WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Matchups | Inside the field | Inside the course | Tee times
One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the younger players and the established ones. How will the veteran players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigree -- fare against the hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?
Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running team tally throughout the year.
For this week's Wyndham Championship we've selected Davis Love III and Bill Haas. Either would be a popular champion in Greensboro with their North Carolina ties -- Love attended UNC while Haas followed his father, Jay, to Wake Forest where he played for his uncle Jerry Haas.
Love tees off at 12:50 p.m. off No. 1 on Thursday and 7:50 a.m. on No. 10 on Friday with Bill Lunde and Troy Mattesson. Haas plays with another former Demon Deacon, Webb Simpson, and David Toms, last year's runner-up, at 12:30 p.m.. on No. 1 on Thursday and 7:30 a.m. off No. 10 on Friday.
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ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 47 YEARS ON TOUR: Love is competing in his 26th year on the PGA TOUR. He has won 20 times, including the 1997 PGA Championship, and played on six Presidents Cup and six Ryder Cup teams. OVERVIEW: Love is one of the most respected players on the PGA TOUR. He has played in 638 events, finished 10th or better 172 times, made 496 cuts and earned more than $50 million. His 20 wins -- two of which came in Greensboro -- are admittedly impressive, but Love, who is a life member of the PGA TOUR, has also finished second on 30 occasions. The crowning achievement of Love's career came at the 1997 PGA when he closed with a 69 at Winged Foot and beat Justin Leonard by five strokes to win his only major. Love also is a two-time champion of the PGA TOUR's signature event, THE PLAYERS Championship. He will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2012. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Love ranks second all-time in earnings at the Wyndham Championship after two wins (1992 and 2006) among four top-10 finishes. All of those came at Forest Oaks, though, and Love's best performance at Sedgefield is a tie for 60th in 2008. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: The 2011 season has been a solid if not spectacular one for the 47-year-old veteran, who has made 11 cuts in 17 starts and posted six top-25 finishes. Two of those came in major championships -- a tie for 11th at the U.S. Open and joint ninth at the British Open. But he'll need to rebound from last week's PGA, where he was 1 under entering the weekend only to shoot 15 over on the weekend. |
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YOUTH AGE: 29 YEARS ON TOUR: This is Haas' sixth full season on the PGA TOUR. He broke through with his first two victories last year. OVERVIEW: Haas put together the best season of his career in 2010 when he won the Bob Hope Classic and the Viking Classic. Haas picked up his first victory when he birdied the 18th hole to beat Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson in Palm Springs. With the victory, Haas and his father Jay, who won the same tournament 22 years earlier, became the eighth father-son duo to win on the PGA TOUR. His second victory came in his 159th pro start, which was 20 more than when Haas' dad picked up No. 2. Haas went on to finish a career-high 31st in the FedExCup -- missing his first trip to THE TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola by seven points. He's in much better position this year, ranked 15th in the FedExCup entering the final event of the regular season. Haas has six top-10s this season, including a playoff loss to Jhonattan Vegas at the Bob Hope Classic in his title defense. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Haas has played in the Wyndham Championship six times previously. His best finish came in 2009 when he tied for 10th. He also made the cut last year and tied for 28th. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Haas has been playing very well again this year, losing twice in playoffs -- most recently to Scott Stallings at The Greenbrier Classic three weeks ago. He tied for 12th last week at the PGA Championship last week, so he is obviously playing well and could well be a factor at Sedgefield. |
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| Here are the results of the previous matchups this year |
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Steve Stricker |
20 under (T-4th) |
Hyundai TOC |
Dustin Johnson |
14 under (T-9th) |
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Ernie Els |
4 under (T-42nd) |
Sony Open |
Jason Day |
8 under (T-20th) |
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Stewart Cink |
5 under (MC) |
Bob Hope Classic |
Bubba Watson |
7 under (MC) |
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Davis Love III |
5 over (MC) |
Farmers Insurance Open |
Rickie Fowler |
5 under (T20) |
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Angel Cabrera |
7 under (T-49th) |
Waste Management Phoenix |
Jhonattan Vegas |
2 under (MC) |
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Padraig Harrington |
2 over (T63) |
AT&T Pebble Beach National |
Dustin Johnson |
Even (T55) |
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Jim Furyk |
1 under (T35) |
Northern Trust Open |
Louis Oosthuizen |
3 over (T62) |
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Vijay Singh |
9 over (MC) |
The Honda Classic |
Anthony Kim |
7 over (MC) |
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Luke Donald |
11 under (T6) |
WGC-Cadillac Championship |
Jhonattan Vegas |
2 under (T31) |
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Sergio Garcia |
7 under (T15) |
Transitions Championship |
Matteo Manassero |
6 under (T20) |
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Phil Mickelson |
1 under (T24) |
Arnold Palmer Invitational |
Graeme McDowell |
9 over (MC) |
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Fred Couples |
Even (T60) |
Shell Houston Open |
Gary Woodland |
10 under (T13) |
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Tiger Woods |
10 under (T4) |
The Masters |
Martin Kaymer |
6 over (MC) |
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Justin Leonard |
2 under (T30) |
Valero Texas Open |
Anthony Kim |
7 over (MC) |
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Jim Furyk |
5 under (T21) |
The Heritage |
Jason Day |
7 under (T9) |
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David Toms |
7 under (T18) |
Zurich Classic of New Orleans |
Brandt Snedeker |
2 over (MC) |
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Phil Mickelson |
10 under (T9) |
Wells Fargo Championship |
Bubba Watson |
3 under (T48) |
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Tiger Woods |
Withdrew |
THE PLAYERS Championship |
Charl Schwartzel |
6 under (T26) |
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Paul Goydos |
5 under (T10) |
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial |
Jason Day |
3 under (T31) |
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Vijay Singh |
5 over (T27) |
HP Byron Nelson Championship |
Nick Watney |
1 over (T8) |
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Jim Furyk |
8 over (MC) |
the Memorial Tournament |
Bubba Watson |
1 under (T42) |
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David Toms |
5 over (MC) |
FedEx St. Jude Classic |
Camilo Villegas |
8 under (3) |
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Ernie Els |
6 over (MC) |
U.S. Open |
Graeme McDowell |
2 under (T14) |
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Padraig Harrington |
4 under (T63) |
Travelers Championship |
Aaron Baddeley |
11 under (T24) |
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K.J. Choi |
11 under (2nd) |
AT&T National |
Adam Scott |
9 under (T3) |
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Stewart Cink |
3 under (MC) |
John Deere Classic
| Louis Oosthuizen |
3 under (MC) |
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Tom Watson |
6 over (T22) |
British Open |
Bubba Watson |
9 over (T30) |
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Mike Weir |
(WD) |
RBC Canadian Open |
Matt McQuillan |
5 over (T31) |
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Davis Love III |
2 over (MC) |
The Greenbrier Classic |
Jeff Overton |
Even (T49) |
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Steve Stricker |
7 under (14) |
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational |
Nick Watney |
2 under (T23) |
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Tiger Woods |
10 over (MC) |
PGA Championship |
Dustin Johnson |
7 over (MC) |
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