This week, the PGA TOUR heads to Philadelphia for the Truist Championship. The event is played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club on the Wissahickon Course, a 7,100 yard+ Par 71.
I wrote a little about the course (see below) in this week’s PGA Cheat Sheet for the Truist Championship on DK Network.
“Unlike next week, where players will be on a much longer course where brute strength off the tee will play a bigger factor, this week looks more about precision and the ability to handle the tiered greens (which are likely to play fast and present tons of challenges). Tillinghast has designed several courses in this region, including Ridgeway CC, Bethpage and Winged Foot, so there are some comparables and past leaderboards to look at. However, with this venue being renovated recently and never seen on the PGA, it will undoubtedly be a new experience for everyone.
For DFS, looking to emphasize recent form will be key. I would take a longer viewpoint this week and include results from before the first major, as there have been some easier courses in play of late, including last week at TPC Craig Ranch, which doesn’t have much, if anything, in common with this week’s venue. Good approach stats and around the green stats in long-term form should be emphasized as well as players who have shown good results at some of the more recent Tillinghast venues in play at the 2020 US Open and 2018 and 2015 Northern Trust playoff events.”
This course should test players’ all-around ability. They’ll need to navigate quick sloping greens and avoid heavy bunkering in the fairways where placement should reign over power. It’s not a long course, but the fact we have some wind in the forecast and the tougher greenside structures should provide lots of challenges. I’m looking for players with good records on Tillinghast designs but who also have good recent form and great around-the-green games.
DraftKings Pick6 has full tournament totals up for this week, so I’ll again be focusing on FULL TOURNAMENT totals, specifically finishing positions (“Better Than” or “Worse Than”).
Sungjae Im Better Than 22.5 Finishing Position
I like the way Im sets up for this week’s course. While he has been losing strokes on approach, the South Korean keeps gaining every week off the tee and around the greens, and it’s a formula that propelled him to a couple of big rounds at Augusta last month, where he finished T-5. Im also finished T-11 in his last start at Hilton Head and comes into this week starting to look like the player who booked six top-12 finishes last summer in a seven-event span.
While you could argue his lack of upside with his irons may hold him back, the rest of his game is so steady that with a 22.5 finishing total, it’s hard to be bearish on him in this spot. I’d much rather use this opportunity to buy the dip so to speak and build around him outperforming on a course that should emphasize short game and consistent off the tee play.
Patrick Cantlay Better Than 16.5 Finishing Position
Even with a total well under 20.0, I don’t see much reason to fade Cantlay this week. He’s played well most of the season and continues to gain on approach almost every week, but he is still waiting for the putter to ignite and propel him to a massive week. However, even with a wonky putter, Cantlay has still managed to finish T-13 or better in four of his last eight starts and should be a good fit stylistically for this venue.
He’s won in this portion of the USA before (both FedEx Cup playoff events), and his record in these short-field signature/playoff events is hard to argue with. While he doesn’t win that often, he’s accumulated nine finishes of T-15 or better over his last 15 PGA starts, and six of those have come in either a signature field or playoff event. I don’t have an issue with being bullish on him even with this lower finishing total.
Taylor Pendrith Worse Than 27.5 Finishing Position
I’ll just keep fading Pendrith in this column until it doesn’t work. It worked again last week, where he missed the cut at the same course he won on in 2024, and with the Canadian still having a finishing position in DraftKings Pick6 that will require him to finish in the top 40% of the field to beat his total, I like the same play again this week.
Pendrith also seems like a poor fit for this Tillinghast design, which places more of an emphasis on precision than power. He’s now lost strokes around the green in an incredible nine straight starts, and while his approach game came to life a little last week, his putting has also been erratic. I suspect we’ll see him get it together over the summer, but he still looks overvalued for DFS and Pick6 play, so fading him remains optimal in my opinion.
Min Woo Lee Worse Than 32.5 Finishing Position
Lee is another player who is currently slumping and may not be a great fit for this week’s course. A winner at Houston earlier in the season, which was much longer and played more as a US Open style setup, that may not necessarily be the case this week in Philadelphia, given the shorter course.
Regardless of fit, Lee is just not playing very well at the moment. Since his win, he’s finished T-49 and T-61 in his last two starts and has been losing strokes on approach at a high rate. Next week’s test at Quail Hollow should be a much better setup for Lee, as his distance will play a bigger factor off the tee on the lengthy Par 71 setup. However, I’m fine fading him this week. Even with a 32.5 finishing position, he’d need to finish well inside the top half of the field to beat his total, which I’m not confident in him doing at the moment.
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