Smith stung by hornets, high scores in golf debut

2019 The Honda Classic, End of Round 2: Top 10 win probabilities: Sungjae Im (T1, -6): 12.7% Brooks Koepka (T4, -4): 10.7% Lucas Glover (3, -5): 10.3% Keith Mitchell (T1, -6): 9.8% Sergio Garcia (T13, -3): 5.1% Danny Lee (T4, -4): 3.8% Adam Schenk (T4, -4): 3.1% Rickie Fowler (T32, -1): 2.8% Ryan Armour (T4, -4): 2.6% Sung Kang (T4, -4): 2.6% Best second round performances: SG: Total: Sungjae Im / Adam Svensson (+7.45) SG: Off-the-tee: Ryan Palmer (+1.66) SG: Approach: Grayson Murray (+3.91) SG: Around-the-green: Adam Svensson (+3.43) SG: Putting: Austin Cook (+3.94) NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut�, “Top 20�, “Top 5�, and “Win� probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 10K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of The Honda Classic, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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The final regular season event of the 2021-2022 PGA TOUR schedule lands at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the Wyndham Championship. RELATED: Expert Picks | Power Rankings The final 125 places on the FedExCup Playoffs Eligibility Points List will be determined after 72 holes this weekend. Those qualifying will head to TPC Southwind next week to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs in Memphis. Since this is regular season GRAND FINALE, time to debut the new look of this column. The focus moving forward will be on the players who play the best on this track. Need more details about the course? Read Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings. Need more details about the field and history of the event? Read Adam Stanley’s The First Look. The important statistics you have become accustomed to have not been forgotten. I’ll have another column this week focused on the key stats at Sedgefield. I’ll take a look at the crucial components of going low here and who on TOUR matches up well given their form this season. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out with suggestions/thoughts/ideas as this idea is always evolving! Sedgefield is a perfect course and Wyndham is a perfect event to debut this idea. Since 2008 Greensboro has turned to Donald Ross’ Sedgefield Country Club to host the final event of the PGA TOUR season. Kris Spence spruced the place up in 2007 before the TOUR arrived and the only other major change to the property was removing Bentgrass greens and replacing them with Champion Bermudagrass in 2012. The Par-70 layout features just two par fives and the famous back to front tilt of Donald Ross green complexes. Kevin Kisner won a six-man playoff last season and returns to defend his title. Let’s see if he gets a run in the top five horses for this course. Horses for Courses High Five Webb Simpson (BetMGM odds. Win: +2200, Top 5: +400, Top 10: +190, Top 20: -125, Top 40: -250) The Wake Forest Arnold Palmer Scholarship recipient picked up his first TOUR victory in Greensboro in 2011 and hasn’t looked back. His annually annuity has produced 12 paydays from 13 starts and nine have produced top 10 returns. The streak is currently at five and seven of his last eight visits. Outside of T72 in 2016 and T22 in defense in 2012 every other payday is T11 or better. In 50 rounds his scoring average is a scalding 66.66. Yes, his daughter is named Wyndham for a reason! Si Woo Kim (BetMGM odds. Win: +2500, Top 5: +450, Top 10: +200, Top 20: -125, Top 40: -250) The youngest winner (21) ran away to victory in 2016 on the back of setting the then course record of 60 in the second round. His five-stroke victory announced his arrival on TOUR as did his equaling of the tournament record at the time (-21). I’ll argue he set the course record after the change to Champion Bermuda and he did so by three shots, adding to his impressive totals. Kim was unable to defend his title after some niggling injuries and upon return in 2018 he missed the cut but that’s not surprising for a player ‘defending’ for the first time. He’s now rattled off 50-under par the last three seasons and picked up checks for solo fifth, T3 and P2. In 20 rounds he’s posted 65 or better eight times. Kevin Kisner (BetMGM odds. Win: +4000, Top 5: +750, Top 10: +350, Top 20: +170, Top 40: -150) The defending champion has never missed out on the weekend on his preferred surface of Bermuda at Sedgefield. His lucky number seven last season backed up his T3 from 2020 as he sits 33-under in the last two seasons. Big picture shows us he posted four top five finishes in his last five visits. I’ll point out this streak stretches back to 2014 so he’s not an annual arrival. Muscle memory is on point as 26 of 28 are rounds of par or better and 23 of 28 are in the red, including the last 15. Russell Henley (BetMGM odds. Win: +2200, Top 5: +450, Top 10: +200, Top 20: -125, Top 40: -225) Opened last year with 62 to throw down his marker after closing 63-65 in 2020 for T9. His lead ballooned to four shots at the halfway point and was three after 54 holes. Missing a four-footer at the last and signing for 71 cost him a spot in the six man playoff and resigned him to T7. There’s too many good things over the last two years to let one putt or one round cause any concern. Heck, he posted 12-under in 2019 (T31) to run his three-year total here to 42-under. Billy Horschel (BetMGM odds. Win: +2000, Top 5: +350, Top 10: +165, Top 20: -135, Top 40: -275) The veteran and former FedExCup champ hasn’t played since 2020 when he was runner up with an impressive 20-under 260. He’s now racked up four T11 or better in his last five visits to Sedgefield. Big Billy is also eight of nine in his career when it comes to cashing at the event with a career scoring average of 67.38 from 34 rounds. His last 23 rounds are par or better at Sedgefield at 66.83 and the last 12 of those… well that’s a tasty 65.83! Odds sourced on Tuesday, August 2nd at 2 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Pipped at the Post Sungjae Im has a pair of top 10s and a T24 from three visits and yields a 66.42 scoring average. Denny McCarthy has never MC in four tries and his worst payday is T26. Posts a scoring average of 66.81. Rory Sabbatini returned after T8 in 2013 with T4 in 2017 and hasn’t left again. His last three years here are T10-MC-T6 and has posted a 63 and 64 in those top 10s. Adam Scott returned for the first time since 2015 and posted 64-65 to join the playoff where he finished P2. Harris English hasn’t missed in seven tries and carries a 67.50 on 28 rounds. Veteran Scott Piercy has cashed in his last seven visits. Richy Werenski and CT Pan have never gone home empty handed from four tries. Russell Knox has carried his cut streak to four straight while Tyler Duncan and Mark Hubbard are on three in a row. Other past champions in the field this week include 2020 winner Jim Herman who also has a T11 and T18 to his credit over six starts. The 2019 champion JT Poston, who became the first player since 1971 to WIN a tournament while being bogey free, has MC in three other trips after T50 on debut. Davis Love III became one of the oldest winners on TOUR with his 2015 victory here, his third at the event since his debut in 1986! Camilo Villegas, the 2014 title holder, returned for the first time since 2017 and posted T46 last year. Any winners before the change to Bermuda are NOT included.

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