GREENSBORO, N.C. — Time is running out for some players at the Wyndham Championship.
For U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, there are precious few weeks left to complete his roster. For others, the need is much more pressing: Play well or forget about making the FedEx Cup playoff field.
“It is on your mind the whole time,” said Jhonattan Vegas, who is No. 124 on the points list. The top 125 qualify for The Barclays, the first playoff event.
Bubble players are part of the drama at the Wyndham Championship, which for the sixth consecutive year marks the PGA Tour’s final event before the postseason.
There’s no shortage of players who came to Sedgefield Country Club looking for a boost. Among those who occupy Nos. 120-130 on the points list, No. 127 Retief Goosen is the only one not playing this week.
“The playoffs really start this week for me,” said No. 126 Brendan Steele.
Love has a little more breathing room before he must settle on his Ryder Cup team — he will announce his four captain’s picks Sept. 4. The only players at the Wyndham who are under serious consideration are Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas.
Before his team-picking duties become even more serious, Love indulged in some fun Wednesday by playing the pro-am with Los Angeles Clippers guard — and local favorite — Chris Paul.
The Winston-Salem native and ex-Wake Forest star helped lead the U.S. Olympic basketball team to the gold medal in London. Love — who played collegiately at North Carolina — hopes some of Paul’s international success rubbed off.
“We talked about shooting free throws some and playing under pressure. Things like that always help,” Love said. Then he quipped: “I’ve got to learn how to coach.”
There’s always a strong Atlantic Coast Conference presence at Sedgefield — where the conference was created in 1953, and where school ties run deep.
Seven different former ACC players have won this tournament, including two in the previous four years.
Former Wake Forest player Webb Simpson’s big calendar year started here last August when he claimed his first win on the tour, then went on to finish second in the FedEx Cup standings. He won the U.S. Open two months ago and for the first time in his career enters a tournament trying to defend a title.
“The pressure of trying to defend, I think it’s always going to be there,” Simpson said. “I can’t hide from it, but at the same time, I know that the three tournaments I’ve won on tour, I didn’t show up saying, ’OK, I’m going to win this week or I need to win or I feel pressure to win.’ Wins out here seem to come every so often.”
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