The Wells Fargo Championship has been held at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2003, with the exception of 2017 when the course was preparing to host the PGA Championship, and the event was held at Eagle Point Golf Club across the state in Wilmington. Last year’s tournament was canceled due to Covid-19, making 2019 winner Max Homa the defending champion.
The course plays to a par 71 at about 7,521 yards, depending on the placement of the tees for each round. Like last week’s three hole Snake Pit at the Copperhead course at the Innisbrook Resort, Quail Hollow has the famed Green Mile that constitutes holes 16 through 18.
As evidenced by the presence of a PGA Championship at the venue, Quail Hollow is a stern test of golf, and one of only four regular Tour stops that also are recent major championship sites. It joins Riviera Country Club, Pebble Beach, and Torrey Pines as U.S Open or PGA locations and will host the Presidents’ Cup in 2022 and another PGA Championship in 2025.
With the 2021 PGA Championship just two weeks away in nearby Kiawah Island, South Carolina, the Wells Fargo has attracted a strong field, including current FedEx Cup points leader Justin Thomas, a third ranked player in the world Jon Rahm, and reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau. All of them will be looking to pick up momentum heading to the second major of the calendar year and the fourth of the season, due to last year’s Covid-19 related postponements of the Masters and U.S. Open.
2019 Champion Max Homa (+3500) looks to defend his title at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Last Week at Copperhead
Sam Burns outdueled veteran Keegan Bradley over the weekend to win the Valspar Championship by three shots for his first PGA Tour victory. The former All-American out of LSU tied KJ Choi’s tournament record of 17 under par 267 on a course that played somewhat easier than usual due to the change in dates from March to May.
Betting Favorites at Quail Hollow
Players champion and second ranked player in the world Justin Thomas appeared frustrated with his play in the Valspar, despite a solid tie for 13th finish. It was his first start since a tie for 21st in the Masters, so perhaps he just needed to knock off some rust.
As the favorite at +800, Thomas will need to bring his “A” game to Quail Hollow if he wants to pick up his second win of the season. Just behind Thomas at +900 is Jon Rahm, winless since the 2020 Memorial, but he has recorded nine top ten finishes without a missed cut in 13 events so far in the 2020-2021 season.
Bryson DeChambeau, who has been idle since a disappointing 45th place tie at the Masters, fell into second place in the FedEx race behind Thomas last week and has odds of +1400. In March, the controversial figure won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and followed it up the next week with a tie for third in the Players.
Although Rory McIlroy has not been playing up to his standards, he has a pair of wins in the Wells Fargo, and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is the site of his dominating eight shot victory in 2012 PGA Championship. The four time major champion is at odds of +1800 this week, and returning to a comfortable venue could help him to regain his past form.
