Important week for several Australasians at Wyndham Championship
Adam Scott – good start but still work to do – image Australian Golf Media
At the completion of this week’s Wyndham Championship at the famed Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, only the 70 leading players in the FedEx Cup rankings will advance to the FedEx St Jude Championship, the leading 50 then to the BMW Championship and finally the leading 30 to the Tour Championship in Atlanta on August 21st.
For Australasia’s Ryan Fox (31st), Jason Day (36th) and Min Woo Lee (49th), their progress to the next stage at least is assured, but for several other Australians, this week’s event could well bring an end to their season.
Cam Davis currently in 67th place, Adam Scott (85th) and Karl Vilips (83rd) and Adam Scott (85th) all need finishes of varying success to ensure they remain in the hunt for the riches of the FedEx Cup finals, Scott hoping to avoid missing the finals for just the second occasion since 2007.
For him to do so, Scott will need a two-way tie for 3rd place or better this week at the Wyndham Championship, an event he agonisingly missed out on winning in 2021 when losing a playoff to Kevin Kisner.
Today, Scott made a solid start to his task when he opened with a round of 65 to be sharing 8th place, but while his homeward nine of 31 set him up for such a good start, he still has a lot of chasing to do if he is to achieve his goal of making it to Memphis next week.
“I was trying to stay patient. I wasn’t too concerned about a bit of a slow first nine holes as long as I did put it into gear on the next,” said Scott.
“I’m in that spot where I can’t be too patient, I have to have a go at a few things. I was trying to remind myself of that when I was picking targets out there to be as aggressive as I could.
“I’m going to need to get like 20 under to think of anything, so I better not be 1 under through day one or I’m going to leave myself a lot of work, so nice to make a few birdies. And of course, as much as I think about moving on, I’d like to win this tournament, so that’s — it’s a similar kind of scenario for me.
Such is the congested nature of the leaderboard that the round of 3 under 67 by Vilips has him back in a share of 38th place, and so he too, will need a stunning final 54 holes if he is to cap off his rookie season, in which he has won already, and advance.
Cam Davis is 64th after his round of 68 and has slipped to 69th place in the FedEx Cup ranking but a cut made and perhaps a top 50 finish this week should be enough to get him through.
Ryan Fox is 64th after his opening round of 68 and is now in 32nd position in the rankings and has no concerns about making it to next week and likely to the BMW at least.
