Wyndham Championship: Top Five Sleepers at Sedgefield

RENO, NV - AUGUST 04: Sam Saunders plays his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Country Club on August 4, 2017 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)
RENO, NV - AUGUST 04: Sam Saunders plays his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Country Club on August 4, 2017 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images) /
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Wyndham Championship Sam Saunders
(Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Sam Saunders, to me, is the best bet of anybody outside the current top 125 to break through and earn his spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. I know, really going out on a limb with a guy who’s in 127th place and just seven points outside the Playoffs.

Still, you can’t ignore the way Saunders has come on over these past several weeks. In his last four PGA TOUR starts, Saunders has three top-25 finishes. Most recently, he finished solo eighth at the Barracuda Championship, at +39 just five points out of a playoff.

Saunders posted three solid rounds that week, going 67-67 on the weekend to work his way up the leaderboard. His score for the week included a whopping 19 birdies and two eagles, compared to nine bogeys. Considering the incentive for aggressive play that Modified Stableford offers, that’s a fitting line.

Other than the scoring system in place, this week at Sedgefield won’t be too terribly different. With a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and a full-time PGA TOUR card on the line, Saunders has everything to gain this week, and very little to lose.

Saunders currently ranks 49th on TOUR in driving accuracy and 23rd in birdie average, and he tied for 14th in his 2015 Wyndham debut. He’ll look to build on that momentum, and I like his chances to move into the Playoffs this weekend.

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