With the majors out of the way, attention Stateside now switches to the lucrative Fedex Cup playoff series and this week's Wyndham Championship is the last chance for players to muscle their way into the top-125 in the standings and qualify.
David Toms has no worries on that score and the veteran American, who finished fourth in last week's USPGA Championship and runner-up here last year, is the universal favourite this week at 12/1. You can have at least 20/1 the rest with up-and-coming American Webb Simpson, who has been loudly knocking on the door of the winner's enclosure for a while now, freely available at that price. The European interest is provided by the largely out of form trio of Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, while old hands Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are also teeing up at the Sedgefield Country Club, North Carolina.
Compared to the Athletic Club, they will find this week's track a far gentler assignment and we can expect to see plenty of birdies - last year's aggregate scoring average was 68.18, making it the easiest par-70 on Tour. With thunderstorms a real threat on the first couple of days, the already inviting Bentgrass greens could become even more receptive and it could boil down to a putting contest.
My Three Against The Field:-
Kyle Stanley @ 45/1 Victor Chandler
Toms is a deserving favourite but the 44-year-old is bound to be feeling some physical and mental fatigue after last week's effort and that could manifest itself at the weekend. Besides, the 12/1 on offer is hardly value. This could be the week that Simpson breaks through but he has looked distinctly suspect under pressure on more than one occasion and I'd much rather place my trust in the classic swinging Stanley at over double the price.
The Nationwide Tour graduate has been popping up on leaderboards all season and led the Honda Classic at the halfway stage after rounds of 68-66. His best effort, though, came just two starts back when runner-up in the John Deere Classic to Steve Stricker, who holed a putt from off the green at the 72nd hole to win, and he followed that with another top-10 effort at The Greenbrier, just two strokes out of a playoff. Furthermore, we know he can go low as he's ranked 15th for Birdie Average and 10th in Eagles (Holes per) on Tour.
Cameron Tringale @ 66/1 bet365
He's joined in the staking plan by another young buck in the shape of Tringale, whose fourth place at The Greenbrier was continuing a good run of form: eighth at St Jude, ninth at Deere Run and in Canada. He broke that sequence with a missed cut in Atlanta but the extra two days off to get ready for this week is no bad thing and he's another birdie-machine who can putt well; ranked 16th in Total Birdies and 40th in strokes gained putting.
Garrett Willis @ 125/1 Stan James
The final pick goes to Willis on the back of an excellent record at Sedgefield - runner-up in a Nationwide Tour event here back in 1999 and top-15 on his last two visits - and some fair recent form, which includes top-25s in his last two events. Currently ranked 144th in the Fedex Cup standings, he needs another decent effort to make next week's playoff action. A win might be beyond him but I'd be happy with a place at over 30/1 with Stan James, whose 12/1 on him to finish Top 10 also looks good business.
Recommended Bets:-
Kyle Stanley 1pt each-way @ 45/1 Victor Chandler
Cameron Tringale 1pt each-way @ 66/1 bet365
Garrett Willis 0.5pt each-way @ 125/1 Stan James
Garrett Willis Top 10 Finish 1pt @ 12/1 Stan James
