NOTE: For the next three events, Rob will focus only on golfers needing a good performance to advance in the FedExCup Playoffs. In this first edition, all five below enter the Wyndham Championship outside the top 70 in points. Recommended bets are independent of targets to qualify.

Garrick Higgo (+320 = Top 20 and +175 = Top South African) … At 72nd in the FedExCup, the 24-year-old is targeting a top-50 finish to be within range of his second Playoffs appearance, but the way he’s going of late, that’s a lowered expectation. He’s peppered his record with top 35s in six of his last nine starts. Each of the last three have gone for progressively better top 25s, culminating in a T13 at the 3M Open. The upswing is directly proportional to improved putting; funny how that works. As the field transitions back to Bermuda greens for the first time in months, the lefty connected for his only PGA TOUR title on the same strain of Champion Bermuda not that far away at Congaree Golf Club two summers ago.

David Lingmerth (+260 = Top 40) …Can’t help but hear Andy Dufresne’s voice utter this: “And if you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to come a little further.” That line in “The Shawshank Redemption” applies to the 36-year-old Swede. It was just over two years ago when he was outside the top 1,000 in the Official World Golf Ranking and saddled with limited playing time via Past Champion status. A year ago at this time, he was just inside the top 600. It wasn’t until his ridiculously timely victory in the second leg of the last-ever Korn Ferry Tour Finals that he reconnected for a PGA TOUR card. After an impressive rebound season that includes a T3 three weeks ago at the Genesis Scottish Open, he’s 74th in the FedExCup and within a top-25 finish of returning to the Playoffs for the first time in six years. So, yeah, no question that he’s willing to come a little further.

Justin Suh (+138 = Top 40) … It’d be fitting, albeit still a bonus if the self-proclaimed slow-starter crashed the Playoffs in his first attempt. Currently 77th in the FedExCup, he needs to finish inside the top 20 to have a shot at it, and he hasn’t had one of those in over two months. However, he strides in having cashed in eight consecutive starts, half of which have gone for a top 40. So, what he presents is a combination of pedigree, positive momentum relative to his inexperience and one of the best strokes on the greens among his peers.

Kevin Yu (+130 = Top 40) … The first three Sleepers all are realistically within range of qualifying for the Playoffs with less than their A-game, so when considering the chip-and-a-chair contingent, it’s smart to laser in on the 24-year-old rookie at 94th in points. He’d need a podium finish at Sedgefield to warrant the time spent making travel plans to Memphis, but that he’s in this position at all is impressive. He missed four months to recover from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Since returning, he’s 3-for-5 with a T6 at the John Deere Classic, one of three top 10s among five top 25s in 15 starts. Despite the shortened season, he’s still eligible to be ranked officially inside the top 11 on TOUR in total driving, Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, greens in regulation, SG: Tee-to-Green, proximity to the hole, par-4 scoring and par-5 scoring. He’s also 59th in average FedExCup points per start. Notables positioned lower include Justin Thomas (60th) and 2023 winners Davis Riley (63rd), Vincent Norrman (68th) and Matt Wallace (84th).

Taylor Pendrith (+138 = Top 40) … While the Playoffs cannot be ruled out in his immediate future, for all other intents and purposes, the 32-year-old Canuck is playing the long game to retain position inside the top 125 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Fall. He’s 113th and armed with the feels of a T13 in his debut at Sedgefield a year ago. Granted, he was in some kind of groove at the time and with the potential of a President Cup berth on the horizon, which, of course, he earned, but he recently finished T14 a the Rocket Mortgage Classic and solo sixth at the Barbasol Championship, sites at which he also excelled last summer.

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

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