Inside the Field: The Honda Classic

How the field qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship as of 4/26/19: Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Day Rory McIlroy Jimmy Walker Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Webb Simpson Winner – The Masters Sergio Garcia Patrick Reed Danny Willett Winner – The Open Championship Zach Johnson Henrik Stenson Winner – World Golf Championships Event Hideki Matsuyama Phil Mickelson Justin Rose Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard & the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Ryan Armour Daniel Berger Jonas Blixt Keegan Bradley Paul Casey Cameron Champ Brice Garnett Cody Gribble Adam Hadwin Brian Harman Russell Henley J.B. Holmes Charles Howell III Mackenzie Hughes Adam Long Keith Mitchell Rod Pampling Pat Perez D.A. Points Ted Potter, Jr. Kyle Stanley Brendan Steele Chris Stroud Hudson Swafford Martin Trainer Jhonattan Vegas Aaron Wise Gary Woodland Career Money Exemption Ernie Els Padraig Harrington Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Jonathan Byrd John Senden Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Tom Lovelady Alvaro Ortiz PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Steve Scott Life Member Davis Love III Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Tony Finau Chez Reavie Byeong Hun An Chesson Hadley Luke List Beau Hossler Jason Kokrak Peter Uihlein Chris Kirk Whee Kim Stewart Cink Nick Watney Kevin Streelman Joel Dahmen Kelly Kraft Tom Hoge Scott Stallings Danny Lee Ollie Schniederjans Anirban Lahiri Trey Mullinax Brandon Harkins Harold Varner III Rory Sabbatini Richy Werenski Sung Kang Tyler Duncan Seamus Power Martin Laird J.T. Poston Vaughn Taylor Sam Saunders Ryan Blaum Scott Brown Nick Taylor Bud Cauley Harris English Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Joaquin Niemann Major Medical Extension Lucas Glover Freddie Jacobson Smylie Kaufman Jim Herman Brandon Hagy Colt Knost Leading Money Winner from Web.com Tour & Web.com Tour Finals Sungjae Im Denny McCarthy Top 10 and Ties from the Previous Event Sam Burns Michael Thompson Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season (reordered) Adam Schenk Wyndham Clark Roger Sloan Kyoung-Hoon Lee Scott Langley Carlos Ortiz Matt Jones Robert Streb Peter Malnati Julián Etulain Max Homa Chase Wright Anders Albertson Kramer Hickok Roberto Castro Dylan Frittelli Cameron Davis Shawn Stefani Hank Lebioda Jim Knous Sebastián Muñoz Sepp Straka Stephan Jaeger Curtis Luck Cameron Tringale Adam Svensson Seth Reeves Roberto Díaz José de Jesús Rodríguez Fabián Gómez Ben Silverman Kyle Jones Brady Schnell Alex Prugh Joey Garber J.J. Henry Josh Teater John Chin Sangmoon Bae Wes Roach Nicholas Lindheim Chris Thompson Chad Collins Will MacKenzie Zack Sucher 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List (Reordered) Dominic Bozzelli Nate Lashley Johnson Wagner Bill Haas David Hearn

