The Wyndham Championship 2023 is the final golf event before the FedEx playoffs begin next week. It is an important tournament for those scrambling for points and players looking to retain their Tour privileges for next season.
It can also mean that those who have already qualified for those playoffs tend to sit this one out, and that’s the case this year. It is a mixed quality field heading to Greensboro in North Carolina, but that can mean some long odds contenders from among the chasing pack. Hopefully this preview, with its betting picks and predictions, can unearth that value with the USA bookies.
Two golfers lead the way in the betting lines this week with both Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im starting at best industry odds of 20/1. Im was one of two runners up behind Tom Kim last year, and that was one of three top 10 finishes in four visits to this tournament.
His recent form is not so good, and it has been three months since Im’s last top 15 finish on the PGA Tour. Matsuyama has seen mixed results at the Wyndham Championship. In seven visits, he has only made the cut three times, but he’s converted all of those into top 15s.
Russell Henley comes next in the sportsbooks’ odds at a top price of 22/1, and he’s followed by Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim, who are both at 25/1. Kim is the first former champion of this event, having won by five shots back in 2016.
Henley is attracting interest due to his three consecutive top 10 finishes in each of the last three editions of the Wyndham Championship. Burns has slipped in terms of form, but he has the qualities to get back to the top in this type of field.
Moving through the chasing pack, Denny McCarthy is listed at 30/1, followed by J.T. Poston and Shane Lowry who are both at 33/1. Poston actually leads the Power Rankings this week. He is another former champion, having won this tournament in 2019, and is in solid form with three top six finishes in his last four starts. Lowry is also in good touch, with a respectable record at the Wyndham Championship.
At the very edge of this section is Justin Thomas at best odds of 35/1. It has been sad to see his slump in recent weeks, but could he prevail in a weaker field this time?
Leading the way for the underdogs are a clutch of golfers starting at best odds of 40/1. Ludvig Aberg, Alex Smalley, Aaron Rai, Adam Scott, Alex Smalley and Cam Davis are all available at that 40/1 figure in places. Of those names, Adam Scott was one of five players to have lost out in a playoff to Kevin Kisner in 2021. Smalley is in better form, with a tie for second at the John Deere Classic as his personal highlight.
Adam Hadwin and Chris Kirk follow at 50/1, while there may be some interest in Billy Horschel at 60/1. A tie for 13th on Sunday underlines a return to form for Horschel, although he should have gone higher. He also has four finishes inside the top 11 at the Wyndham Championship in six attempts.
Other golfers to mention from among the outsiders include Harris English at 55/1, Adam Svensson at 66/1, Patrick Rodgers at 70/1, Kevin Streelman at 80/1, Webb Simpson at 80/1 and Matt Kuchar at 80/1.
Our 2023 Wyndham Championship Preview’s Course & Betting Trends with Predictions & Picks Verdict
The Wyndham Championship began life as the Greater Greensboro Open back in 1938. Since 2008, it has been played on the Ross Course of the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.
It is a fairly standard par 70 location and the course should come in at around 7,131 yards. The rough won’t be too punishing as it is trimmed to around 2 and a half inches, but greens are smaller than average and should measure up to 12 on the Stimpmeter.
Driving Accuracy remains an important stat, while Greens in Regulation may also be key across the four days.
When the favorites start as long as 20/1, it is always going to be tough to pick a winner, and this may be a week to focus on the top 10 finish betting odds markets. If pushed in the outrights, one man with a great chance is Shane Lowry. The former Open Champion has also won Stateside, and he has a good all-round game for this Sedgefield course.
While he missed the cut at the Open this year, his form is decent overall with five top 20 finishes in his last seven starts. Lowry’s record at this tournament is also respectable with two top 25s.
So these are our betting predictions and picks for this Wyndham Championship 2023 golf preview:
- Shane Lowry to win at best odds of +3300 (33/1) with BetOnline. He is 30/1 with Bovada and 25/1 with EveryGame.
- Top 10 Finish Picks (all odds with BetOnline, the only firm to publish at time of writing): Shane Lowry (+300), Sam Burns (+260), Aaron Rai (+275) and Billy Horschel (+600).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.