Can a certain Northern Irishman finally reassert himself on the PGA Tour? Damien Kayat seems to think so. Find out who else he is tipping to come good at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here.
2024 US PGA Tour
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club
9th-12th May
Taylor Pendrith won his maiden US PGA Tour event in truly dramatic fashion last week, as playing partner Ben Kohles completely imploded on the 18th to gift him a one-shot victory at the Byron Nelson CJ Cup. It was an exhilarating victory that truly underscored this boom period for Canadian golf.
Wells Fargo Championship
The Tour now moves to its next Signature Event: the Wells Fargo Championship. It’s slightly weird timing to have such a high-profile event a week before the year’s second Major Championship. Make no mistake: every one of those players is going to have an eye on Valhalla next week.
This monster almost provides the ideal tune-up for that beast. World No.1 and golfing Übermensch Scottie Scheffler will not be in attendance as he awaits the birth of his first baby. There are murmurings that he actually may skip next week’s major if necessary. I hope that’s not the case because it would almost feel illegitimate if someone else won a major without Scheffler there to challenge them.
The Wells Fargo Championship is now firmly established as a Signature Event and it will feature one of the most illustrious non-major fields in world golf.
It was first staged back in 2023 and this will be the 21st renewal (the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic). This will be the 19th edition hosted at Quail Hollow. The 2017 edition was staged at Eagle Point due to Quail Hollow hosting the US PGA Championship (won by Justin Thomas).
The 2022 edition was hosted at TPC Potomac as Quail Hollow took on hosting duties of the President’s Cup. The fact that Quail Hollow regularly hosts these major events tells you everything you need to know about this classical layout.
Quail Hollow
Designed by George Cobb in 1961, Quail Hollow hosted the Kemper Open between 1969 and 1979. It underwent a Fazio facelift in 1997 and has been tinkered with constantly since then. The ultra-fast greens- Bermuda overseeded with Poa- run at around 13 on the stimp and players will need to putt and scramble effectively.
Many dreams have been dashed at the storied ‘Green Mile’, a three-hole closing stretch that is regularly ranked as one of the most difficult finishes in golf. This course is an absolute beast at 7,554 yards.
Driving Distance has become a much more important indicator of success in the last decade or so. Jim Furyk (2006) is the only course winner to ever rank outside the top 28 in Driving Distance. Historically, GIR has probably been the key bellwether of success here. But some of the course extensions have probably made Driving Distance just as important as approach play.
There has always been a strong correlation between Quail Hollow and Riviera. When Homa won the Genesis in 2021, he became the third winner in six years to have also won this event at Quail Hollow.
The Contenders
Rory McIlroy loves Quail Hollow and will arrive in fine form after claiming that Zurich title playing alongside Shane Lowry. This could provide him with the perfect warm-up for next week’s test at Valhalla.
Rookie sensation Ludvig Aberg has withdrawn from this week’s event due to a knee issue. Defending champion Wyndham Clark could contend once again this week while last year’s runner-up- Xander Schauffele- has been in tremendously consistent form.
Max Homa is a former two-time champion of this event and he recently had a brush with greatness at Augusta. Elsewhere, the likes of Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young have been in excellent recent form.
Sidenote: wouldn’t it be nice if reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland could regain some form?
Past Winners
2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8) *played at TPC Potomac
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2020: event cancelled due to pandemic
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
To Win Outright:
Rory McIlroy 13/2 | Xander Schauffele 9/1 | Wyndham Clark 16/1 | Patrick Cantlay 18/1 | Collin Morikawa 22/1
Value Bets
Cameron Young- To Win 25/1 | To Place 11/2
This is surely as good a time as any for Cameron Young to finally win his maiden title. He will be looking to join the likes of Rory and Wyndham Clark by breaking his PGA Tour duck at Quail Hollow. Young has played extremely consistent golf this season, picking up four top-ten finishes in ten events (with no missed cuts). He finished runner-up at Innisbrook and he just looks right for this layout. Young tends to thrive on tough layouts (he recently finished T9 at Augusta). He played college golf at the nearby Wake Forest and should be familiar with this area. He currently ranks 1st on tour from 175-200 yards (a yardage which should feature prominently on this behemoth). Young hits it far and relatively straight which should put him in prime position this week.
Corey Conners- To Win 50/1 | To Place 11/1
I’m really liking the look of Corey Conners in the place markets. The Canadian has been a bastion of consistency this season, making the cut in all 11 of his official events. Sure, he is yet to post a top-ten finish. But seven top-35 finishes are more than enough to suggest that he could make a deep run here. Conners is one of the best ball strikers out there, ranking fourth in Stokes Gained: Approach and third in GIR on the Tour this season. He finished in a tie for eighth here last season and I expect him to threaten the places this week.
The Man to Beat- Rory McIlroy- To Win 13/2 | To Place 14/10
Could this be the week where Rory finally reasserts himself? I’m hoping that he is buoyed by that Zurich triumph playing alongside Shane Lowry. The absence of Scottie Scheffler will exponentially improve everyone’s chances this week. But let’s cut right to the chase: Rory is an absolute Quail Hollow specialist. He has won this event three times and has only managed to finish outside the top ten twice in nine appearances. He sits comfortably atop the pile in strokes gained at Quail Hollow over the last ten years and this could be the perfect warmup for a major championship push at Valhalla next week.