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – What’s your number? It’s more than a pickup line at this week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, where those orbiting the 125th spot in the FedExCup standings are acutely aware of it. The top 125 after this week go directly to the FedExCup Playoffs, which start at Liberty National in just eight days, and also secure their playing status for next season. Others will be left to rue what might have been, and take stock of their options going forward. “It’s obviously a huge week for everybody in the field,� said Brandt Snedeker, who won here last year, when he opened with a 59, and in 2007. “For guys trying to keep their card, for guys trying to move up in the FedExCup points list, for a guy like me who, every point really matters right now trying to solidify a good regular season and get ready – I’m trying to make it to East Lake.� At 32nd in the FedExCup, Snedeker, a nine-time PGA TOUR winner who won the FedExCup in 2012, still has some work to do to get to the season-ender in Atlanta, but he’s looking good for the first two stops in the FedExCup Playoffs, The Northern Trust and the BMW Championship. As it stands now, Lucas Glover (30) would be the last man into the TOUR Championship, which is no small thing for a guy who has played in that tournament just once, in 2009 (T10). “I guess in ’17 I was 50-ish,� Glover said of the last time he was looking this good this late in the season. “Before that it had been a while. The game’s solid. Nothing’s been great; just solid.� Still, solid is a huge upgrade from a year ago at this time, when he was recovering from surgery to repair two meniscus tears in his left knee. “I’ve been working hard a couple years,� he said. “I’m finally healthy. It’s nice to be able to bend down to read a putt and not have to wince.� It’s those near that all-important 125th spot, though, who have the most on the line at Sedgefield, even if their situations are occasionally complicated. Consider the cases of Martin Trainer (128) and Jim Herman (138), who won the Puerto Rico Open and Barbasol Championship, respectively, this season. They will enjoy full status through 2021, but thanks to a spate of missed cuts for each, they have work to do to get to the Playoffs. Then there are those who find themselves way down the list, for whom a “victory� this week could be simply cracking the top 200 to earn a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Here are five players riding the bubble at the Wyndham: Alex Noren (125) – The Bubble Boy at 125th in the FedExCup, Noren finished T12 at the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and T11 at The Open Championship. “I’ve had two pretty good weeks, so the game feels a lot better,� said Noren, who is ranked 44th in the world. “I’m just trying to play good golf and see what happens. It would be nice to make the Playoffs. I’m trying to get to next week and the following week. I’ve been working on hitting it better with the irons, hitting it closer and hitting more greens.� Daniel Berger (131) – Two-time TOUR winner Berger is still looking for a bounce-back after returning from a hand injury. When the best players in the world assembled at TPC Southwind in Memphis for the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational last week, Berger, who’d won twice there, wasn’t qualified. He can still get back to Liberty National, where he clinched the winning point for the U.S. Team at the 2017 Presidents Cup. “It’s taken a whole year,� he said of his comeback from injury. “I’m finally starting to feel good. You take some time off from competitive anything and it’s tough to get back into it.� Andrew Landry (132) – After an energizing third-place finish at the John Deere Classic, he took a week off, then missed the cut at the Barracuda Championship. As the Valero Texas Open champ last year, he’s already exempt next season, but has work to do in order to make the Playoffs. “I’m never super-sharp the first week back off of a break, so that’s kind of why I played Barracuda,� Landry said. “I had sort of a weird first round, but turned it around and shot bogey-free 6 under in the second. Everything is really, really solid right now. This is one of my favorite courses to play. I’m going to contend this week; I have a good feeling about it.� Martin Kaymer (146) – He’s won two majors and THE PLAYERS Championship, but has work to do if he wants to advance to The Northern Trust. “I have to finish in the top six or seven,� said Kaymer, whose third-place finish at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide is his only top-25 result this season. “I think (Sedgefield) is an underrated golf course and is one of the better ones that we play on the PGA TOUR. I’ve played 10 of the last 12 weeks just to try to get my number up and get into the FedExCup Playoffs, so I’ve tried everything I can think of.� Alex Cejka (205) – He’s unconcerned about whether or not he gets inside the top 200 to advance to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. That’s because Cejka will turn 50 and be PGA TOUR Champions eligible at the end of 2020, so the prospect of playing less next year is enticing. “I have no pressure,� he said. “I don’t care if I make top 125 or top 200. I’ve been 17, 18 years out here. I need a little break before I turn 50. … If I make it (inside the top 200), I go to the Finals; if not, it’s even better. I’ve got to work a little on the fitness, a little on the swing, and I’ll still get into some fall events. A lot of my colleagues who are just inside or outside the number – they’re sweating.�

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Webb Simpson was on the verge of shattering the course record at The Players Championship on Friday until he hit into the water on the par-3 17th. He settled for a record-tying 9-under 63 and will take a five-shot lead into the weekend.

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