Abraham Ancer … At 84th in the FedExCup standings, this is a tune-up for his Playoffs debut, but it’s not as if he’s backing in. Sat out two weeks since a solo fifth at the RBC Canadian Open to close out the month of July that opened with a T4 at the Quicken Loans National. The 27-year-old has four top 10s among seven top 20s on the season. The strength of his game is that the sum of his parts has vastly improved since he flamed out as a rookie in 2015-16. He now knows that he belongs on this stage. Danny Lee … Situated 107th in FedExCup points, he’s headed to the Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Didn’t turn things around until a T7 at THE PLAYERS that sparked a strange 5-for-9 run during which all of his cuts made resulted in top 25s, including a T6 in his last start at the RBC Canadian Open. Despite the surge, he’s experienced the opposite at Sedgefield where he’s 0-for-4 since 2012. Thtat explains why he lands in this space this week. Johnson Wagner … The 38-year-old resident of nearby Charlotte is 136th in the FedExCup standings. It’s familiar positioning as he’s finished in the 126-150 bubble three times. This is to say that while he’d prefer a higher rung on the ladder, he’s not uncomfortable in the circumstances. He descends for his ninth appearance at Sedgefield having connected paydays in his last six starts this summer. He can also tap into the confidence of a T5 here in 2016 and a similarly close call last year when he sat solo fifth after 54 holes before fading for a T24. Currently 16th on TOUR in strokes gained: putting, fourth in scrambling, T4 in par-3 scoring and T21 in par-4 scoring. Ricky Barnes … With cuts made in his last four starts, including a T17 at Glen Abbey, he struts in with a similar slate as he did before last year’s personal-best T16 at the Wyndham Championship, his third top 25 in six appearances. His scoring average in his last 14 rounds at Sedgefield is 68.29. The experience alone helps mitigate his tee-to-green struggles. It also can permit his talented small-ball game take over. Ranks third on the PGA TOUR in par-3 scoring, 42nd in strokes gained: putting and 11th in birdies-or-better percentage with the putter. John Oda … Fellow non-member T.J. Vogel has been generating headlines all season what with, count ’em, eight successful attempts at open qualifying, including for this week’s Wyndham Championship, but Oda has made the most of his four bids. The 22-year-old from Honolulu has totaled the equivalent of 193.133 FedExCup points as compared to Vogel’s 50.750. Oda would slot 165th among members; Vogel 205th. Oda has two top 10s on the season, including a T3 in his last start at the Barracuda Championship (where he four-spotted). That yielded his exemption into the field of 156 at Sedgefield. He’ll need no worse than a solo third to threaten the top 125 in FedExCup points. Should he fall short, he’ll still enter the Web.com Tour Finals with momentum. Meanwhile, Vogel needs no worse than a two-way T42 just to put himself in position to qualify for the Finals.
Click here to read the full article…
