Value Report: Wyndham Championship

The 3M Open isn’t scared to deliver theatrics, as the water looming on every hole keeps the field on pins and needles. But a dialed-in ball-striking game can deliver birdie looks on just about every hole, which is what Kurt Kitayama did all weekend long to move from 44th at the halfway point to champion. The 28 and 29 on the opening nine holes Saturday and Sunday were unbelievably impressive, and Kitayama finally showed the ceiling he has flashed since qualifying for the DP World Tour all the way back in 2018. Jake Knapp kept the DFS world in a pretzel with his elevated ownership at a high price tag, while racking up his second top five in four starts. Plus, Chris Gotterup proved at 26 years old that two weeks in Europe doesn’t take too much of a toll on your body, and his career-changing month kept rolling with another top-10 result. Despite the lack of strength of the field, it was still an event that really kept my interest, as the volatility at TPC Twin Cities is always cranked to the max!

It was a banner week for the Value Report with regard to ownership, as just one player was owned more than 4%. That wasn’t too much of a surprise, as you had to have clear intent of a top-heavy build to dip into the $6K range. The only problem was that the high end of the player pool was just as bad as the low end, so neither was really the approach to get it done. Austin Eckroat was the one I went heaviest on as I trusted his form by far the most, and he comfortably made the weekend but didn’t show a bit of ceiling. Similar to David Skinns, although it looked at a time that he could make a real run. The one who was by far the most impressive was Brendan Valdes, finishing tied for 20th in just his second professional PGA Tour start. This time, he got it down with the putter too, which adds another weapon in his bag as we get to know the 22-year-old better. Even though 6/6 rates were in the low single digits, one shining light is not going to get it done for the Value Report.