GREENSBORO, N.C. – “Young Guns” Justin Thomas, Ollie Schniederjans, Daniel Berger, Chesson Hadley, Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Smith will all 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.
These players join World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els, reigning FedExCup champion Billy Horschel, 2007 champion Brandt Snedeker, 2011 champion Webb Simpson, 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas, Hideki Matsuyama, reigning champion Camilo Villegas, two-time champion Davis Love III, 2008 winner Carl Pettersson, 2005 champion K.J. Choi and 2010 winner Arjun Atwal in the field.
Thomas, 22, has six top-10 finishes this year but still seeks his first PGA TOUR victory. He is no stranger to Sedgefield Country Club; he won the 2009 AJGA FJ Invitational and claimed an exemption into the Wyndham as the FJ Invitational champion. The University of Alabama alumnus was just 16 years old when he made his PGA TOUR debut that year; he fired an opening 65 followed by a two-over-par 72 to become the youngest player to make the 36-hole cut in PGA TOUR history. However, he did not make the cut after the third round and officially finished tied for 78th. He is 37th in the current FedExCup point standings and 83rd in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Schniederjans, 22, finished tied for 12th as an amateur at last month’s Open Championship and then turned professional. He finished tied for 22nd in his first PGA TOUR start as a professional at the RBC Canadian Open, and last week at the Quicken Loans National, he held the lead briefly on Friday before finishing tied for 15th. The Dallas native played golf at Georgia Tech University and was named ACC Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons becoming just the sixth player to take that honor in consecutive seasons. The former No. 1 amateur in the world will play the Wyndham on a sponsor’s exemption.
Berger, 22, has five top-10 finishes in his first PGA TOUR season. Last year on the Web.com Tour, he recorded five top 10s among 10 top-25 finishes. The Florida State University alumnus was the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Florida’s 2011 high school graduating class. He turned professional after two years at Florida State. He is 41st in the FedExCup point standings and 82nd in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Hadley, 28, is a Georgia Tech University alumnus and Raleigh, N.C. native and resident. He won the 2014 Puerto Rico Open and was named the 2013-14 PGA TOUR rookie of the year; he has three top-10 finishes this season. Hadley is 76th in the current FedExCup point standings and 125th in the Official World Golf Rankings; he will make his fourth-consecutive Wyndham Championship appearance.
Rodgers, 23, won the Web.com Tour Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship in May and finished tied for second at the PGA TOUR Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. Rogers currently enjoys temporary member status on the PGA TOUR, and the Stanford University alumnus will play the Wyndham on a sponsor’s exemption.
Smith, 21, finished tied for fourth at the U.S. Open in June and accepted special temporary PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of the 2014-15 season. He is 103rd in the Official World Golf Rankings. In addition to his brilliant U.S. Open showing, the Australia native finished tied for fifth at the CIMB Classic and tied for 15th at the RBC Heritage. Before this season, he played on the PGA Tour of Australasia; he is playing the Wyndham on a sponsor’s exemption.
“This group of players is a strong representation of the youth movement we’re seeing on the PGA TOUR this year,” tournament director Mark Brazil said. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of these guys contended the week of the Wyndham”
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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