Best bets for PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship

Most of the world’s top golfers will skip the Wyndham Championship this week in Greensboro, North Carolina, to gear up for next week’s start of the FedEx Cup playoffs at The Northern Trust at TPC Boston.

But six of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee off Thursday at the Wyndham, where Webb Simpson is the 10-1 favorite, followed by Brooks Koepka (14-1), Patrick Reed (18-1), Tommy Fleetwood (18-1), Paul Casey (20-1) and Justin Rose (20-1).

“A lot of people will go with Webb Simpson, who has an incredible history there,” Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “Beyond him, the odds don’t leave a lot to be desired.”

Simpson won his first PGA Tour event at the Wyndham in 2011 and has three straight top-three finishes there, including two runners-up. Handicapper Wes Reynolds noted that Simpson also played his college golf at nearby Wake Forest and his third child is named Wyndham.

Sherman and Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, looked down the board for their best bets. They like Harris English, though Sherman said he didn’t play him because his odds are too short.

Here is Sherman’s best bet:

Harold Varner, 77-1

“I’m not getting too involved this week. The only one I played is Harold Varner,” said Sherman (@golfodds). “It’s a tight track, and you need some good iron play. It’s been almost the same thing every week since the restart.

“He’s been playing good golf, and in a weakened field like this, I tend to look down the list.”

Here are Reynolds’ best bets:

Harris English, 31-1 (at Circa)

English shot a 4-under 66 in the final round of the PGA Championship and tied for 19th. It was his seventh top-20 finish in his past eight events, which included a strong showing at the RBC Heritage.

“English calls the RBC Heritage his favorite stop on the tour, and there is a strong correlation between the RBC and the Wyndham,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “While this week’s Wyndham field has quality at the top, it is not near as top heavy as the Heritage field was. This could be his opportunity to break through this season.”

Russell Henley, 51-1 (at Circa)

“Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Paul Casey are the only players that rate better on approach shots, and they are three of the best pure ball strikers on the planet,” Reynolds said. “Henley has long been one of the better putters on the PGA Tour when he’s on Bermuda grass.”

Joaquin Niemann, 50-1 (at Westgate)

Niemann tied for fifth at the RBC Heritage and shot 14 under on the weekend to tie for the best in the field. The 21-year-old from Chile missed the cut at the PGA.

“But that’s not always a bad thing,” Reynolds said. “Five of the last 10 winners at the Wyndham either missed the cut or withdrew the week or event before.”

Maverick McNealy, 80-1 (at Westgate)

McNealy is one of the best putters on the tour. The Stanford alumnus is the former college rival of Morikawa, a fellow Las Vegas resident.

Henrik Norlander, 92-1 (at Circa)

Reynolds is banking on Norlander to be the eighth first-time PGA Tour winner in the past 14 years at the Wyndham.

Luke List, 100-1 (at Westgate)

“If the ball striking stays true to last weekend’s form, then he could be a surprising contender,” Reynolds said.

Kristoffer Ventura, 125-1 (at Westgate)

“Ventura currently rates No. 159 in the FedEx Cup points list, so a high finish could vault him up into the top 125 to make the FedEx Cup playoffs,” Reynolds said. “He also may have some motivation from seeing his Oklahoma State college teammate Matthew Wolff be right in the mix to win the PGA Championship last weekend.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.