2024 Wells Fargo Championship Preview: Everything To Know About Quail Hollow Club

Another week of PGA TOUR action brings us to Quail Hollow Club, with the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship next on tap. Compare Wells Fargo Championship odds at the best sports betting sites to increase your potential PGA TOUR golf betting payouts. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Wyndham Clark project as the top favorites for this upcoming tournament.

The hallowed grounds of Quail Hollow Club return to action to host the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship for the fifth time since 2016. A highly sought-after championship venue, Quail Hollow hosted both the PGA Championship and Presidents Cup over that span. It’s exciting to see many of the world’s best converge here this week with yet another Signature Event and a purse of $20M on the line in Charlotte. Here’s a look ahead at everything you can expect from Quail Hollow Club and Wells Fargo Championship odds.

Not exactly the bomber’s paradise we saw at TPC Craig Ranch last week, the long ball off the tee is still plenty advantageous at Quail Hollow. A list of recent champions that includes Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy, and Max Homa back that up. Beyond pure distance, however, Quail Hollow tests the field’s total driving, long iron approaches, and ability to consistently scramble for pars on fast Bermuda greens.

A winning score surpassed 12-under par just twice here over the last seven years. The Wells Fargo Championship should serve as ideal prep for the difficult scoring conditions in store at the PGA Championship at Valhalla next week.

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THE FIELD AT A GLANCE

As yet another Signature Event, virtually all of the PGA TOUR’s best converge in Charlotte this week. While I have my concerns with forcing the best players in the world to hang around for a second week together after The Masters, this is a far more sensible decision on the schedule than the last Signature Event at the RBC Heritage. Quail Hollow should serve as the perfect week of prep for top players to tune up their driving, long irons, and scrambling around firm and fast greens before making a short trip over to Louisville, Kentucky.

In this limited field of just 68 players, almost every top player on the PGA TOUR has flocked to North Carolina. There is just one minor exception – World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, will not appear in the field as he is expecting to welcome his firstborn child. That is a welcomed sight to those playing and watching the Wells Fargo Championship, as it opens the door for far more parity among contenders.

Wyndham Clark picked up his first career PGA TOUR win at this event last year, serving as a springboard for his ascent to becoming a top-10 player in the world ever since. He is back this week to defend his title and enters in great form to do so. Max Homa, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, and Rory McIlroy represent the full list of past champions at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Justin Thomas is also notable in the field as a past winner on these grounds at the 2017 PGA Championship.

INTRODUCTION TO QUAIL HOLLOW CLUB

Designed by George Cobb in 1959, Quail Hollow Club has already enjoyed a rich history over its first 64 years. It first hosted the PGA TOUR’s Kemper Open in 1969 until 1979. When the Kemper Open switched over to Congressional, it went on to host the World Seniors Invitational before finding a more stable home as host of the Wells Fargo Championship starting in 2003.

With renovations from Tom Fazio in 1997, 2003, and 2016, Quail Hollow Club has been modernized to withstand the increased length of PGA TOUR pros and is a quintessential fit as a Major championship venue. It hosted the 2017 PGA Championship where Thomas went on to secure his first career Major and will be back on the Major circuit soon again for the 2025 PGA Championship.

We last saw Quail Hollow at the 2022 Presidents Cup about seven months ago. Though the routing and format were not exactly the same as Wells Fargo’s, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Si Woo Kim, and Sungjae Im each impressed in their latest trips here.

Like most other modern Major championship-style venues, Quail Hollow rewards the longest players off the tee and requires polished all-around skillsets from tee to green. Compared to Major conditions, the fairways are less pinched for the Wells Fargo, opening the door for shorter fairway-finders like Abraham Ancer, Joel Dahmen, and Nick Watney to contend here in the last three years.

These are exceptions to the rule, however, as bombers consistently littered the tops of leaderboards here over the years.

For Quail Hollow course specs, hole-by-hole breakdown with yardages, and past Wells Fargo Championship winners with their pre-tournament odds, visit our Wells Fargo Championship page.

Editor’s Note

EVENT HISTORY AND COURSE COMPS

Any course that’s been tapped to host a Major in recent years can be counted on to impose a stern test to the field. Similar to what we’ve seen from other modern Major championship venues, Quail Hollow Club rewards elite tee-to-green play, particularly favoring long drivers who can score on 450+ yard par-4s, are proficient with their long irons, and can consistently scramble for pars with a lower greens-in-regulation percentage expected.

