The 10/1 about Webb Simpson winning the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club seems a perfectly acceptable price when you consider his amazing record in the tournament.
The North Carolina man, who is relishing a home-state gig this week, won his maiden PGA Tour title in the 2011 Wyndham at Sedgefield and has strongly threatened a repeat success ever since.
Fifth place in 2014 was followed by sixth in 2015, third in 2017, second in 2018, second in 2019 and third last year.
The course is ideal for the modern Simpson to show off his talents. A lack of driving distance is his only weakness, but this short, tight par-70 is not a layout which can be overpowered.
Sedgefield is about precision from tee to green and possessing a razor-sharp short-game – qualities that Simpson has in spades.
The icing on the cake for prospective Simpson backers was the way he finished his last tournament – a final-round 64 in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational. That flourish indicates he has found his A-game just in time for another Wyndham title tilt.
Matsuyama and Oosthuizen May Lack Sparkle
Hideki Matsuyama and Louis Oosthuizen are just behind Simpson in the Wyndham betting – both available at 14/1 – but the overseas raiders may lack sufficient enthusiasm for the event.
Matsuyama was the centre of attention in the Olympics in Japan the week before last, agonisingly losing in the bronze-medal playoff, then he battled through four rounds in sweltering Memphis last week before losing a WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational playoff to Abraham Ancer.
The Japanese star may be lacking mental energy for the task ahead, while the same can probably be said of Oosthuizen, who slumped to a round of 74 in Memphis on Sunday.
Oosthuizen has suffered a series of near-misses in much more prestigious events than the Wyndham over the last few months, finishing runner-up in the US PGA, the US Open and the 3M Open, and ending up in third place after taking a lead into the final round of the Open Championship.
Hughes Can Threaten Second PGA Tour Title
A Wyndham Championship outsider who makes plenty of each-way appeal at 70/1 is Mackenzie Hughes, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Hughes will know Sedgefield well and can improve on the 22nd-place finish he managed on his last appearance.
This time he has arrived with confidence coursing through his veins, having finished 15th in the US Open and sixth in the Open Championship.
The Canadian has proved himself in Major combat and the low-grade Wyndham could be a doddle in comparison to his efforts at Torrey Pines and Royal St George’s.
There are few players on the PGA Tour more deadly with putter in hand than Hughes, so he can reach the super-low total which is annually required to win the Wyndham.
He is just outside the top 50 of the world rankings and deserves more respect in the market.
*All odds correct at time of writing
