Expert predictions: Wyndham Rewards Top 10

Will Brooks Koepka successfully defend his title? Or will somebody else claim the $2 million bonus? The second season of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 race begins with this week’s season-opening event, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The top 10 players in the FedExCup standings after the final event of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship, will receive bonuses out of the $10 million total pool. Related: WYNDHAM REWARDS TOP 10: How it works, standings, more Koepka claimed first place last season to enter the FedExCup Playoffs as the top seed. Eventual FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy finished second, followed by Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey, Webb Simpson and Jon Rahm in the 10th spot. We asked our PGATOUR.COM writers for their predictions for the 2019-20 season – the winner, the top 10 lock, and a surprise choice. Here are their responses: WHO WILL WIN? MIKE McALLISTER (Managing Editor): Justin Thomas. He finished second in regular-season points in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons before dropping to 17th last season while battling a nagging wrist injury. He showed in the Playoffs that he’s back to full strength. SEAN MARTIN (Senior Editor): Rory McIlroy. He’s coming off the most consistent season of his career, and there’s no reason to think he won’t have a strong follow-up to his FedExCup victory. BEN EVERILL (Staff Writer): Brooks Koepka. The sting of defeat to Rory in the FedExCup finale will fuel another regular-season rise for Brooks, leaving him as the winner of the first two Wyndham Rewards titles.  CAMERON MORFIT (Staff Writer): Rory McIlroy. Upon winning the FedExCup, McIlroy said it was a season in which he easily could have won more. I agree. It was almost a fluke that he didn’t, and I think that little edge, that little swagger that comes from being the only other multiple FedExCup winner besides Tiger, puts him over the top as your year two Wyndham Rewards winner.  TOP 10 LOCK? McALLISTER: Dustin Johnson. Yes, I’m aware he’s having off-season knee surgery. And yes, I’m assuming he’ll make a quick recovery. He’s finished in the regular-season top 10 in the last six seasons. I fully expect him to make it seven straight. MARTIN: Justin Thomas. A wrist injury and some of the worst putting of his career didn’t prevent him from finishing third in this season’s FedExCup Playoffs. He’s won nine times over the past three seasons, and I think he’s primed for another big season. EVERILL: Rory McIlroy. There’s no way McIlroy is going backwards in my eyes after his season. So that means he’ll either be second again or beat out my above choice, Brooks.  MORFIT: Brooks Koepka. It was no accident that Koepka was the inaugural Wyndham Rewards winner. He’s so good from tee to green, thrives on the big stage, and is a great putter, besides. There’s no way he won’t make the top 10.  SURPRISE TOP 10 PICK? McALLISTER: Sungjae Im. Don’t know if it would be a huge surprise, given that he was 23rd in points in his rookie season last year. Once again, he’ll likely play more events than anybody else (and thus, gives himself more opportunities for points). Unlike last season, I expect him to win at least one tournament this time. That should push him inside the top 10. MARTIN: Viktor Hovland. He’s a machine, and as a rookie playing out of the Korn Ferry Tour category, he’ll have inspiration to play a lot early. EVERILL: Cameron Smith. After a few seasons of peaks and valleys, the young Australian will finally figure out a way to play solid all season long. He will springboard into 2020 off the back of a great Presidents Cup performance.  MORFIT: Matthew Wolff. This guy is only going to get more comfortable and more dangerous as he gets used to playing the TOUR. And he’s already plenty dangerous.

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