The PGA Tour heads to Sedgefield Country Club this week for the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season before the FedEx Cup Playoffs get underway. The course is a par 70 measuring 7131 yards, and while it isn’t one of the longest venues on Tour, it remains one of the most enjoyable tests players face all season.
As always, I’ve prepared my best bets for The Wyndham Championship 2026, but let’s start with a preview of the course first!
Ginger Joe’s Squad for the Wyndham Championship 2026
| Player | Odds to Win |
|---|---|
| Maverick McNealy | +4000 |
| Stephan Jaeger | +12500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +6500 |
| Ryo Hisatsune | +6000 |
| Kris Ventura | +12500 |
The Wyndham Championship Course Preview
Sedgefield tends to reward precision rather than power, and with plenty of birdie opportunities available, players will need to keep the pedal down if they want to contend.
Cameron Young returns as the defending champion after a dominant win here 12 months ago, and he also arrives as the highest ranked player in the field at world number three. There are some strong names teeing it up this week.
I quite like the idea of backing Justin Thomas, but at the prices I just felt he was a little too short for my liking in what is traditionally a very competitive event. There were a few others in a similar boat that just missed out too.
When building a profile for Sedgefield, I’m generally looking at a few key areas. Strokes gained approach is always high on the list, while driving accuracy, birdie average, and putting are all important factors too.
This is very much a course where players can plot their way around, hit plenty of greens and give themselves chance after chance with the putter. If you’re rolling it well on the greens and dialled in with the irons, you can make a lot of birdies around here.
One player who will undoubtedly attract plenty of attention is Jackson Koivun. He finished an impressive fifth here as an amateur and has since picked up a professional victory, so it’s easy to see why many will fancy his chances this week. His compact swing and those small, controlled shot shapes look tailor made for a course like Sedgefield, and he certainly has the game to go well again.
For this week’s event, I’ve put together a five-man squad that I believe offers a nice blend of profiles. There are players arriving in strong form, previous PGA Tour winners, golfers whose games are trending in the right direction, and a couple who I think are particularly well suited to the demands of Sedgefield Country Club at big triple figure prices. Let’s get straight into this week’s selections, and always if you follow, gamble responsibly and enjoy the week.
1. Maverick McNealy (+4000)
Selection number one this week is Maverick McNealy, and the world number 44 looks to have plenty going in his favour at Sedgefield Country Club. He is already a PGA Tour winner after landing the RSM Classic in 2024, and it feels as though another title isn’t too far away. This could be the week to catch him, because he arrives here in North Carolina on the back of a very solid and consistent season.
McNealy has made 16 of his 18 cuts on the PGA Tour this year, and one of those missed cuts came at The Open, where he fell just a shot short of the weekend. That hardly qualifies as poor form, and overall, his level of golf has been impressively consistent throughout the campaign.
When you look at the demands of Sedgefield, the fit makes plenty of sense. Strong approach play, a reliable putter and the ability to make birdies are all key attributes around this course, and McNealy ticks those boxes.
He currently ranks 17th on Tour for birdie average, while his scoring average has him inside the top 40, which highlights just how solid he has been from week to week, and he hasn’t even quite hit top form yet.
It’s true that he has made a few too many bogeys at times this season, and that has probably stopped him from contending more regularly. However, Sedgefield is a venue where players can get on a roll, and if he starts making putts early, he has the game to post some very low numbers.
The putting statistics are particularly encouraging too. McNealy sits 17th in strokes gained putting, and 20th in one putt percentage, which is exactly the sort of profile you want around a scoreable course like this.
Combine that with his strong approach play, and it’s easy to see why he appeals. He isn’t the most explosive scorer on Tour, but this looks a course that should bring out the best in him. If he gets off to a fast start, I think he has a genuine chance of being right in the mix come Sunday.
2. Stephan Jaeger (+12500)
Stephan Jaeger is another player I rate highly ahead of the Wyndham Championship, and to me, he looks seriously overpriced. He’s a golfer I’ve followed for a long time, so I feel I have a pretty good understanding of his game.
What stands out is that while his overall game is very solid, the real strength is his iron play. That’s the area that allows him to compete with the very best when everything clicks.
If you’ve read or watched my content before, you’ll know I’m a big fan of players who can consistently hit that soft two to three-yard fade. For me, it’s one of the most controlled shots in golf, and when Jaeger gets that working, he can be absolutely brilliant with his irons.
