The Wyndham Championship tees off this week at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Wyndham Championship: First Round Leader Picks
The Wyndham Championship is being played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sedgefield Country Club is a par 70 golf course and ranges 7,131 yards. The Donald Ross-designed course has hosted the Wyndham Championship every year since 2008. While this course features the typical small and undulating Donald Ross greens, it is a very attackable course overall. The winning score has been 20-under-par or better in seven of the past nine seasons.
This event is the final one on the PGA Tour calendar before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, so this is the last chance for players to qualify and try to break into the field. Keith Mitchell, Gary Woodland, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tom Kim are among the players on the outside of the top-70 looking to qualify for the FedEx Cup with a good performance this week. Matt Fitzpatrick is the favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the Wyndham Championship, followed by Keegan Bradley, Ben Griffin, Jordan Spieth and defending champion Aaron Rai.
Keegan Bradley FRL (+4500)
Keegan Bradley is having a great season on the PGA Tour. He won the Travelers Championship and has finished in the top 25 in nine of his 17 events played. He is supposed to be the captain of the Ryder Cup team in September, but that has become a point of controversy. Bradley has created a problem for himself by playing his way into contention for the team. Bradley currently ranks 10th on the US Ryder Cup points list. He will soon need to make a decision to either remain as captain or put himself on the team and pass some of the leadership duties off to his vice captains. Some strong performances down the stretch would make Bradley’s decision even easier.
Keegan Bradley will be in the FedEx Cup Playoffs no matter his performance this week, and is one of the few players using this as a tune-up for that run. That care-free attitude could allow Bradley to come out and go low in the opening round. Bradley has shot in the 60s in the opening round of each of his past six non-major starts, including 64s in two of those rounds. Bradley has performed well at courses like this so far this season. He should be able to bomb it down the fairway, and if the putter gets hot, he has a great chance to win. He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained this season and has a great chance to finish atop the leaderboard on Thursday.
Aaron Rai FRL (+5000)
Aaron Rai is another player with a lot of incentive to perform well over the next few weeks. He is going to be in the FedEx Cup Playoffs as well, but is doing everything in his power to fight for a Ryder Cup spot. He currently ranks 16th in the points list for the European team. One of the players he is competing with for those final spots is Matthew Fitzpatrick, the favorite to win this week. If Rai can outduel Fitzpatrick, that would make a big statement heading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Rai should be full of confidence as the defending champion of this event. He is one of the most accurate drivers on tour, ranking second in driving accuracy this season. His iron play has been a mixed bag this season, but when he is sharp, he is a great iron player. The putter is really what has let Rai down this season. However, on a course where he has confidence and familiarity, he could finally get that putter going. If that’s the case, he has a good shot to lead after the first round of the Wyndham Championship.
