GREENSBORO, N.C. – Colombian PGA TOUR golfer Camilo Villegas will defend his 2014 Wyndham Championship title, and several other former champions will also play the Piedmont Triad’s PGA TOUR, the tournament announced today. The 76th annual Wyndham Championship is set for Aug. 17-23, 2015 at Sedgefield Country Club.
Joining Villegas in the field are two-time champion Davis Love III, 2008 winner Carl Pettersson, 2005 champion K.J. Choi and 2010 winner Arjun Atwal. These players join World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els, 2007 champion Brandt Snedeker, 2011 champion Webb Simpson and 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas in the field.
Villegas took a one-stroke victory over Hass and Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson in the 75th anniversary Wyndham Championship last year. It was his fourth-career PGA TOUR victory and his seventh overall. Despite a solid showing in last weekend’s RBC Canadian Open, his 2015 season has not gone as planned; he is 130th in the current FedExCup point standings. Villegas will make his sixth Wyndham Championship appearance this year including each of the last five tournaments.
Two-time winner Davis Love III will make his 21st Wyndham Championship appearance this year; he is third in all-time money at the Wyndham with $1,541,256. The 1992 and 2006 winner recently returned to the PGA TOUR after recovering from foot surgery on April 1; because of his injury, he is 182nd in the current FedExCup point standings. Love made his first start on the Champions Tour in January, and after returning from foot surgery, he finished tied for fifth at the Principal Charity Classic Champions Tour event. He has 20 PGA TOUR victories including the 1997 PGA Championship, and he has represented the United States in the Ryder Cup seven times – six as a player and once as the captain.
Pettersson, the tournament’s all-time money leader with $1,754,594 in Wyndham winnings, won the Wyndham in 2008, the first event after the tournament’s return to Sedgefield Country Club, and in the process, reset most of the tournament scoring records. The NC State University alumnus and former Greensboro resident set marks for low 18 holes (61), low second round (61), low 36-hole total (125), low 54-hole total (191) and low 72-hole total (259, -21). Despite a missed cut at the Open Championship, Pettersson is finding his game of late; he finished fifth at the recent Travelers Championship. He is 88th in the current FedExCup point standings. The Grimsley High School alumnus will make his 13th consecutive Wyndham Championship appearance this year; in addition to his 2008 victory, he recorded top-five finishes in 2007, ’11 and ’12.
Choi won the Piedmont Triad’s PGA TOUR event in 2005 when he took a two-stroke victory over Shigeki Maruyama; he will be making his ninth appearance here and is seventh on the tournament’s all-time money winner’s list with $1,329,936. He finished tied for 37th in 2013, his most recent Wyndham Championship appearance. A native of Korea and Texas resident, Choi has eight PGA TOUR wins and nine additional international victories. His most recent PGA TOUR victory was the 2011 Players Championship. He has played on three Presidents Cup teams and five World Cup teams. He has made 11 cuts in 16 tournaments this year but is ranked 154th in the current FedExCup point standings.
Atwal, the 2010 Wyndham champion, advanced into the tournament as a Monday qualifier and promptly claimed the Sam Snead Cup to become the first native of India to win on the PGA TOUR. His Wyndham win remains his only PGA TOUR triumph, but he is a nine-time international winner. He has made two cuts in his three PGA TOUR events this season; his best finish came at the Puerto Rico Open in March where he tied for 27th. Atwal is making his ninth appearance at the Wyndham; in addition to his 2010 win, he finished sixth in 2004. With limited PGA TOUR status, Atwal is 208th in the current FedExCup point standings.
About the Wyndham Championship:
Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors. Tickets are available at wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office. The tournament thanks title sponsor Wyndham Worldwide, presenting sponsor BB&T and Premier Partners, Cadillac, DeJoy/Wos Family Foundation, Harris Teeter, Lincoln Financial, McConnell Golf, Sunbrella®, Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. and VF Corporation for their continued support. Additional tournament information, including ticket packages and sponsorship information, is available at wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office at (336) 379-1570. For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com. Stay connected with the Wyndham Championship through its social media channels, including the Wyndham Championship Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Flickr and YouTube.
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