Recapping the good and bad from a rainy week at Sedgefield Country Club, where former Duke golfer Max Greyserman made a quadruple-bogey 8 and four-putted for a double-bogey over the final five holes, giving the Wyndham Championship to Aaron Rai.
Rai capped a two-shot victory at 18-under-par 262 with a short birdie putt at No. 18.
THE GOOD
Compelling Finish: The ups and downs of veteran Matt Kuchar, amateur Luke Clanton and Greyserman provided an excellent Sunday show.
Greyserman was the source of the most drama, though. At No. 13, he holed an approach for an eagle to take what appeared to be a commanding four-stroke lead. That command was short-lived because he hit his tee shot out of bounds at 14 on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 that dropped him into a tie with Aaron Rai.
In Sunday afternoon’s final round, Rai and Ryo Hisatsune were left as Greyserman’s challengers.
First, the popular Kuchar (pictured finishing his third round) emerged from the pack with a second consecutive 64 on a marathon Saturday at Sedgefield Country Club to take the 36-hole lead. Then Clanton eagled both back-nine par-5s on his way to a third-round 62 to pull into a tie for second, only two strokes behind.
Greyserman, who shot 60 in the second round, closed with 66 and 69 — 38 on the back nine.
With a victory, the 46-year-old Kuchar could have extended his streak as the only player to play in each FedEx Cup Playoffs since it began in 2007. Kuchar entered the tournament No. 113 in the FedEx Cup rankings, needing a victory to make the top 70.
So, despite a field missing most of the game’s superstars, the Wyndham again provided a compelling finish, complete with another popular winner with connections to the region.
As far the race to finish in the top 70, typically the top storyline for the Wyndham, not a single player jumped into a playoff spot by virtue of a good finish at Sedgefield.
Sedgefield Country Club: The traditional Donald Ross layout continued to hold up with high rough and treacherous greens providing ample difficulty. On Saturday, we saw Cameron Young hit his approach over the pin to the back tier of the 12rh green then putt off the green and make double-bogey. On Sunday, Aaron Rai, in contention playing with Kuchar and Greyserman, watched his chip from in front of the ninth green hit on the green and roll back off the putting surface.
CBS Coverage: Give credit to CBS for deciding to stick with the final round of the Wyndham through its conclusion on Sunday. The network’s original time slot was 3-6 p.m. And kudos to the deal arranged with the PGA Tour for GolfChannel to take over CBS’ coverage of Saturday’s extended play.
Sedgefield Grounds Crew: With more than 5 inches of rain dumped on the course in fewer than two days, the grounds crew at Sedgefield and PGA Tour staff did marvelous work making the course playable. Though obviously more receptive to approaches, Sedgefield’s undulating Bermuda greens remained fast and tricky. Lift, clean and place and preferred lies made it possible for players to stick approaches from the fairways.
Pro-Am Goes On: Though nobody except the sponsors who pay big money to play with the pros cares, the Wyndham Championship pro-ams were unaffected, played before Hurricane Debby arrived in full force. The pro-am spots, often part of larger sponsorship packages, pay a lot of the bills, so getting in the pro-ams is very important.
THE BAD
Truist Buys Charlotte: Did you notice that Truist sneaked in its announcement about ponying up big bucks (estimated at $200 million) for a seven-year deal to be title sponsor of the former Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte on Wyndham week, when the dwindling local media was focused on Sedgefield?
BB&T, headquartered for years in Winston-Salem before its merger into Truist, was a presenting sponsor of the Greensboro tournament, and Truist has remained a presenting sponsor of the Wyndham after setting up home with the former SunTrust Bank in Charlotte.
Wyndham has been a generous sponsor and kept the PGA Tour’s longest-running event in Greensboro. The hotel chain’s deal extends through 2026. No extension has been announced.
Wouldn’t it have been nice for BB&T (or Truist) to increased its sponsorship in Greensboro in years past to make this weekend’s tournament one of the PGA Tour’s premier events with the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy in the field?
No Sir Nick: I miss Nick Faldo as the analyst on CBS. I admit it. I always rooted against him while he was a player. As a proud American, I would never call him “Sir” just because he was a great golfer. As a player, Faldo was a mechanical man who had no interest in the galleries and total contempt for the media.
“I thank you all from the heart of my bottom,” Faldo once told the media at a news conference.
Faldo’s all-par final round to win the 1987 British Open at Muirfield may have been one of the dullest major championship finishes ever. I remember him running through galleries at Augusta National to avoid fans and hiding to smoke cigarettes.
Maybe he was justified in hating the press. I recall the British tabloids (in the media building) mocking him as “Faldope” and “Fooldo” after he hit the wrong ball from high grass at Shinnecock Hills in the 1995 U.S. Open. Maybe he was uncomfortable with the attention.
But Faldo was an outstanding TV analyst, the best in my book — better than Johnny Miller. Faldo, who retired to a ranch in Montana after last year’s Wyndham telecast, was candid, fair and shared some great stories. He provided insight only a player of his caliber could provide. Maybe he can be coaxed out of retirement.
More CBS: Jim Nantz, golf’s premier lead announcer, showed the effects of a long Saturday, referring to the Wyndham as the “John Deere Classic” before quickly correcting himself. No big deal, except Nantz rarely makes such mistakes.
Not sure about everyone else, but my appreciation of pretty, bubbly Amanda Balionis is waning. Ever since she dropped the last name of husband Bryn Renner, was seen out without her wedding ring and posted pics from girls night out in Las Vegas — while rumors surrounded her relationship with Rory McIlroy, who had announced a divorce he has since called off, Balionis’ girl-next-door image is gone. Her gushing interviews are getting stale.
Raining on the Party: Hurricane Debby dampened not only the Sedgefield course, but the hospitality spirit over the weekend. Weekend crowds seemed much smaller than in the past. As players finished late Saturday, the luxury boxes around the final green were largely empty in television shots. To be fair, bad weather, resulting in a crazy schedule, was a major factor.
GOOD AND BAD
Tournament organizers succeeded in finishing the tournament on Sunday, a result good for television, spectators and most of the players. That’s good. Nobody has to come back on Monday. The PGA Tour has its top 70 ready for the upcoming weekend’s tournament.
The bad was not having the leaders battling head-to-head in the final round. The third-round pairings were used for the last 18 holes. The result was third-round leader Greyserman, Kuchar and Rai playing an hour or so behind Clanton, who started the final round on the back nine despite shooting 62 in the third round to move to second place.
