2025 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club – Preview

In the final PGA Tour event before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, Sedgefield Country Club will play host to the Wyndham Championship. Located near Greensboro, North Carolina, Sedgefield has been a regular Tour stop since 2008. It is a Donald Ross-designed classical course with a storied history that was built during golf’s “Golden Age”.

The recently updated and preserved Sedgefield provides a tactical challenge rarely found on Tour. It is a shorter course where finding the contoured fairways carries real worth. While scoring has continued to be low over the years, the narrow, tree-lined fairways, strategic routing and bunkering, and elevated tricky green complexes ensure that Sedgefield will continue to be a fair test of golf.

Bombers off the tee do not have that much of an advantage at Sedgefield, and most tend to avoid this event. Instead, the course favors accurate positional drivers of the ball who are positive with short-to-mid irons and wedges and who are consistent putters, especially on Bermuda greens. Recent past winners like Aaron Rai, Lucas Glover, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner, J.T. Poston, and Webb Simpson each exemplify these traits.

The Field

The 2025 Wyndham Championship may lack some of the Tour’s biggest names—thanks to players opting to rest before the playoffs—but it remains one of the strongest fields among regular events. With multiple players in and around the top-70 bubble, this week carries massive weight. For those securely inside the cutoff, it’s still an opportunity to climb into the top 10, lock in big bonus money, and build momentum heading into the playoffs. Meanwhile, those just outside face a pressure-packed final chance to extend their season and preserve full status for 2026.

The field this week features some quality depth with 15 of the top 40 and 43 of the top 70 in the FedExCup standings in attendance. Notable players teeing it up this week include Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert Macintyre, Ben Griffin, Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler, Si Woo Kim, and defending champion Aaron Rai. Motivation becomes a real intangible this time of year as many players will be trying to either qualify for the playoffs or better their position with this being the final event before the end of the season.

Because only the top 70 in the FedExCup regular‑season standings qualify for the first playoff event—the FedEx St. Jude Championship—this week is a make‑or‑break moment for many. Players currently just outside or near the cutoff include: Matti Schmid, Byeong Hun An, Patrick Rodgers, Cam Davis, Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus Højgaard, Keith Mitchell, Chris Kirk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Gary Woodland. Max Homa (106th), Tom Kim (89th), and Adam Scott (85th) are among the big names trying to leapfrog their way into the playoffs.

Sedgefield Country Club – Course History

Designed and built by legendary architect Donald Ross on a former hunting estate in 1925, Sedgefield Country Club has quite the storied past. Ross was initially supposed to design two 18-hole layouts but the Great Depression prevented the second course from being built. Before it became the Wyndham Championship in 2008, it was formerly called the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic and also the Greater Greensboro Open.

Between 1938 and 1965, Sam Snead won this event a record eight times. Along with hosting the first professional event in North Carolina, the club also helped to break down racial barriers by inviting Charlie Sifford to participate in 1961 before the Tour had removed its segregation clause.

As time passed, the course had been altered and changed so much that it had little resemblance to the original design. The fairways and bunkers, specifically did not make strategic sense. The course underwent a $3 million restoration project by Kris Spence in 2007. The goal was to rebuild the course and also restore the original Ross feel. Sedgefield was closed for 10 months as Spence relied on 80-year-old aerial pictures and original blueprints. Among the main renovations were adding 400 yards in length, re-positioning bunkers, and restoring the greens to their original size. Spence also took out the Bentgrass greens and added Champion Bermuda.

Finish Position and Strokes Gained History at Sedgefield CC (2016-2024)

This includes the average finish position and Strokes Gained per round since 2019 for each of the categories. Players are sorted by SG: Total. Sedgefield CC is the 10th most predictive annual course on Tour.

Course Features

Sedgefield Country Club is widely regarded as a classic positional course, playing slightly shorter than the average PGA Tour venue. A par 70 stretching 7,131 yards, it places a premium on precision over power. The fairways are heavily tree-lined, and the course winds through a rolling, wooded landscape that’s quintessentially Carolina in character. Nestled just southeast of Greensboro in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, Sedgefield’s routing makes full use of the undulating terrain, rewarding shot-shaping and smart angles into the small, firm Champion Bermuda greens.

