Wells Fargo Championship: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

Wells Fargo Championship
Date: May 3^nd – 6^th
Course: Quail Hollow Club
Purse - $7.9MM ($1.4MM to winner)
FedEx points – 500 to winner(s)
2018 Winner: Jason Day (-12)

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 laid throughout usually at the low points further reiterating solid ball placement atop the elevation changes. Additionally the course is 7,600 yards giving it a decent amount of distance required.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

My Starting 4

Phil Mickelson (3^rd selection this year) — The only golfer with top 20 finishes each of the last three years here, Phil took last week off after an 18^th place finish at the Masters. He is currently 44^th in strokes gained tee to green.

Chesson Hadley (1^st selection this year) — I picked him here last year, he has a history of success at Quail Hollow with one exception in 2017 when he started out with one bad round and couldn’t rebound from it. He finished 11^th here in 2016 and 16^th here last year.

Luke List (1^st selection this year) — He has a mix of recent finishes with his last 10 tournaments yielding – four missed cuts, two top 15 finishes and four finishes in the 40s and 50s. He finished 9^th here last year and he is 41^st in total strokes gained as well as 10^th in strokes gained off the tee.

Vaughn Taylor (1^st selection this year) — He is one of just five golfers to have top 45 finishes each of the last three years here. This included a 12^th place finish in 2017. He is fresh off two missed cuts but the last time he missed cuts in three consecutive tournaments was in 2016. His last two finishes off two missed cuts was 7^th and 9^th place finishes, I think stars are aligning for him to have a good weekend.

My Bench 2

Robert Streb (1^st selection this year) — He has top 50 finishes each of the last three years here and he was 22^nd last week at Zurich Classic; however, there is risk with him as he has four missed cuts in his last six tournaments.

Johnson Wagner (1^st selection this year) — With a 28^th place finish here in 2016 and 13^th place finish last year he has a history of pedigree here. His three missed cuts in the last four tournaments has me nervous but he is 10^th in greens in regulation percentage which is respectable.

2019 Stats

Starting 4: Avg finish 43^rd (35^th percentile)
Bench 2: Avg finish 55^th (45^th percentile)