news-record.com

GREENSBORO — There are signs out here that Sedgefield might not be as vulnerable to birdies and eagles this week as it was during last year's inaugural Wyndham Championship.

A year after Carl Pettersson brought the course to its knees with a winning score of 21 under par, the bent-grass greens are still soft and supple, but the fairway rough is another story. The rough is about the same length as last year — 3 inches — but unlike last year, the ball seems to be settling more, making approach shots a little dicier.

"You've got to control the distance of your ball or you're going to have a tough chip," U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover said after his practice round Wednesday. "I think you'll see a trend this week of the guys that are playing well on Sunday hit a lot of fairways because it's going to be hard to make birdies out of the rough."

Pettersson said tournament officials will need to keep the rough thick "to keep the scoring from going crazy low."

A TOUGHER SELL: A year ago, Wyndham Championship officials couldn't believe the weekend scene on High Point Road. Fans eager to see golf's return to Sedgefield Country Club were holding up cardboard signs seeking tickets to the sold-out event.

This year, folks on High Point Road are holding up different signs: Will work for food.

The economy was just starting to show signs of crumbling when last year's Wyndham sold out for the weekend, the first sellout for the event in more than 50 years. More than 25,000 fans showed up for each of the last two rounds.

Tournament director Mark Brazil acknowledged Wednesday that this year's tournament will be a tougher sell to area golf fans. Guilford County's unemployment is at 11.7 percent and showing no signs of improving any time soon.

"It's obviously going to be a challenge for us, and we understand that," Brazil said. "But we're trying some things to help people come out."

Tournament officials are keeping ticket prices the same as last year ($35 at the course, $25 at area Harris Teeters with a VIC card), and they've lowered the price of a weekly badge from $100 to $70.

NO RESPECT: Sixteen-year-old Justin Thomas is playing in his first PGA Tour event, but he's having a hard time getting his due respect from the folks back in his hometown of Goshen, Ky.

Thomas earned a sponsor's exemption by virtue of his victory in the AJGA FootJoy Invitational at Sedgefield in June. Still, the folks back home don't seem too impressed. Thomas said many of his fellow students at St. Xavier High School don't appreciate what he's accomplished.

Even some of the adults at his dad's club think he earned a spot in the Monday qualifier and not the actual event — or worse.

"They thought I actually get to play like a different set of tees than the people in the tournament," Thomas said Wednesday.

That's understandable. Even Thomas has a few things to learn, starting with who he's paired with today for his 1:40 p.m. first-round tee time.

"Tommy Gainey and Kris something," Thomas said. "I forget his name."

That would be Kris Blanks.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com