Wells Fargo Championship: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

Wells Fargo Championship

Date: May 3^rd – 6^th

Course: Quail Hollow Club – Eagle Point Golf Club

Purse: $7.7MM ($1.4MM to each winner)

FedEx points: 500 to the winner

2017 Winner: Brian Harman (-10)

Course: Quail Hollow Club – Eagle Point Golf Club. Designed in 1961 by George Cobb it was slightly modified by Arnold Palmer in 1986 and Tom Fazio in 1997 and 2003. It features some rolling hills and a decent amount of elevation changes. Ball placement is important. Traps are layed throughout usually at the low points further reiterating solid ball placement atop the elevation changes.

Starting 4

Rory McIlroy. Winner here in 2015, 4^th here in 2016, he did not participate in play here last year. Currently 7^th in OWGR, Rory is 21^st in total strokes gained on the PGA Tour this year with top 5 finishes in two of his last 3 tournaments. Additionally, he’s currently 7^th in eagles and 9^th in scoring average.

Phil Mickelson. The only golfer with 3 consecutive top 20 finishes at Wells Fargo he was 4^th in 2015 & 2016 before a slight regression to 18^th last year. He’s 4^th in FedEx ranking thanks five top ten finishes and largely to seven top 20 finishes across his 11 starts this year. Highlights are 6^th in strokes gained approaching the green, 2^nd in total strokes gained and 3^rd in birdie average.

Chesson Hadley. He finished 20^th here in 2015 and 11^th here in 2016. Last year he struggled both Thursday and Friday here. He’s currently 19^th in FedEx Cup Ranking with top 20 finishes in his last 4 consecutive tournaments. 6^th in strokes gained approaching the green, 32^nd in strokes gained putting and 14^th in total strokes gained.

Patrick Reed. The Masters champ finished 28^thhere in 2016 and 12^th here last year. He continued his strong play with a 7^th place finish at Zurich, his fifth consecutive top 10 finish on the tour. He’s 4^thin strokes gained approaching the green and 28^thin total strokes gained.

Bench 2

Daniel Berger. Three consecutive top 40 finishes here (28^th in 2015, 17^th in 2016 and 36^th in 2017). Currently 34^th in strokes gained putting and 37^th in strokes gained total, his missed cut at Zurich snapped 5 consecutive made cuts, additionally he bounces back well from missed cuts. His last five missed cuts have turned to: 29^th, 33^rd, 2^nd, 36^thand 39^th.

Jonathan Randolph. He finished 20^th here last in 2015 and 8^th here in 2017 (he did not participate in 2016). Given his play this year, it’s a bit of a longshot. A 31^st place finish at Zurich broke three consecutive tournaments where he missed the cut. More broadly, every strokes gained stat he is higher than 90^th, he’s 195^th in greens in regulation to go with 95^th in eagles and 203^rd in birdies, hence the bench spot.

2018 Average Stats:

Starting 4 average finish: 42^nd place (33^rdpercentile)

Bench 2 average finish: 42^nd place (34^th percentile)