2022 Wyndham Championship leaderboard: Brandon Wu, Sungjae Im co-lead as bad weather halts Round 3

Mother Nature rained on the Wyndham Championship parade on Saturday as play was halted not once but twice, leaving players to complete Round 3 on Sunday. With the final group on the 11th, around 26 holes will need to be completed in what will be a sprint to the finish in the tournament at hand and, more importantly, the regular season as a whole.

Leading the pack are Brendon Wu and Sungjae Im, who are both at 12 under and one stroke clear of Tom Kim and John Huh. Wu finished his Saturday in style, as he birdied the par-4 11th on his final swing of the day to move atop the leaderboard alongside Im.

Only two touches are Anirban Lahiri, Russell Henley, Davis Riley, Ryan Moore and Brian Stuard. While the majority of these guys are well into the postseason as it is, the eyes of Moore and Steward certainly paint the picture of the FedEx Cup Playoffs as they entered the week outside the top 125.

They are not alone as Max McGreev, Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower will all need strong Sunday performances to play the field next week. With extra golf, playoff aspirations and careers, the final day at Sedgefield Country Club is sure to be one to remember.

The leaders

T1. Sungjae Im and Brendon Wu (-12)

I have been the most controlled player on the court for the first 70 percent of this tournament and you would expect him to maintain his composure and calm demeanor tomorrow. While he hasn’t been at his best both off the tee and with his irons in hand, he’s continued to find ways to score around this Donald Ross scheme and sits atop the leaderboard alongside Wu.

The South Korean has had a strange year, but a win would see his name crawl into the top 10 of the FedEx Cup standings. His compatriot Kim has been in the headlines this week — and rightly so — but sometimes it’s easy to forget that Im is still just 24 years old and has a fantastic opportunity to notch his third career PGA Tour win.

Other contenders

T3. John Huh and Tom Kim (-11)

T5. Anirban Lahiri, Russell Henley, Davis Riley, Ryan Moore and Brian Stuard (-10)

11. Aaron Wise (-9)

There’s a lot to cut to the chase, however Stuard is a fascinating name to dive deeper into. Heading into week 137 of the season-long race, the 39-year-old was looking for some much-needed magic. He has missed his last nine cuts on the PGA Tour and has managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat to this point, as he is currently projected to climb to 120th in the FedEx Cup standings.

“Honestly, not much at all,” Stuard said Thursday of postseason pressure. “I don’t have much to lose. I’m not in a great spot, so I’m just trying to figure out how to play good golf again and see what happens.”

Saying this on Thursday is one thing, but the tension has grown since then. It will be interesting to see if Stuard can maintain that relaxed approach now that he has played himself with a chance to qualify for the St. Louis Championship. Jude next week.

Early morning broken heart

Austin Smotherman started the week firmly on the FedEx Cup bubble as he sits at No. 125 in the season-long race. Unable to complete his second round Friday because of darkness, Smotherman returned to the golf course Saturday morning at 1 under and with a 12-foot birdie at the par-4 eighth.

Unable to convert, all he needed to do was make par on his final hole to secure a time for the weekend and more than likely a PGA Tour card for next season. If only golf were that easy, as the PGA Tour rookie double bogeyed the ninth, made the cut at 1 under and sealed his trip to the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs where he will hope to regain full-time PGA status Tour.

Bubble boys heading into Sunday

Smotherman’s early dismissal opened the door for a few players, Rickie Fowler being one of them. While Fowler is out for the weekend after missing the cut by just one stroke, he still has a chance to finish 125th in the FedEx Cup. It will likely take Justin Lower to have a bad Sunday, a difficult outcome given the 33-year-old rookie’s path to the PGA Tour.

2022 Wyndham Championship updated odds and picks

• Sungjae Im: 10/23
• Tom Kim: 4/23
• Brandon Wu: 4/27
• Russell Henley: 15/2
• Davis Riley: 2/17
• John Huh: 11-1
• Aaron Wise: 14-1
• Anirban Lahiri: 16-1
• Ryan Moore: 22-1
• Brian Steward: 30-1

There is still so much that could happen in this golf tournament, and because of that, it can pay off to take a risk. Lahiri is notable given where he played his best golf in 2022. A runner-up at TPC Sawgrass and a top-10 finish at TPC Potomac, the man from India leads the field this week in strokes gained on the green. Ranking third in both strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained, Lahiri has been steadily improving on the greens each day and should continue to do so on Sunday.