The course features wall-to-wall Bermudagrass, from tee to green, creating a consistent—but often unpredictable—playing surface. The greens are average in size and typically run between 12.5 and 13 on the Stimpmeter, making them among the faster Bermuda surfaces on Tour. While the rough measures just 2.5 inches, the nature of Bermuda makes even that modest length deceptively penal. Flyers, jumpers, and inconsistent lies are all in play, making approach shots from the rough a significant challenge, especially into elevated or tucked pin locations.

Sedgefield places a premium on precision and angles, demanding players position their tee shots on the correct side of the fairway to set up ideal lines into its subtle, sloping green complexes. True to Donald Ross’s design philosophy, the course uses the natural topography to dictate both the routing and the strategic decisions players must make. Ross believed the land should guide how a hole is played—and Sedgefield reflects that ethos with greens that punish poor angles and reward thoughtful positioning. Success here often comes down to being strategically aggressive—those who take calculated risks and execute well will find plenty of birdie chances, while those out of position are left scrambling to save par.

The visual challenges that Ross provides throughout the course are a perfect illustration of this. On the second hole tee, for example, there are numerous bunkers that appear to surround the fairway landing zones, yet they are actually much further back than anticipated. Numerous holes with doglegs also force players into decisions to either attack the dogleg or lay up with a shorter club.

Even with only two par 5s in play, conditions are typically scoring-friendly at Sedgefield. Seven of the past nine years the winning score has been at least 20-under. Over the past five events, the course has played to an average of -0.93 per round, making it the 18th easiest track in the Tour rotation. There are only six holes that average over par. When winds are down and conditions are soft, low scores are in play, especially if someone catches fire with the putter as evidenced by Brandt Snedeker‘s first-round 59 back in 2018.

Sedgefield’s primary defenses come in three forms: the sticky Bermudagrass rough, the undulating and well-protected green complexes, and a series of strategically placed fairway bunkers that penalize imprecise tee shots. While not overly long, the course gains its bite from precision-based challenges and subtle architectural nuances. The routing adds another layer of difficulty, especially when the wind picks up—players tee off in nearly every direction throughout the round, which complicates distance control and club selection as they constantly recalculate shifting wind angles. Water is present on six holes, but it rarely plays a major role outside of a few tee shots and approach angles—making it more of a background hazard than a dominant threat.

The fairway bunkers are the toughest on Tour from which to reach the green in regulation. The average GIR rate on Tour courses from fairway bunkers is 48%. Over the past five years at Sedgefield, it has been only 24%.

Hole Preview

Sedgefield is a stock-par 70 with only two par-5s and four par-3s. Nine of the 12 par-4s are less than 445 yards and are a huge reason so many approach shots are with short irons and wedges. The two par-5s are each less than 550 yards and are the easiest group on Tour with a combined birdie or better rate of 59%. In fact, Sedgefield features the fifth-shortest set of par-4s and par-5s on Tour. The four toughest holes include two 500+ par 4s and two of the par-3s that measure over 225 yards.

The final two-hole stretch at Sedgefield features two of the best holes on the course. One of the most beautiful holes in North Carolina, the par-4 17th has a deep, saddled fairway that meanders up an old creek bed filled in by Ross. A short iron approach into the smallest green on the course is compounded by the difficulty of finding a level lie in the fairway. A natural amphitheater surrounds the green, making it a great place to view an exciting finish. The 507-yard par-4 18th is one of the toughest finishing holes on Tour. A tee shot to the crest of the downhill-sloping fairway leaves an uphill long iron or fairway metal into this severely undulating hilltop green.

Wyndham Championship Strokes Gained Analysis

 

Off the Tee

Though there are some blind tee shots, narrow fairways, and gnarly Bermuda rough to contend with on errant drives, driving accuracy is slightly easier than the Tour average. That being said, the Wyndham Championship is one of the most important weeks to “Gain the Fairway”. The GIR rate drops from 85% from the fairway to 52% from the rough. Proximity to the hole also increases from 27 feet to 47 feet due to the lack of distance control from the rough.

