- Kevin Kisner, United States — If he doesn’t suffer a letdown after having at least a share of the lead in the first three rounds in the PGA Championship before fading to a tie for seventh, Kisner (pictured) could make up for it this week in the Wyndham Championship. He has some incentive, too, as he is ninth in the FedExCup point standings and can climb to fifth heading into the playoffs by winning or finishing in a tie for second. Kisner claimed his second PGA Tour victory earlier this year in the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in addition to tying for second in Arnold Palmer Invitational, among his seven finishes in the top 10 this season. He is making his fourth start at Sedgefield Country Club and recorded his second straight top-10 result last year, when he played the last three rounds in 67-67-63 to wind up in a tie for 10th. Two years ago, Kisner posted four scores in the 60s, including a 64 in the second round, en route to a tie for eighth.
- Ryan Moore, United States — Coming off a tie for 13th in the PGA Championship, Moore this week is back at Sedgefield, where he claimed the first of his five PGA Tour victories in 2009. After opening with 64-65, he played the weekend in 70-65 and then beat Kevin Stadler and Jason Bohn in a playoff, sinking a six-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole. Moore is playing at Greensboro for the 10th time, also recording a tie for sixth in 2006 and a tie for 10th two years ago, when he recorded four scores in the 60s. Moore hasn’t won since the John Deere Classic last year, but has eight results in the top 25 this season, including a tie for third in the SBS Championship and a tie for ninth in the Masters, where he was in the chase for his first major title before closing with a 74. He is 67th in the FedExCup standings and needs another solid finish to improve his position heading into the playoffs.
- Chris Stroud, United States — Only two weeks ago, Stroud was outside the FedExCup Playoffs bubble at No. 144 in the point standings. He then claimed his first PGA Tour and professional victory in the Barracuda Championship and followed that with his first top-10 finish in the majors, a tie for ninth in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. That lifted him to 69th in the standings and guaranteed his spot in the playoffs. The 35-year-old Stroud, who claimed that first victory on his 290th start on the circuit, has only one other top-10 finish this season. He recorded a tie for eighth in the Puerto Rico Open, but has finished in the top 25 on seven occasions. He is making his 11th start in the Wyndham Championship, but has missed he cut six times and his best result was a tie for 37th in 2013, when he opened with a 64. However, he has played the best golf of his career in recent weeks.
- Henrik Stenson, Sweden — The highest-ranked player in the world this week in the Wyndham Championship at No. 9, Stenson hopes to play more like the guy who once was No. 1. The Big Swede needs a high finish in his first appearance in Greensboro to improve his position in the FedExCup standings, as he comes in at No. 75, his worst spot since 2012. The 2013 FedExCup champion, who has not won since claiming his first major victory in the Open Championship last year at Royal Troon, has finished in the top 10 on the PGA Tour only twice this season, when he tied for second in the WGC-HSBC Champions in China and tied for seventh in the Valspar Championship. However, Stenson hasn’t been that far off, as he tied for 11th in his title defense in the Open at Royal Birkdale, tied for 13th last week in the PGA Championship, tied for 16th in the Players Championship and tied for 17th in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
- Kyle Stanley, United States — At No. 17 in the FedExCup point standings, Stanley will be trying to jump into the top 10 this week with a big performance in the Wyndham Championship. He earned his second PGA Tour victory, and first since the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open, earlier this year in the Quicken Loans National. He tied for fourth in the Players Championship in addition to tying for sixth in the Memorial Tournament. Stanley has had a bit of a letdown since winning Tiger Woods’ tournament early last month, with his best result in the last four events a tie for 41st in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and he also missed the cut in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. After missing the cut in his first three starts at Sedgefield and tying for 51st in 2015, he posted four scores in the 60s last year, including a 65 in round two, to tie for 14th.
- Webb Simpson, United States — The 2002 PGA champion in 2012 at Harding Park in San Francisco, Simpson made a solid comeback in his latest appearance in the final major of the year last week after opening with a 76, making the cut and then climbing back to a tie for 33rd. The Carolina native is looking for much better this week before the home fans in the Wyndham Championship, in which he earned the first of his four PGA Tour victories five years ago by three strokes over George McNeil. Simpson is making his ninth start at Sedgefield, and he also tied for fifth in 2015, tied for sixth in 2016 and tied for eighth in 2010. He has eight results in the top 25 this season, topped by a solo second in the Waste Management Phoenix, and is looking for another strong finish to improve his 37th place position in the FedExCup standings with the playoffs only a week away.
- Billy Horschel, United States — Sitting pretty at No. 21 in the FedExCup standings, Horschel needs to regain his form from earlier in the season to improve his position going into the playoffs. He claimed his fourth PGA Tour victory in the AT&T Byron Nelson, tied for second in the RSM Classic, and tied for fourth in both the St. Jude Classic and the AT&T Byron Nelson, but his best result since was a tie for sixth in the Quicken Loans National. However, Horschel knows what can happen if you get hot at this time of year after he won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship to claim the 2014 FedExCup. He will tee it up for the sixth time in the Wyndham Championship and last year posted his best result at Sedgefield, where he posted four scores of 68 or better to wind up in a tie for fifth. He finished seven strokes behind winner Si Woo Kim of South Korea.
- Jason Dufner, United States — When he captured the Memorial Tournament in June for his sixth PGA Tour victory and followed that with a tie for 14th in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, it seemed Dufner was gearing up for a late summer run. However, he could manage only a tie for 50th in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and a tie for 58th in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. However, it’s been a solid season for the 2013 PGA champion, as he has recorded 11 finishes in the top 25 in 19 starts on the circuit and would love one more to improve on his 22nd place position in the FedExCup standings on the brink of the playoffs. Dufner is making his 10th start in the Wyndham Championship, with his best results a tie for seventh in 2012, when he shot 63 in the third round, and a tie for eighth in 2004, when he opened with a 65 at Sedgefield.
- Bill Haas, United States — At 34th in the FedExCup standings, Haas knows he still has a solid chance in the season-long race since he finished at the top of the heap by winning the 2011 Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. Despite being winless since claiming his sixth PGA Tour victory in the 2015 Humana Challenge, he has 11 results in the top 25 this season, the best coming in big events. Haas tied for fifth in the U.S. Open, finished third in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and tied for fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions. Haas teed it up 12 times previously in the Wyndham Championship, and after missing the cut in each of his first four starts, he has recorded four results in the top 10. The best was a tie for second in 2014, when he closed with a 64 to finish one stroke behind Camilo Villegas of Colombia. Haas also tied for sixth in 2015, tied for seventh in 2012 and tied for 10th in 2009, when he opened with a 62.
- Davis Love III, United States — It’s been pretty much a lost season for Love after he underwent surgery on his right collarbone in January and didn’t play again until April. He has missed the cut in six of his 12 starts, with his best finish a tie for 29th in the Greenbrier Classic, when he showed he still has it by opening with a 63. And you can never count him out ahead of the Wyndham Championship, in which he has collected three of his 21 PGA Tour victories. The most famous came two years ago at the age of 51, when he had bookend 64s to beat Jason Gore by one stroke and become the third-oldest winner in Tour history. Love’s other victories in Greensboro came in 2006 by two strokes over Jason Bohn and in 1992, when he closed with a 62 to win by six strokes over John Cook. He also finished sixth in 1997 and tied for 10th in 2012.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
