Wyndham Championship betting preview: Charl Schwartzel tipped to impress

The PGA Tour heads to North Carolina for this week's Wyndham Championship, the final tournament of the regular season. Ben Coley looks at some of those likely to impress.

The Wyndham Championship has attracted a strong field with former champions and Sedgefield regulars Brandt Snedeker and Webb Simpson joined by Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.

And so it should, for this Donald Ross-designed course is a classical par-70, the type of old-fashioned test which remains an important part of the PGA Tour as it battles to make things a tad more complex than grip-it-and-rip-it.

It's with that in mind that big-hitting Koepka, so impressive in climbing to fifth last week after a nightmare start to the PGA Championship, is best overlooked in favour of Billy Horschel.

The reigning FedEx Cup champion will be desperate to get back to top form ahead of the forthcoming Playoffs and there's been plenty to indicate that he's not far away, including another solid week at Whistling Straits where he just faded a little on Sunday.

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Horschel is a superb ball-striker so the tee-to-green test here in Greensboro should be right up his street and, with some encouragement to be taken from his short-game statistics, he looks incredibly close to putting four rounds together and making a late bid for a Presidents Cup spot.

The Presidents Cup will also be at the back of Charl Schwartzel's mind but he has more pressing concerns, being the so-called 'bubble boy' this week.

For those who don't follow the PGA Tour closely enough to know the nuances of the FedEx Cup, in simple terms only the top 125 players are invited to play The Barclays next week and Schwartzel is the man in 125th spot with one event of the regular season to go.

It's possible that Schwartzel gets defensive, knowing a top-30 or so should do it, but this is a major champion we're talking about and he really should be focusing on one thing only – winning. It's been a while, after all, and for a player of such talent he doesn't have enough silverware in the trophy cabinet even if he does have a coveted Green Jacket.

Schwartzel was 14th on his sole previous start in this tournament and having been playing well without reward all summer, perhaps now we'll see him contend for 72 holes.

My last selection from the head of the betting is Paul Casey, who would be a deserving winner having lost two play-offs already this season.

One of those came the week after the US Open, so Casey has proven that he can get straight back on the bike and having recorded his best finish in this event last year, he has a solid-looking profile.

Lastly, with the FedEx Cup again in mind I'll side with Jonas Blixt and Brian Davis at big prices.

Both have shown improved form of late, which in my mind is a clear indication that they know they need results if they're to keep their PGA Tour playing privileges. Neither has gone close here before but Blixt's short-game and Davis's accuracy are both good weapons at this tight, old-fashioned course and both are experienced enough to produce the big week they need.

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