Also, with trees heavily lining the fairways, errant tee shots will lead to numerous pitch-outs from blocked approaches. “Distance From Edge of Fairway” and “Good Drive” rate are vitally important metrics this week. With numerous doglegs and the ninth narrowest fairways on Tour, players often elect to “club down” and hit shorter woods or longer irons off the tee. Driver usage rate is only 55% which is one of the lowest driver values on Tour. This is the course where, infamously, seven years ago, tournament champion, Henrik Stenson did not use his driver one single time.

Not only is accuracy crucial here but positioning is as well. While homes and trees line most holes, the corridors are still wide enough to allow golfers to position their tee shots to play the best angle into the greens. As previously mentioned, the fairway bunkers can be very problematic as many actually lie inside the fairway. They also tend to distort a player’s depth perception when standing on the tee box.

Approach

Compared to other Tour courses, Sedgefield has ranked as the easiest course to gain strokes on approach since 2015. Once players are taking aim at their approach shots, they will be hitting into incredibly receptive greens that have one of the highest GIR rates on Tour at 73%. One of the reasons for this is the constant watering due to the heat of the Carolina summer.

55% of approach shots come from the 100-175 yard range which is the highest rate on Tour from that distance. This means plenty of wedges and short irons into greens. Though the rough is only 2.5 inches, the tangly Bermudagrass wraps around the ball, making it difficult to square the clubface. This often results in fliers or mishits, which can be especially penal on a course that demands precision. As a positional layout, Sedgefield rewards players who find the correct angles into the greens, many of which are sloped from back to front in classic Donald Ross fashion. That slope puts a premium on keeping the ball below the hole, both to set up makeable birdie looks and to avoid treacherous downhill putts or tricky up-and-downs. In essence, success here is dictated less by raw power and more by discipline, angles, and trajectory control.

Around the Green and Putting

As is typical with Ross designs, elevated and sloping putting surfaces feature multiple run-off locations that can make putting and scrambling tricky if players are not hitting the proper spots on their approach shots. In keeping with the strategic theme, most greens provide a variety of options for flop shots, bump-and-run type plays, and other creative chips. Chipping from the greenside Bermuda rough is the second toughest on Tour with golfers only scrambling at a feeble rate of only 40%.

Once on the green, putting can be a challenge as averages here are more difficult than Tour standards. Many greens have sharp ridges which allow for some interesting and tricky pin placements. While averaging between 12.5 to 13 on the stimpmeter they do tend to run as one of the faster greens on Tour. The difficult green complexes also tend to expose weaker putters making it important to consider that fact when selecting players this week.

Looking back at past tournaments gives us a window into how important gaining strokes putting is here at Sedgefield. Last year, nine of the top 11 on the leaderboard gained at least 1.8 total strokes on the greens. In 2023, the top four on the leaderboard each gained at least five strokes putting. In 2021, 22 of the top 23 on the leaderboard gained strokes putting with 18 of those players gaining three strokes! And in 2020, you had to go all the way down to 27th place to find a golfer who lost strokes on the greens with 18 of the top 20 gaining at least two strokes.

Most Important Stats For Success at Sedgefield CC

*In order of importance

• Distance From Edge of Fairway (DFEF)
• SG: Putting (Bermuda)
• SG: Approach
• Par 4 BoB %
• Proximity 100-175 yds
• 3-Putt Avoidance
• Bogey Avoidance
• SG: OTT (Less Than Driver courses)
• Good Drive % (Bermuda rough)
• SG: ARG (Bermuda fairways/rough)

Wyndham Championship Key Rabbit Hole Filters

• Course Region: Southeast
• Course Length: Short
• Par: 70
• Field Size: Full Field
• Course Architect: Donald Ross
• Greens Surface: Bermuda
• Green Speed: Fast
• Rough Surface: Bermuda
• OTT Club Type: Less Than Driver
• Missed Fairway Penalty: High
• Rough Penalty: High
• Gain Approach: Very Easy
• Scrambling (Rough): Difficult
• Gain ARG: Difficult
• Gain Putting: Very Difficult

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