I focused my preview last week on the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour and barely touched on the Olympic tournament in Rio. But clearly I'm an Olympic genius because my pick to win the gold medal was Great Britain's Justin Rose, and he did so, paying out at +1000 on Bovada. He beat Henrik Stenson, the Swede and tournament favorite, by two shots. I also pegged Patrick Reed as the top of four American golfers, but he finished T11. Matt Kuchar was the top finisher from the USA by earning the bronze medal.
As for the John Deere, Ryan Moore was the winner for his fifth career PGA Tour title. Moore shot a final-round 67 (he shot 65s the first three days to enter Sunday up by a shot) to finish at 22-under 262 at TPC Deere Run, two shots ahead of Ben Martin. Moore led the field in tee-to-green, sand saves, scrambling and greens in regulation (83.3 percent). Since Moore added the John Deere Classic back to his schedule in 2012, he hasn't finished outside the Top 25 in five starts. Moore jumped up to 23rd in the FedEx Cup points from 62nd, greatly improving his chances of being able to play in the season-ending Tour Championship. The Top 30 in points after the first three playoff events qualify there. Moore hasn't qualified for the Tour Championship since 2012.
My pick to win was Quad Cities local boy Zach Johnson, who always plays well in the John Deere. He started strong with an opening 65, but that would be his best round by far and he finished at 9-under and T34. I missed on Top 10s for Scott Brown (T16) and Matt Jones (T27) but hit a few head-to-head props.
This week the Tour heads to the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. It's the last event before the FedEx Cup playoffs, and you have to be in the Top 125 points to qualify for the first playoff event. Johnson Wagner was the bubble boy at No. 125 entering last week, but he was fifth at the John Deere and is now safe at No. 109 in the points. Martin jumped from No. 121 to No. 59. Whee Kim's third-place finish jumped him from No. 154 to No. 125. If you are wondering, the guy at No. 126 right now is Scott Stallings.
The defending champion is 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, one of the most unlikely winners last year at age 51, making him the third-oldest Tour winner ever. He entered the final round tied for 10th and four shots back but put up a 64 on Sunday on the par-70 layout to finish at 17-under for the tournament, edging out 54-hole leader Jason Gore by one shot. It was Love's third win in this event but first anywhere in seven years. The oldest Tour winner ever was Sam Snead at 52 years and 10 months at the 1965 Wyndham Championship. That was the last of his record 82 career victories. The win jumped Love from No. 186 to 76 in points last year. That was the largest jump in FedEx Cup history the week before the playoffs started. Tiger Woods was in contention through three rounds last year but shot a final-round 70 to finish T10. That was his last Tour event.
Love isn't defending his title. Every player ranked between 101 and 135 has entered the field except No. 114 Anirban Lahiri of India. A total of 10 of the world's Top 30 are set to play. It's the first event for Jim Furyk since his record 58 two weeks ago at the Travelers Championship.
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Favorites
Reed is the Bovada favorite at +1600. His T11 last week was his fifth straight finish of at least 14th around the world. Reed won his first PGA Tour title here in 2013, beating Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Reed last played here in 2014 and was 24th.
Hideki Matsuyama is +2000. He last played at the PGA Championship and was T4 but has missed the cut here the past two years. Rickie Fowler (also +2000) was a late addition to the field as he tries to earn more Ryder Cup points. He has fallen to 12th place in the Ryder Cup standings. The Top 8 players in the points standings after next week's playoff-opening event will automatically qualify for the 12-member USA team. Fowler was 47th last week and hasn't been playing very well. He has never played here.
Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Moore (all +2200), Jon Rahm and Webb Simpson (both +2500) round out the favorites. Snedeker won this tournament in 2007 and Moore in 2009.
Golf Odds: Wyndham Championship Picks
For a Top 10, go with Furyk (+200), Simpson (+225) and Bill Haas (+275). Head to head, I like Reed (-130) over Fowler (even), Furyk (-110) over Matsuyama (-120), Snedeker (-105) over Moore (-125), Simpson (-110) over Rahm (-120), and Haas (-110) over Kevin Na (-120).
I'm torn between Simpson and Haas (+2800) to win. The site offers a Reed/Matsuyama prop vs. the field, Fowler/Furyk vs. the field and Snedeker/Rahm/Moore vs. the field but nothing with Simpson and Haas.
Simpson is from the Charlotte area, won here in 2011, has Top-5 finishes the past two years and even named his daughter Wyndham. Haas has three Top-6 finishes here the past four years, led by a runner-up in 2014. Simpson is playing better at the moment so I'll take him.
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