There are certain players who, when they’re dialled in, can attack flags all day long, and Jaeger is definitely one of them. That quality iron play has helped him put together some strong results this season.
He finished tied 5th at the Farmers Insurance Open, tied 7th at the Valspar Championship, tied 9th at the Byron Nelson, and also recorded a top 20 finish at the PGA Championship, which was the only Major he was in this season.
Those are the results of a player with plenty of ability, and it’s worth remembering he’s already a PGA Tour winner after landing the Texas Open in 2024.
When you look at his profile, there is a lot to like. He may not be the most obvious selection in the field, but he has all the tools required to go well around Sedgefield. If the irons warm up, he can generate plenty of birdie chances, and that’s exactly what you need at this venue.
In fact, he sits in 17th in the birdie rate rankings this season. At 100/1 or bigger with most firms, I just think the price underestimates his chances. He doesn’t need to win very often to make those odds appealing, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see him significantly outperform market expectations this week. A really likeable player.
3. Keith Mitchell (+6500)
I’ve always been a big fan of Keith Mitchell, and this looks like a course where he should have a genuine chance. His overall record at Sedgefield isn’t quite as strong as you might expect given how well the course appears to suit him on paper, but his best result here came on his most recent visit when he finished tied 12th. That feels much more in line with the type of player he is matched to the sort of golf course this is.
Mitchell is known for being long off the tee, but what I like is that he combines that power with a decent level of accuracy. He’s a versatile player who can shape the ball both ways, control his wedges well, and his putting has improved significantly over the last couple of seasons.
All of that has helped him put together a strong campaign, with six top 25 finishes including a tied 6th at the Cognizant Classic, fifth at the Byron Nelson, and an excellent tied fourth at the US Open. Shooting four rounds of 70 at a US Open takes some doing, and that was a seriously impressive effort.
He also arrives here in good form. Ten of his last 14 rounds have been in the 60s, which suggests his game is in a really good place heading into the week. The underlying numbers back that up too.
This is a tournament where birdies are essential, and Mitchell has the profile of a player who can make plenty of them. He ranks 11th on the PGA Tour in birdie average, sits 13th in greens in regulation, and is comfortably inside the top 30 for scoring average. Add in his length off the tee and he has a lot of tools that should help him take advantage of a course where low scoring is usually required.
There is a lot to like about his profile this week. Of course, stats and course fit only take you so far and he still has to go out and perform, but all the signs are positive. When you combine that with the price available, I think he makes plenty of appeal from a betting perspective.
4. Ryo Hisatsune (+6000)
I have backed Ryo Hisatsune a few times this season, and it hasn’t really gone to plan. However, I know enough about him as a player to know his best game brings him in with a decent chance this week.
He is very much a solid all-around player who looks very comfortable on the PGA Tour, and it would be no surprise to see him break his maiden on the big stage sooner or later. He does already have a win on the DP World Tour having taken the French Open in 2023, and the fact he seen out a big tournament is always a positive.
This season on the PGA Tour he has enjoyed a really professional campaign. He has made 21 cuts in 22 starts, and he has five top 10 finishes including a runner up effort early on in the season in the Farmers Insurance Open. The 23-year-old has played in three majors this season and made the cut each time, so he is a proper well-rounded, mature youngster on the up.
He can certainly score well here too. Considering he is new to the PGA Tour, Hisatsune sits in 10th on greens in regulation, and he is the number one putter from five to ten feet. He ticks a lot of boxes, and after tipping him to win his debut DP World Tour title, I would love to do the same on the PGA Tour too. He has a chance for sure.
5. Kris Ventura (+12500)
Kris Ventura makes my squad for a less technical reason to the rest of the squad, and more because I like how in control he looks to be with his golf swing right now. His ball striking has been fantastic in the last few weeks and is bringing him into tournaments that he wouldn’t typically be fancied for.
He has only made six cuts this season, which is a poor effort, but he is starting to show his better golf in recent weeks and it could be worth siding with him whilst the iron is hot. Between the Myrtle Beach Classic and the John Deere, he missed five cuts in a row, but he has made his last four which includes two tied 5th effort, and some good scoring in the 60s.
The best part of his game in recent weeks has been his driving and his putting. His irons have improved too in the last four weeks and that seems to be what’s really made the difference. He is available at 125/1 this week, and whilst he is in really good nick, he has just sneaked into my final squad for smaller stakes.
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