Week 33 Approach Shots: Wyndham Championship

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News, notes and predictions as we get set for the first round of this week's Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

TV/Radio (all times ET)

TV: GOLF(Thu.-Fri., 3 p.m.-6 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.), CBS (Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.-5 p.m.) RADIO: SIRIUS 209, XM 146, PGATOUR.COM (Thu.-Fri., 12 p.m.-6 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Key links

• Expert picks | Sleepers • Rankings | Fantasy Insider • Tee times | Field | Course

Weather

Scattered Thunderstorms, temperatures in mid-80s. Winds 10-12 mph from the west. Updated weather info

After the shuffle at the PGA Championship a week ago, Anthony Kim found himself without enough points to be an automatic qualifier and off the U.S. team -- for now.

One of the heroes of the 2008 event, the United States' first victory since 1999, Kim had a hand in 2.5 of the team's 16.5 points, including his 5 & 4 match play victory over Sergio Garcia to get the United States rolling on the Cup's final day.

Since missing three months to rehab from thumb surgery, Kim has made two starts without a top-75 finish and watched as others like Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar passed him in the Ryder Cup point standings.

Kim is in this week's field a Sedgefield Country Club and is hoping for a good showing to boost his chances at being one of Corey Pavin's captain's picks.

"I was hoping for the best and it didn't turn out that way," Kim said. "I just got bumped out. Now it's just time for me to get the ball in the hole the next month and prove to (Pavin) I'm playing well enough to make that team, and I would sure love to be playing for the U.S. in Wales."

FINAL PLAYOFF PUSH: The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup begin next week.

That makes the Wyndham Championship the final opportunity for TOUR members to accumulate enough points to qualify for the 125-man field at The Barclays. There will be plenty of interest in this week's tournament because 90 of 100 players ranked between 76th and 175th in the FedExCup standings are scheduled to tee it up at Sedgefield

ROOKIE WATCH: In what has been the year of the young guns, it looks like at least seven rookies will be competing in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Currently ranked in the top 125 in FedExCup points are Rickie Fowler (19), Rory McIlroy (21), Blake Adams (77), Alex Prugh (80), Derek Lamely (83), Josh Teater (96) and Graham DaLaet (119).

Matt Every (132) is not playing and will remain on the outside looking in when the Playoffs start. Fellow rookie Troy Merritt (137) would probably make the Playoffs with a top-10 finish while Cameron Percy (165), Jeev Milkha Singh (166) and Brian Stuard (168) would each need a top-3 performance at Sedgefield to have a chance at the Playoffs.

A year ago, five players ouside the top 125 qualified for the Playoffs at the Wyndham Championship including Kevin Stadler, who lost the three-man playoff to Ryan Moore, but moved up to 76th in the FedExCup Standings.

Columnists' predictions

Each week, PGATOUR.COM columnists will predict the winner. Here are their picks for the Wyndham Championship. Columnist Pick Comment Stan AWTREY BRANDT SNEDEKER: He's shown good form at the tournament (he won it in 2007) and has been playing well leading up to the event. His 67 at last week's PGA Championship was a definite attention-getter. Craig DOLCH BRANDT SNEDEKER: He has a win and a fifth-place showing in this event the last three years. Melanie HAUSER FRED COUPLES: Why? Why not? Twin-tour wizard with a seriously impressive record on the fiftysomething side of the game. Plays well in the heat, finished T-9 here last year and... well, his name has been mentioned as a captain's pick. Anything else? COLUMNISTS VS. INTERNS: The summer is over for our interns, who have gone home after being defeated by PGATOUR.COM's columnists. Here are the final results: Columnists: 1937.68 FedExCup points (Craig Dolch, 717.77; Melanie Hauser, 553.83; Stan Awtrey, 391.08; John Maginnes, 275.00); Interns: 1322.26 FedExCup points (Chris Dunham, 649.83; Ryan Pierce, 489.35; Todd Hoskins, 183.08)

Bolton's Yahoo! selections

Fantasy columnist Rob Bolton will provide his Yahoo! picks as a starting point for you every week. Use the advice and opinion from his Power Rankings and Fantasy Insider to assist in determining lineups changes throughout each tournament. Group Starters Bench Group A Ryan Moore Jonathan Byrd Group B Scott McCarron, Michael Sim Alex Cejka, Brian Gay Group C Woody Austin Carl Pettersson

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Did you know?

Ryan Moore became the 14th first-time winner of the Wyndham Championship in 2009. Prior to fellow Wyndham Championship first-time winner Brandt Snedeker (2007), the last player to win his maiden event in Greensboro was Trevor Dodds (1998).

Kodak Challenge

This week's Kodak Challenge hole is the 547-yard par-5 15th at Sedgefield Country Club. The downhill tee shot must avoid a small creek on the left and a large fairway bunker on the right. Going for the green in two will require a long carry over water and deep greenside bunkering to a severe back to front sloping green. More on Kodak Challenge

What the winner gets

A victory this week at the Wyndham Championship will earn the following benefits: • Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2010 and all of 2011 and 2012 • 500 FedExCup points. It took 354 points to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in 2009 and 494 to reach the Deutsche Bank Championship. • A spot in the following 2011 events in order of play:    - SBS Championship    - Bob Hope Classic    - Arnold Palmer Invitational    - Masters Tournament    - Verizon Heritage    - THE PLAYERS Championship    - Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial    - The Memorial Tournament    - AT&T National    - PGA Championship • If second TOUR win since after the 2010 U.S. Open, entry into the 2011 U.S. Open. • If a U.S. player, 918,000 points towards making the 2011 Presidents Cup team.