This weekend, the PGA Tour heads to Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship. The tournament is one of eight ‘signature' events on the tour's calendar, which means only the very best golfers will tee it up this weekend.
Despite that, the number one golfer on the planet (by some margin) won't participate due to personal circumstances. Scottie Scheffler's wife is due to give birth to the couple's first child, so the world number one has declined to participate. It remains to be seen whether the 27-year-old, who has won four of the last five tournaments he has played in, will participate at the PGA Championship next week.
Enough about who isn't playing and on to who is. The field this weekend in North Carolina is stacked as the sport's best players all look to fine-tune their games ahead of the second major of the year next week at Valhalla. Who is looking in good shape and ready to take on the par-71 course at Quail Hollow?
Wells Fargo Championship betting tips
Rory McIlroy E/W (12 places) – 11/2
With Scottie Scheffler absent this week, Rory McIlroy comes into the tournament as the favourite to take home the trophy. We can understand why and believe an 11/2 E/W bet represents fantastic value, considering the positivity flowing through the Northern Irishman right now.
McIlroy enjoyed himself more than he had done on a golf course in a long time last time out when he paired with Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. McIlroy has always been a streaky player and the confidence he will have gained from that victory should serve him well here, particularly without the presence of the world number one.
What's more, McIlroy has proven himself at Quail Hollow on more than one occasion. His first win on the PGA Tour came in this event back in 2010, while he has also won around here in 2015 and 2021. The length of the course makes it advantageous to be able to stripe the ball off the tee, something McIlroy is more than equipped at doing.
From 2010-2022, winners of this event have gained 28.5% of their total strokes off the tee. That's a huge number, and given that McIlroy leads the way in terms of shots gained off the tee on the PGA Tour this season (out of the players in the field this week), then you have to fancy him to have a positive week and at least finish inside the top 12 to cover the E/W.
Chris Kirk E/W (12 places) – 33/1
Continuing with the theme of players who can laser a ball down the fairway with distance, we come to Chris Kirk who is one of the most accurate drivers of a ball on the tour. Of the players teeing it up this week in North Carolina, Kirk is third in terms of strokes gained off the tee this season and he has been putting in solid performances all year.
The 39-year-old already has one win to his name this season – at Sentry in January – and has been in contention on other occasions, including at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the RBC Heritage three weeks ago when he finished inside the top ten in a stacked field.
This is Kirk's first event since RBC Heritage so will come into it fresher than those who competed at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Given Quail Hollow is a lengthy golf course, this freshness could serve him well over the weekend provided he makes the cut.
Tom Hoge E/W (12 places) – 40/1
Finally, Tom Hoge is someone worth considering on the E/W market. Without stating the obvious, landing your approach shots as close to the pin as possible will be important this week, but it's a skill that the majority of players find difficult at Quail Hollow.
The distance that most players have difficulty with at this course is the 50-125-yard range. Approaches from this distance in 2021, the last time the event was played at Quail Hollow, had an average proximity to the hole of 21 feet, 10 inches.
This season, Hoge is not only ranked 2nd in terms of shots gained on approach shots but is averaging a hole proximity of 15 feet, 9 inches on approach shots from 50-125 yards.
Andy is tipster who has been calling Golf tournaments for several years across many different platforms. He has covered all tournaments from the Asian Tour to the Masters.
