One of the better weeks on the PGA Tour has rolled around this week as many stars of the game head to Charlotte in North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship.
This tournament has been the first stepping stone to successful careers for some of the world’s leading lights in recent times and as well as the established players teeing it up this week there are a number of players dreaming of breaking their duck here.
Recent winners
2015 – Rory McIlroy
2014 – JB Holmes
2013 – Derek Ernst
2012 – Rickie Fowler
2011 – Lucas Glover
2010 – Rory McIlroy
2009 – Sean O’Hair
2008 – Anthony Kim
2007 – Tiger Woods
2006 – Jim Furyk
The course
Once again Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte is the venue this week. The course is a real brute as a par 72 which now measures as long as 7,575 yards with a new back tee in use on the seventh hole.
If those numbers weren’t long enough a spy I have on the course this week tells me that it is very soft under foot and balls aren’t moving an inch once they pitch on the fairways so every single one of those yards is being played in this renewal.
That will add even more emphasis on driving where length will be important but so will keeping the ball in play as the rough could be harder than usual to come out of. Normally this tournament is about hitting greens and scrambling but with the course as soft as it is I’m expecting plenty of pin hunting to ensue this week so I’m all about length around here.
The iconic holes around here are the final three holes known as the Green Mile. If you play this stretch in level par for the week you will make significant strides on the field. Those three holes so late on Sunday always make for an exciting conclusion to the event.
This is the final time Quail Hollow hosts before the USPGA next year so I would imagine the organisers would want a tougher test than normal anyway but conditions could ensure that’s the case.
The field
This is a really strong renewal of this tournament when you think that it is The Players Championship next week. Rory McIlroy is in the field to defend his title and he is joined by leading lights such as Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson while former champion Jim Furyk returns to competitive action here having had time off for a wrist injury.
Two notable absentees are Dustin Johnson who pulled out on Tuesday and Stewart Cink who announced he is taking a break from competitive golf to take care of his wife Lisa who has sadly been diagnosed breast cancer. All at kevshatsportsbets wish Lisa Cink a speedy recovery.
Market leaders
Rory McIlroy heads the betting this week. He is 4/1 to retain his title and really the way the golf course has been drenched you would have to say conditions play perfectly into his hands. I wouldn’t want to back anyone at 4/1 but McIlroy is very much the one to beat this week.
Rickie Fowler is the man given the position of second favourite this week. He is 16/1 to land the title with Adam Scott 22/1. Scott is the same price as Henrik Stenson and then come Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose at 25/1 with Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson at 28/1. It is 30/1 bar those named.
Main bets
I’m going with three main bets this week. The first is on a man who I wouldn’t normally consider around here but whose strong tee to green game should make him a danger to all with conditions the way they are.
That is Henrik Stenson, a man very long off the tee who stings irons into holes like few in the game. If those irons are dialled in this week I’m expecting the Swede to go really close here even though his record in this tournament is poor.
Stenson has become very consistent in recent years. He has nine top three finishes in the last 11 months across the world and he’s already run up four top 15 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. It is rare we get Stenson at 22/1 these days but I’ll take advantage this week in the hope conditions have fallen right into his hands.
Daniel Berger was part of my team last week and after a second round that catapulted him into the top five I was getting excited of him delivering the goods but from there the event became a bit of a shambles and he was a victim of that.
I’m going to give him a go again here though. We know he’s playing well not just based on last week but his run in Houston and in The Masters too and this course should suit him well now that it is going to play longer than usual. He is long off the tee and hits plenty of greens and I’m expecting a big run from him again here.
I’ve not backed one of my favourites Byeong-Hun An for a while but after last week I’m putting that right here. An is another player who drives the ball well and gets it out there and he led the field in strokes gained from tee to green last week where he was beaten in a playoff.
Had there been four rounds he may well have won that tournament so that is a positive. We know he plays well at this time of year because he won the BMW PGA Championship around Wentworth just under 12 months ago and with this course setting up well for the Korean I’m happy to take him to go one better than he managed last week.
Outsiders
I’ll fire a couple of shots on two at bigger prices this week as well. The first of those is Jason Kokrak who has done well on the longer courses in recent times and while being edged out in a couple of events did nothing wrong on each occasion so that bodes well should he get into contention this week.
Kokrak’s length should keep him competitive this week and if he can get some putts to drop then the elusive win he’s been threatening for a while could just come his way on Sunday evening.
Finally whenever a tournament needs good driving and scrambling ability I can never look too far from Shane Lowry. When he’s on song Lowry hits plenty of greens in regulation and when he doesn’t hit the greens he has a dream of a short game so in theory he should go really well here.
We saw that Lowry was swinging the club well when he contended strongly during the opening round of The Masters. Conditions went against him later on in that tournament but I don’t expect them to do that here so at a three figure price I’ll take a punt on Lowry to deliver the goods on a course he should be able to go well on here.
Tips
Back H.Stenson to win Wells Fargo Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back D.Berger to win Wells Fargo Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back B-H.An to win Wells Fargo Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back J.Kokrak to win Wells Fargo Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 71.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back S.Lowry to win Wells Fargo Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-6)
Back him here:
