Golf betting tips: Final-round preview and best bets for Wyndham Championship
Russell Henley holds a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the Wyndham Championship, but will he convert it? Ben Coley has his say.
Golf betting tips: Wyndham Championship
2pts Sungjae Im to win his three-ball at 5/4 (General)
The third round of the Wyndham Championship was a curious affair in some ways, classic moving day in others. It was more European than PGA Tour, as the best scores all came from the early starters before those in the final few groups struggled, yet not to the extent that the leaderboard dramatically changed shape. There was a pedestrian quality to the final nine holes, in which the most dramatic moment was Webb Simpson making a triple-bogey, but despite it the actual difference come the end of play is that Simpson's four-shot deficit is now five and the same man holds the lead.
Continuity at the very top comes from Russell Henley who, despite a quiet round which ended with a three-putt bogey, holds a three-shot advantage. It will have been a pleasant surprise to Henley that he was able to shoot 69 at a course like Sedgefield and not find himself surrounded by the likes of Simpson and Justin Rose, and though he wouldn't say it, the fact that PGA Tour maiden Tyler McCumber is now his closest pursuer is a real result.
Now a shade of odds-on across the board and evens on the exchanges, Henley has a golden opportunity to win for the first time since 2017, and in doing so return to the world's top 50. It's not easy to do it wire-to-wire, and he's converted neither of his clear 54-hole leads, but they were in far stronger company and he looks a very fair price. In fact both leaders should win across the European and PGA Tours on Sunday and the Women's Scottish Open is the place to turn for drama.
Sky Bet's 15/2 about Simpson in the without Henley market looks close to an each-way steal given the four places on offer. He's effectively T7 in this market and nine of his 11 final rounds at Sedgefield, where he secured his first PGA Tour title, may well be enough if repeated. Certainly the 65s he's produced in each of the last two renewals would get that place money and with his approach play firing, it'll be a surprise if he doesn't pass a few this afternoon.
That said there are several course specialists tucked in behind Henley, Kevin Na and Kevin Kisner among them, while Will Zalatoris knows it's win-or-bust if he wants to take part in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and will be firing at flags all day. Zalatoris plays in Simpson's group and while the 11/10 favourite looks fairly priced for this three-ball, I would've preferred to play him in a group with less on the line.
Similarly, Adam Scott looks tempting at 6/4 to beat Rory Sabbatini and Scott Piercy, but Scott needs only to avoid disaster to make the Playoffs and if his winning chance goes, it may well be that he plays more defensively than backers would like. As such I'll turn to pre-tournament selection SUNGJAE IM for the best three-ball wager with very little making genuine appeal.
Im has turned in a somewhat frustrating performance, largely because he putted abysmally on Friday, worst among those who made the cut, yet is only five off the lead. That round began with a tap-in birdie before the putter went missing after he'd hit it tight at his third hole, and one seriously bad day with the flat-stick appears to have cost him all chance.
Nevertheless, he's underlined his love for Sedgefield, where he was bogey-free on both Thursday and Saturday, and as well as ranking sixth in approaches nobody has hit more greens. He looks likely to shoot something better than the field average again today and his two Korean playing partners are far less reliable.
Si Woo Kim is a former winner here but he hit the ball terribly on Saturday, a week after propping up the field in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational. Sunghoon Kang meanwhile has endured a dreadful season, doesn't have much of a record at Sedgefield, and is in a similar position to Zalatoris. Given how erratic he can be I'd be far less certain Kang's need to attack this fiddly course will pay off in the way he needs it to.
Im might yet get the place money but this tournament will likely come down to whether Henley can avoid serious mishaps, and the 32-year-old should be up to the task.
Posted at 0900 BST on 15/08/21
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