im is No. 8 in my Power Rankings and could be the least likely to be rostered by my opposition.

Other considerations

• Cameron Young ... The No. 1 in the Power Rankings is a pacer’s dream, but if you’re down to one start, then it’s a personal preference to burn it in his first-ever title defense on the PGA TOUR or holster it for the Playoffs. If you opt for the latter, don’t go halfway and open with him on your bench. It’s too early for that defense mechanism. Instead, abstain entirely.
• Tom Kim ... No. 2 in the Power Rankings and my original choice for captain, but that was before I was pummeled in Motown. He’s the 2022 Wyndham champion as well as the recent winner of the Genesis Scottish Open.

Rounding out the roster

Not necessarily the first line, but my focus is on being the only expert with Im as the captain. Beyond that, confidence in making the cut is key, so I’m in position to benefit from the possibility of my opponents succumbing to untimely missed cuts. Hey, a fella can dream.

My starters

• Sungjae Im (C)
• Tom Kim
• Jackson Koivun
• Aaron Rai

My bench

• Ben Griffin (1)
• J.T. Poston (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out who demands pause and why.

• Alex Fitzpatrick ... At 37.4% in ownership dispersion at last check, he ranks as the sixth-most rostered in the field of 147. While the Brit can be a timely spell for busier pieces for whom the start can be more valuable in the Playoffs, he went MC-T71 in the fortnight in the U.K. It’s also his first start at Sedgefield and in a PGA TOUR event without his brother, Matt, competing alongside since the Cadillac Championship in early May.
• Sahith Theegala ... The 28-year-old has enjoyed a really nice rebound of a season, and he’s cashed in 12 straight, so it makes some sense that he populates almost 17% of the rosters saved, but a T11 at the U.S. Open is the only top 25 of his last 10 starts. Placed T24 in his last trip to Sedgefield in 2024.
• Brooks Koepka ... After pulling out early from the Rocket Classic, he just as easily could’ve joined the guys in the section below. Since withdrawing before his final round of the RBC Canadian Open with numbness in the last two fingers of his left hand, he’s missed two cuts and finished T28 at The Open. Reserved on 12.7% of the rosters submitted.
• Jordan Spieth ... In his 14th consecutive appearance, but as much as we’d love to see him contend again – he’s pulling at the heartstrings of almost 10% of gamers – he arrives without a top 30 in six starts and without a top 10 in 14 months.

Returning to competition

• Jason Day ... Only full-season gamers are giddy about his possibilities at Sedgefield, but that’s only because they’ve been long-term investors who have watched him withdraw early from the last two tournaments due to a sore back. He’s 75th in the FedExCup and needs no worse than a two-way T12 to qualify for the Playoffs, but it’s impossible to trust him right now. Tenured fantasy gamers are quite familiar with this feeling for the Aussie.

• Patrick Rodgers ... As others have surged, he’s been beset by a pesky back injury. It thwarted appearances at the John Deere Classic and the ISCO Championship. After missing the cut at the 3M Open, he called it quits after opening the Rocket Classic with a 77. At 64th in the FedExCup and about 54 points clear of Mac Meissner at 71st, Rodgers should be safe to advance even if he can’t give it a go, so respect his position and abstain.
• C.T. Pan ... This actually is his fourth sanctioned appearance since getting back after it following surgery on his left wrist in early May 2025, but his first three starts were on the Korn Ferry Tour. After withdrawing during his first start, he missed the cut in the next two. Alerted his followers on social media this week that the Wyndham Championship serves as his return to the PGA TOUR, which means that he’s forfeiting the last two rehab starts made available for having a Major Medical Extension. With 19 starts allotted, he’s worth immediate consideration in full-season formats that extend through the FedExCup Fall, but DFSers might as well work him in fractionally given his course knowledge and reasonable amount of success at Sedgefield where he’s 5-for-7 with a co-runner-up in 2018.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET today.