Donald Ross is known worldwide to golf fans as one of the consummate masters of course design. And now, thanks to the Wyndham Championship's recent move to the Sedgefield Country Club, PGA golfers competing in the FedEx Cup event (August 11-17, 2008) will get to experience the same pristine Piedmont Triad golf conditions that legends like Sam Sneed, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer enjoyed for years after Ross' original design in 1926.

Of course, this isn't the Wyndham's first rodeo here, although it is the first year back to Sedgefield following a 31-year hiatus, and the return did not come at a cheap price. The recently finished, nearly yearlong renovation of the course cost over $3 million, but as tournament director Mark Brazil put it, the intent was to make Sedgefield "one of the favorite spots on tour."

Brazil pointed out that right now, "this golf course is as good as it gets" and by all accounts, he is absolutely right. A friend of mine recently teed it high and called the dense rough "diabolical" (by all accounts complimentary), while recent praise from former winner David Toms has already attracted some big name attention.

Three-time major winner Vijay Singh, who recently announced his entry into the Wyndham, joins an already stout group of golfers that includes Toms, last year's champions Brandt Snedeker, Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson, local favorite and Masters darling Drew Weaver, Davis Love III, and, of course, goshdarn American hero and two-time Wyndham winner Rocco Mediate.

Singh though, currently sitting at 10th overall in the World Golf Rankings, is the tournament's "highest ranked golfer to commit to the tournament to date", and a perfect example of how an odd year in the PGA is suddenly reaping tremendous benefits for underrated Tour stops like the Wyndham.

Perhaps, it might be too early, as Brazil stated, "to call it a 'perfect storm', but [the field for the tournament] is looking very good."

Now, I have personally posited that Tiger Woods' absence is directly affecting smaller tournaments near the end of the regular Tour season in a positive manner. Brazil pointed out -- very rationally -- that "Tiger going down is like Michael Jordan in his prime with the Bulls going down."

And he's absolutely accurate, especially in saying that because of Tiger's dominance and popularity, " ... for everyone involved in the PGA Tour, it's a tough blow."

That was shown on the bottom line in terms of ratings performances at the AT&T and Wachovia tournaments recently. But Tiger was not showing up to Greensboro anyway, and his absence from the Tour has made for a substantially different approach by many golfers to the annual money list, the Ryder Cup rankings and, of course, the FedEx Cup standings.

The Wyndham's biggest advantage, in terms of the latter, is it's late season spot on the Tour. Look no further than last year's champ, Snedeker, who jumped from 26th overall in the FedEx Cup standings to 9th, following a win in Greensboro.

And maybe, as Brazil indicated, the Tiger-less advantage is purely psychological, with everyone imagining "that if he's in the game [it's already over] but when he's not there, suddenly everyone has a chance to win."

Regardless of how it affects the players' mindsets though, it is abundantly clear that this year is setting up for one of the most interesting and high-profiled fields that the Wyndham has seen in several years.

Many thanks to Wyndham Championship Tournament Director Mark Brazil for taking time out of his schedule recently to talk with FanHouse about the tournament and to Rob Goodman for setting up the interview.

If you're interested in swinging by the Triad area in August, hit up the tourney's site for tickets, or if you're just a golf enthusiast, check out how Sedgefield redid their old Ross course.