GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Wyndham Championship is akin to Old Home Week for the numerous Wake Forest grads involved in the tournament.
Like Webb Simpson, Bill Haas and Will Zalatoris, former standouts on the college level, and for tournament director Mark Brazil, too.
The 82nd edition of the Tour stop in Greensboro tees off Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club, and year after year across Brazil’s two decades of running the Wyndham, he has been able to count on Demon Deacons alums supplying the event with both headlining power and hometown flavor.
It has become something of a tradition here, the Wake Forest connection to the tournament, an alliance of sorts that works both ways and “just kind of makes sense” to Brazil.
“I do think there is a bond there that runs a little deeper than other universities,” Brazil said. “But also for us, our bond with them goes a little deeper than other PGA Tour events. So we’re fortunate to have that relationship.”
The rising star Zalatoris, the Masters runner-up who’s days shy of his 25th birthday, goes off at 6:50 a.m. Thursday, among the earliest starting times. Simpson, the 2011 Wyndham winner who has delivered four straight top-three finishes here, is paired with reigning tournament champion Jim Herman and 2019 tournament champion J.T. Poston later at 12:59 p.m.
[listicle id=778121688]
Zalatoris, the 2017 Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a U.S. Walker Cup team member that same year, first participated in the Wyndham on a sponsor’s exemption provided by Brazil.
“It’s not that I’m trying to give Wake Forest kids spots,” Brazil said. “I just recognize that some of the best players in the country, and some of the best amateur players, are coming out of Wake Forest.”
Zalatoris said it was “almost spiritual in a weird way” as he walked around Wake Forest’s campus with his fiancée on Monday, visiting Demon Deacons men’s golf coach Jerry Haas, the uncle of Bill Haas, and also dropping by their favorite restaurants in the Winston-Same area. Zalatoris said he has played Sedgefield 15-20 times dating back to junior events.
“It’s going to be great,” he said. “Being in front of the Wake crowd, it adds to me wanting to be here. This is a place that I think I’ve played since I was 13, so I’ve got a lot of history on it. It’s a pretty cool spot. A lot of really cool memories.”
Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, turned 36 earlier this week. He has compiled eight top-10 finishes at the Wyndham through the years, and said Wednesday the course he grew up on, Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, has some features and challenges similar to Sedgefield.
“Players talk about a golf course that fits our eye or a golf course we feel comfortable on and I’ve always felt that way here,” Simpson said. “So I’ve always said no matter what kind of form I have coming into the Wyndham, I feel confident that I can have a good week. I think building years of good rounds and solid finishes helps build that confidence as well.
“I love coming back. A lot of flashbacks happen this week, just of junior golf and my development in high school and in college, kind of how I grew as a player in college. I feel super appreciative that I had the opportunity to play for Jerry Haas at Wake. I learned so much from him. There’s a lot of nostalgia this week for me in a good way, of all the memories I’ve had as a golfer.”
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.