Wells Fargo Championship Preview, Picks & Anaylsis

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

ASK Rory McIlroy to name his favourite course on the PGA Tour and, without a second's hesitation, he will tell you it is Quail Hollow, home of the Wells Fargo Championship. The Northern Irishman has won the tournament twice, and holds the tournament record and the course record. It may even be his favourite course on the planet.

When he won it by seven shots last year, for the second time, he required just 267 blows for 72 holes and a paltry 61 in the third round - a score that effectively meant the rest of the field really needn't have bothered turning up for the last day. It is not the first time he has brought the course to its knees - in 2010, he finished with rounds of 66 and 62 to beat a shell-shocked Phil Mickelson by four shots. He also lost in a playoff in 2012. In modern parlance, he owns the course and the tournament.

Don't run away with the idea that this is a short golf course. It is anything but. Quail Hollow Club measures 7,575 yards and is a tough par 72. No, really, it is. It will host the US PGA championship next year and the Presidents Cup in 2021. So go out right now and put a stack of money on McIlroy to win the PGA next season. The final three holes, dubbed the “Green Mile,” are considered perhaps the toughest closing stretch on tour.

McIlroy loves the places. It suits his eye and when he stands on the first tee he expects to play well and score even better. So he is going to be a very hard man to beat this week, especially as he is still looking for his first victory of 2016.

Mickelson tries once again for his first Wells Fargo victory, despite 10 top-12 finishes in 12 previous visits. He still has the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour for 2016, a sure sign that he is hitting the ball well - and straight. Webb Simpson, a former US Open champion, lives locally and is another who likes this place. He was runner-up to McIlroy last year and led after 54 holes in 2012. Simpson is one of those who has had to learn to live without his belly putter, but he has performed admirably on the greens this season and will surely win again soon.

The tournament has attracted a terrifc field, with eight of the top 12 in the world rankings competing, and it sees the return to action of Jim Furyk for the first time this season. The veteran has finally recovered from a long-standing wrist injury. He was comfortably inside the top 10 in the rankings at the end of 2015 but has now slipped to 24th. When will golf ever catch up with other sports and offer protected rankings to injured golfers? It seems absurd that Furyk, through no fault of his own, has seen his ranking fall so far, and it will be interesting to see how he plays. Quail Hollow suits straight hitters, so it should be the ideal place for Furyk to make his comeback.

Rickie Fowler won back in 2012. After a sensational start to the year, the American has gone cold but he will relish the prospect of returning to the site of his maiden PGA Tour win. Indeed, for a long while it looked like it might end up being his only victory. Anthony Kim is another former winner, as recently as 2008. Kim had the golfing world at his feet back then but, somewhere along the line, he lost the drive and commitment required to compete at the highest level. Apparently he scarcely ever picks up a golf club these days. What a waste of a God-given talent.

Two of the hottest prospects on the PGA Tour will also be in action, and it is safe to say that neither will ever follow the Kim route. Bryson DeChambeau continues to coin in the dollars he needs to secure his playing privileges for the rest of the season, and his deeds have left Ollie Schniederjans in the shade. These are two brilliant young golfers, one (DeChambeau) with his own way of playing the game, the other (Schniederjans) with a swing to die for.

I will also be keeping an eye on how Adam Scott performs. After those two wins earlier in the season he has the look of a man who once again believes he can putt and win anywhere, anytime. I am not convinced, mainly because I still have reservations about his putting, and always will have. I may end up being to look very stupid, but I am utterly convinced that he still has the heebie-jeebies when he has to putt on any green than is faster than average.

To Win:

Rory McIlroy. Just give him the trophy and the money

Each Way

Bryson DeChambeau. Mature beyond his years

Each Way

Phil Mickelson. Would you bet against another top 12 finish here? I wouldn't

Fantasy Picks

Rory McIlroy. I am not saying it's a foregone conclusion, but...

Bryson DeChambeau. Not everybody's cup of tea, but a star of the future

Phil Mickelson. Lefty has that look in his eye

Luke Donald. At last, he's back

Kevin Chappell. In cracking good form right now

Justin Thomas. As determined as they come

Justin Rose. Looking to bounce back from poor week in New Orleans

Hideki Matsuyama. A class act

Rickie Fowler. Course is made for his game

Dustin Johnson. If he drives well here, then he will be in the frame