Looking at recent course history, eight players have multiple T16 finishes over the last four years at Quail Hollow: Rory McIlroy, Keith Mitchell, Emiliano Grillo, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, and Gary Woodland, .

Eight players have avoided missing the cut over the last four years at Quail Hollow (minimum of three appearances): Rory McIlroy, Emiliano Grillo, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Seamus Power, Harris English, Corey Conners, and Webb Simpson.

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is the clear course horse at Quail Hollow. He’s won the Wells Fargo Championship three times and has just two finishes outside the top 10 in his last nine appearances here, dating back to 2012. The Wells Fargo Championship has a history of going down to the wire, with six championships being decided in a playoff since the inaugural 2003 tournament. Only four times the event was won by 4+ strokes, and two of those were won by McIlroy. With Scheffler absent this week, all eyes will be on Rory as he carries forward the momentum of the Zurich Classic victory from his last start at the Zurich Classic.

Looking at total strokes gained at Quail Hollow over the last 10 years, the top 10 players in course history are: Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Max Homa, Brendon Todd, Viktor Hovland, Emiliano Grillo, Wyndham Clark, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas.

Course Comps

Torrey Pines stands out as the most apparent comp course to Quail Hollow, as both venues place a premium on driving distance while still offering a stern test all around from tee to green. Both venues are also on the Major championship course rotation in addition to being mainstays on the PGA TOUR schedule. Max Homa and Jason Day won at both courses within the last five years.

From a leaderboard overlap standpoint, Riviera CC also bears plenty in common with Quail Hollow, as Max Homa, J.B. Holmes, and James Hahn all won at both events. Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, and Phil Mickelson add to the list of consistent contenders on both tracks.

After Torrey Pines and Riviera CC, Bay Hill, Muirfield Village, Winged Foot, Southern Hills, and Bethpage Black fall in the next tier for me as comparable long and difficult courses. Given the Tom Fazio influence, the Summit Club, Congaree, and Shadow Creek also serve as solid tertiary comps. Quail Hollow stalwarts McIlroy and Keith Mitchell demonstrated great consistency there, as well.

Combine performance across this long list of difficult bomber tracks, and the top 10 players in Comp Course History from this week’s field are: Max Homa, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, and Matt Fitzpatrick.

KEY STATS TO CONSIDER

• Driving Distance / SG: OTT
• SG: APP / Prox 175+
• SG: ARG / Scrambling
• Par 4: 450+
• SG: TOT & Bogey Avoidance (Difficult Scoring Conditions)
• SG: Putting (Bermuda) / 3-Putt Avoidance
• Course & Comp Course History

A week after the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, we keep the pedal down on Driving Distance importance. Excluding James Hahn, all other winners at Quail Hollow dating back to 2014 (Clark, Homa, Day, Thomas, McIlroy, Holmes) have ranked top 15 in Driving Distance leading in. The top 15 players in Driving Distance in this field entering this week are: Rory McIlroy, Byeong Hun An, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Stephan Jaeger, Jake Knapp, Tony Finau, Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Tway, Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala, Jordan Spieth, and Xander Schauffele.

Quail Hollow’s combination of eight 450+ yard par-4s, three 175+ yard par-3s, and three par-5s combine to draw a significant 56% of approaches from beyond 175 yards. The top 10 players in weighted proximity from 175+ yards are: Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Hoge, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Corey Conners, Jake Knapp, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Wesley Bryan, and Sungjae Im.

Proximity aside, the hole distances are concentrated with eight par-4s measuring between 450-510 yards. The top 10 players scoring in this range are: Chris Kirk, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Young, and Sam Burns.

More Than Just a Bomber’s Course

Of course, a venue like Quail Hollow – which has produced a field median score of around Even par each of the last 10 years – requires more than sheer power to score. Narrow fairways, penal rough, and fast greens all contribute to a Greens In Regulation percentage of just 61%. That’s well below the PGA TOUR average.

Greenside hazards aren’t the most complex, but being able to scramble around the green is crucial here. Just eight players rank above average in SG: ARG, Scrambling, Bogey Avoidance, and SG: TOT (Difficult Scoring Conditions): Chris Kirk, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, and Jason Day.

