If the 2022 Wyndham Championship is anything like last year’s event, the fans in North Carolina are in for quite a treat.
Kevin Kisner made a four-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to end a six-man playoff at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro last year to claim his fourth PGA Tour title and defeat Branden Grace, Roger Sloan, Adam Scott, Si Woo Kim and Kevin Na. It was just the third time in Tour history and the first time since 2001 that a tournament was decided in a six-man playoff.
The 38-year-old Kisner is back to defend his title in the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season before the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs next week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. The race is on, not only for the playoffs, but to earn Presidents Cup points for the upcoming matches against Trevor Immelman and the International squad at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 19-25.
Here are three storylines to follow at the 2022 Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event on the PGA Tour schedule.
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Poston aiming for pick
JT Poston has made just 11 cuts in 26 events played this season, but the 29-year-old has taken advantage of his weekend rounds when earned. Seven of those 11 cuts resulted in top-25 finishes, with four inside the top 10 including a T-2 at the Travelers Championship in June and a win at the John Deere Classic the very next week.
The North Carolina native is now No. 21 in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 15 in the Presidents Cup standings as he returns to Sedgefield, the site of his first PGA Tour win back in 2019.
“Yeah, a lot of great memories here, getting my first win. It’s nice to be back in the home state of North Carolina; a lot of familiar faces, a lot of family, friends, college teammates. Everybody comes and shows some support and follows me around,” said Poston, who’s hoping to feed off 2019 and his summer momentum to finish the season strong.
JT Poston poses with the Sam Snead Trophy after winning the 2019 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. (Photo: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)
“My goals are to win and make a run at the FedEx Cup, make it to Atlanta. I’ve never been to Atlanta, so that’s definitely a goal of mine,” explained Poston of his desire to advance to the Tour Championship, the season finale at East Lake in Atlanta. “And then the Presidents Cup team. (captain Davis Love III) has kind of been a mentor down in (Sea Island, Georgia) where I live and got to know him really well. It would be such an honor to be on that team and play in the state of North Carolina, in Charlotte. Would make it that much more special.”
Poston’s hometown of Hickory is just 55 miles north of Charlotte, home of Quail Hollow.
“I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, I know there are a lot of guys that are ahead of me that have probably had a more steady, consistent season than I have, but at the end of the day it’s up to Davis to decide who’s on that team and I’m going to do my best to make a good case for myself.”
Why not Will?
If you’re looking for a confident player to place a wager on this week, look no further than the 2021 Rookie of the Year, Will Zalatoris. One of the hottest players on Tour over the last two years, Zalatoris is still looking for that elusive first win despite a collection of close calls.
“Yeah, I think it’s something that just has to come. The part to me that kind of stands out is that I haven’t really lost a tournament, I’ve kind of been very close and, if anything, it’s been Thursday through Saturday, not really Sunday,” Zalatoris said of his winless record . “So I think what I’ve been kind of joking that I’d pay a lot of money for about an inch and a half over the last year. I think we need to keep doing what we’re doing. I’m putting up some nice rounds, just have to keep staying patient.”
Will Zalatoris reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the US Open golf tournament. (Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)
Over 21 starts this season, Zalatoris has made the cut 16 times and finished inside the top 10 half the time. He has three runners-up finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open, PGA Championship and US Open. The 25-year-old who attended nearby Wake Forest University said he gained perspective around the 150th Open Championship when he was frequently asked about his shot at the career grand slam of major championship runner-up finishes.
“I said, ‘I haven’t even played 10 majors yet, we’re talking about me finishing second in all of them. So we kind of need to just stay patient and keep doing what we’re doing,” Zalatoris explained.
So why do we love him this week? He knows the course like the back of his hand.
“I love this place, I know it really well,” Zalatoris said of Sedgefield. “Quite frankly, I don’t even really need a yardage book around this place, I know it that well.”
Bubble boys
Sedgefield doubles as the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale but also as the last-chance saloon for players to earn a spot inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup standings to qualify for the first playoff event next week. Those in the top 200 who fail to crack the top 125 have a shot at the Korn Ferry Tour finals, set for Sept. 1-4 at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
Since 2009, less than three players on average per year have played their way into the top 125 on the final week of the year, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t likely to see some movement. After all, the last five players in and the first five players out are currently just separated by 44 points.
Stewart Cink (116), Webb Simpson (117), Rickie Fowler (123), Cameron Champ (130) and Francesco Molinari (133) are notable names near the cutoff line. At the top of the pack is Masters champion and four-time winner this year, Scottie Scheffler, who leads the way by more than a thousand points at 3,555,983. Cameron Smith is second, followed by Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
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Story originally appeared on GolfWeek