The 2024 Wyndham Championship is the final PGA Tไour event before the 𝔍start of the FedExCup Playoffs, and it takes place at Sedgefield Country Club, near Greensboro, North Carolina. This course has been a regular Tour stop since 2008 and is known for its historical significance as a Donald Ross-designed classical course.
The recently updated Sedgefield course provides a tactical challenge due to its narrow fairways, strategic routing, bunkering, and tricky green complexes. Despite its shorter length, scoring remains low, making accuracy off the tee and precision with short-to-mid irons and wedges crucial for success. The course favors consistent putters, especially on Bermuda greens. Notably, past winners like Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner, J.T. Poston, Webb Simpson, and Si Woo Kim have excelled in these a🐻spects.
Designed and built by the legendary architect Donald Ross ꦛon a former hunting estate in 1925, Sedgefield Country Club has a rich history. Originally, Ross was planned to create two 18-hole layouts, but the Great Depression prevented the construction of the second course. Prior to being named the Wyndham Championship in 2008, the tournament was known as the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic and the Greater Greensboro Open.
From 1938 to 1965, Sam Snead won the event a record eight times. The club also played a significantꦑ role in breaking down racial barriers by inviting Charlie Sifford to participate in 1961, before the Tour had removed its segregation clause.
Over time, the course underwent significant alterations t♌hat strayed from the original design, with fairways and bunkers losing strategic sense. In 2007, a $3 million restoration project led by Kris Spence aimed to rebuild the course and restore the original Ross feel. During the 10-month closure, Spence utilized 80-year-old aerial pictures and original blueprints to guide the renovations. The main changes included adding 400 yards in length, repositioning bunkers, and restoring greens to their original size. Spence replaced the Bentgrass greens with Champion Bermuda.
Sedgefield Country Club is considered a positional track that is slightly shorter than the average Tour course๊. It is a par-70 course that measures 7,131 yards. The fairways are heavily tree-lined, and the course is set over a rolling, wooded landscape. Located just southeast of the center of Greensboro, it has a distinct Carolina feel.
The course is covered with Bermudagrass and has average-sized greens that run between 12.5-13 on the stimp meter. The rough measures 2.5 inches, but ✱Bermuda grass is unpredictable, making it tricky to hit from even at that length.
Sedgefield emphasizes the importance of positioning your ball on the proper side of the fairway and finding the best angle to attack the challenging green complexes. Donald Ross was known for using the land’s topography to determine the course’s layout and playing strategy. Players are encouraged to be strategically aggressive and will be rewarded with scoring opportunities if successful.
The challenging visuals ✤at Ross provide a perfect illustration. For example, on the second hole tee, there are numerous bunkers that seem to surround the fairway landing zones. However, they are actually much further back than expected. Many holes have doglegs, forcing players to decide whether to attack the dogleg or lay up with a shorter club.
Although it’s a par 70 course, conditions at Sedgefield Country Club are typically scoring-friendly. In the past six years, the winning score has been at least 20-under for five of those years. Over the past five events, the course has played to an average of 1.33 shots under par, making it the 10th easiest track in the Tour rotation. There are only six holes that average over par. In calm and soft conditions, low scores are achievable, especially if a player catches fire with the putter, like Brandt Snedeker’s first-round 59 back in 2018.
Three main challenges of this golf course will somewhat challenge players—the Bermuda rough, the undulating green complexes, and the fairway bunkers. The routing of the course can also be challenging when the wind increases. Golfers tee off in a different direction on almost every hole, affecting distance control and accuracy when calculating different wind speeds and directions. Water is a factor on six holes, but it’s not a huge threat.
The fairway bunkers are the toughest on Tou🍸r for reaching the green in regulation. The average GIR rate last year on Tour co🧔urses was 48.3%. Over the past couple of years at Sedgefield, it has been only 23.3%. Typically played in the sweltering heat and humidity of the Carolina summer, fatigue could also play a role in performance for those players who are not in the best physical shape.
2024 Wyndham Championship – The Field
With many of the world’s best choosing to rest up and prepare for the three-week FedExCup Playoffs on their own, we will see another field lacking in star power, especially on the back of the Olympic competition in Paris for most of the world’s best. Motivation becomes a real intangible this time of year as many players will be trying to either qualify for the playoffs or better their position with this being the final event before the end of the season. This is magnified again this year as only the top 70 in the FedExCup point standings will be eligible for the playoffs.
Still, this year’s event is attracting an exciting group including Jordan Speith, Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im, and local products Will Zalatoris and Cam Young, who both attended Wake Forest.
