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GREENSBORO -- If a professional golf tournament aspires to greatness, as the Wyndham Championship most certainly does, it needs some major occurrences to set it apart.

That's exactly what the Wyndham got during a week that couldn't have gone better had it been scripted by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem himself. In seven days the Wyndham got all of the following:

* Major golfers: Zach Johnson, Davis Love III and Davd Toms showed up. Not enough? How do Vijay Singh and John Daly land on the ear? Collectively, they're not exactly tearing up the tour these days. Still, collectively they've won eight majors.

* Major stories: It's a safe bet Carl Pettersson's high school yearbook doesn't list him as "Most likely to succeed at winning a PGA Tour event in his own back yard." But that's what Pettersson, a 1996 Grimsley graduate, did with his four-day blitzing of the field and Sedgefield Country Club, winning with a 21-under 259 total.

* Major support: Giddy tournament officials are still counting receipts, but estimate that more than 80,000 fans poured through Sedgefield's gates for the four days of play. Tournament officials haven't seen such numbers in more than a half-century.

* Major controversy: Privately, tournament officials and some club members would have preferred to see the tour bring more of Sedgefield's Donald Ross-designed features into play. Some folks liked seeing all those birdies and eagles. Others thought some holes made a mockery of Kris Spence's renovation. Either way, it makes for great debate and interesting speculation leading to next year's tournament.

So, is the Wyndham Championship great? Hardly. But it's getting better, and organizers said what transpired last week will go a long way toward providing the kind of lore the event needs.

Even someone as particular as Bobby Long, chairman of the foundation that runs the Wyndham, was pleased with the week that was.

"Absolutely magnificent," he said. "I'm so appreciative of everyone's support. We couldn't be more pleased."

By any measure the Wyndham seems to have been a success. Thirty-six skyboxes, where tournaments generate most of their revenue, were sold along Sedgefield's closing four holes. Another three chalet tents were sold elsewhere on the course and six rooms were rented out within the clubhouse.

"When you looked out at all the suites and people this weekend, it didn't look like a bad economy," said Mark Brazil, the tournament's director. "We're not going to have this economy forever, so I'm really excited about next year."

Tour officials seemed please, too. Tim Crosby, director of business affairs for the tour, said Monday that players and tour officials were raving about their week in Greensboro.

"There was a buzz we hadn't seen or heard in years," he said. "And that clubhouse looked like it belonged up North, but everyone inside had such a friendly Southern hospitality. It was like the best of both worlds."

Officials said there were kinks to iron out that usually accompany a tournament that is, essentially, playing at a course for the first time.

Brazil said buses taking fans to and from the course could have been quicker -- he wants fans to get out of their cars and be on the grounds in eight minutes. And a few pedestrian logjams occurred around the ninth green, which runs up hard against the clubhouse.

And, of course, there's the course itself.

Sources said Long and Spence expressed their concerns to the tour's rules committee about less-than-challenging tee boxes and pin placements on some holes.

Spence declined to comment Monday, referring questions to Brazil and Long. Long would not confirm those talks, but acknowledged he was surprised at some hole setups.

"The tour has a definite plan on how to set up a golf course," he said. "We have our ideas on how we want it set up, but then we don't do this for a living."

Long, who serves on the greens committee at Florida's Seminole Golf Club, one of Ross' more famous creations, said the foundation will meet with tour officials in a few months to talk about next year's setup.

Lost in all the attention given to Pettersson's course-record 61 and other low rounds was the fact that Sedgefield's four-day scoring average was 68.7. That's 1.3 strokes below its designated par of 70. By comparison, the average score at Forest Oaks last year was 69.9, or 2.1 strokes below the course's par of 72.

It didn't help that Sedgefield received two healthy doses of rainfall -- Wednesday and Friday -- making the greens soft and receptive. Also, Sedgefield superintendent Keith Woods had the greens in excellent shape, said Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion.

"Somebody told me the greens were in good condition, but really they're perfect," Johnson said. "People shouldn't be surprised that guys are going to shoot low numbers with greens this nice."

Crosby said, "There's only so much we can do this time of year," when asked about the course setup in a typically hot, muggy August in Greensboro.

Crosby also said the tour was mindful that the Wyndham was following a brutally difficult PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

"These guys were beat up up there," he said. "I think it was a nice change coming to Greensboro."

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