To summarize this week, I’m looking for players who are long off the tee, great ball strikers, solid on Proximity from 175+, reliable around fast Bermuda greens and have proven results on other comp difficult courses. Eight players rank above average in each of those categories: Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, and Matthieu Pavon.

Correlation at Quail Hollow

It’s worth noting that the profile of players who find success at Quail Hollow doesn’t stray too far from the TOUR average. That’s common on difficult scoring venues, so we can say that the best players in the world are going to fare best here. The most notable difference to flag, however, would be the premium on Opportunities Gained (7th vs 13th on average) and SG: SG (9th vs 14th on average).

Eight players in the field rank above average in each of the above key stat categories: Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Shane Lowry, Max Homa, Harris English, and Matt Fitzpatrick.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Ludvig Åberg

It’s hard to believe the Swedish phenom is still chasing his first win of 2024, considering he’s played himself into contention in virtually every single event this season and looked unflappably stoic throughout. The last time Åberg did win on the PGA TOUR, however, was on a Bermuda-based Tom Fazio design at the 2023 RSM Classic, which is a nice omen leading up to his Wells Fargo Championship debut.

Debuts have not been a deterrent for the 2023 Rookie-of-the-year snub. He burst onto the scene in June 2023 and continues to see PGA TOUR courses for the first time week over week without issue. He wasted no time acclimating to the most nuanced course in the world, Augusta National, finishing runner-up in his debut two starts ago. So, Quail Hollow’s one-dimensional game plan of hitting the driver and long irons on each hole should require a much simpler game plan.

With Scheffler absent, there is no other player in the field this week more consistent this season than Åberg, who has finished top-25 in each of his last eight starts, including five top-10s over that stretch. He’s always a threat to contend on courses like this that reward long and accurate driving and precision with long irons to generate birdie-or-better opportunities on long par-5s. His odds won’t come at a discount in this limited field, but he fits the mold of a Quail Hollow contender perfectly and appears worth targeting on a condensed outright card this week.

2024 WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: DFS PLAYER POOL

With all the course-fit profiles in mind, I’m leaning early towards the below player pool. Naturally, I’m looking their way in the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship odds as well. I’ve broken the list down by projected pricing/odds tier for DraftKings.

UNDERDOG GOLF DRAFT RANKINGS TIERS

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Tier 1

Rory McIlroy
Ludvig Åberg
Xander Schauffele
Wyndham Clark

Tier 2

Max Homa
Hideki Matsuyama
Justin Thomas
Cameron Young

Tier 3

Jason Day
Will Zalatoris
Matt Fitzpatrick
Sam Burns
Corey Conners

Tier 4

Akshay Bhatia
Harris English
Jake Knapp
Stephan Jaeger

Tier 5

Adam Schenk
Adam Hadwin
Seamus Power
Emiliano Grillo

Wells Fargo Championship MODEL RESULTS & BREAKDOWN

In my BTN model this week, I’m emphasizing Comp Course History, Prox 175+, SG: APP, Par-4: 450+, and SG: ARG, followed by a more balanced mix of Driving Distance, SG: P (L36, Bermuda, 3-Putt Avoidance), and Bogey Avoidance.

Defending champion Wyndham Clark is the No. 1 player in my model this week. He’ll enjoy Scheffler’s absence more than most, as Clark has already finished runner-up to Scheffler twice this season at THE PLAYERS and Arnold Palmer Invitational. It’s hard to believe Clark’s first career professional win came just one year ago at this event, considering the meteoric rise he’s made since. His five-stroke win at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship was one of the most dominant displays we’ve seen on the PGA TOUR over the last year, so it’s clear his game is well-suited to attack Quail Hollow.

After Clark, the rest of my model’s top 10 is rounded out by Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Hoge, Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia, Billy Horschel, and Max Homa.

When Wells Fargo Championship odds open, I’m tempted to roll out a condensed, two-man card of Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Åberg. With Recent Form, Driving Distance, and proficiency with long irons proving so consistent year over year in predicting contenders at Quail Hollow, it’s hard to picture one of those two not in the mix down the stretch come Sunday. Check back in later this week for more updates. Best of luck navigating 2024 Wells Fargo Championship odds!

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