RADIO
Hello folks, and welcome back to Horse For The Course. The cream most certainly rose to the top in last week's Mexico Open, with heavy favorites Jon Rahm and Tony Finau (both of whom were feature in this article last week!) battling it out for the title. Finau ultimately held off the world's current No. 1 thanks to some stellar play. The win marked Big Tony's fourth win in his last 18 PGA Tour starts.
After a bit of a lull on the PGA Tour schedule that included the Mexico Open and Zurich Classic, we're back into elite territory this week with the Wells Fargo Championship. This event features a strong field and will be played at Quail Hollow, one of pro golf's toughest courses.
Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our excellent PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!
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2023 Wells Fargo Championship
PGA DFS grinders received a bit of a breather the last two weeks with the Zurich Classic and Mexico Open coming back to back. However, we'll need to quickly refocus for this week's Wells Fargo Championship!
This tournament is traditionally held at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, although the pros have only teed it up once here over the past three years due to COVID and the course hosting last year's President's Cup. It's a long and tough layout, but one that is almost universally praised as one of the top courses in the country.
We've been a little spoiled by the Tour's new "Designated" events this year, and while the Wells Fargo will feature a terrific field, the top two players in the OWGR (Jon Rahm & Scottie Scheffler) will not be teeing it up. While it would be nice to have them, there's plenty to love about the field showing up to Charlotte. Defending Wells Fargo champ Max Homa will square off against a group that includes Rory McIlroy - in his first start since the debacle at the Masters - as well as last week's winner Tony Finau. Players like Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, and Collin Morikawa will also be vying for this coveted title. All in all, this is a terrific event that will be a great DFS opportunity!
You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles to help you win big!
The Course: Quail Hollow Club
Par 71 - 7,538 Yards, Greens: Bermuda, Designed By: George Cobb, Renovations By: Tom Fazio
Originally designed by George Cobb in 1961, Quail Hollow has always presented players with the daunting closing stretch dubbed the "Green Mile", but a Tom Fazio upgrade prior to hosting the 2017 PGA Championship puts the North Carolina layout in the conversation for one of the tougher tests on the Tour schedule.
The first thing that jumps out is Quail Hollow's length. At almost 7,600 yards, a golfer's distance will play an important factor this week. Players will be using the big dog often, which makes me very interested in a player's prowess off the tee. Ball striking will be important, as it seemingly is every week. We must also consider scrambling ability and bogey avoidance on this tough layout.
Recent Wells Fargo Winners & Scoring Info
- 2022: Max Homa (-8)
- 2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
- 2020: N/A
- 2019: Max Homa (-15)
- 2018: Jason Day (-12)
- Average Winning Score Last Five Years: -11.25
The Horse
Rory McIlroy
- Event Scoring Average: 69.38 (11 career starts)
- Notable Course History: Win (2021), T4 ('16), Win ('15), T2 ('12), Win ('10)
- DraftKings Price: $11,100 FanDuel Price: $12,100
Apparently not a fan of Hilton Head, this will mark Rory McIlroy's first start since his disastrous outing at the Masters, where he shot 72-77 to miss the cut in a letdown of epic proportions. If you've been a Rory fan for very long, then you know that these things are just part of the job.
If McIlroy is to wipe the bad taste from his mouth and regain focus on the three major championships that still lie ahead this year, Quail Hollow is the place to do it. The man from Northern Ireland has found Charlotte to be a safe haven in the past, as it's where he scored his first career PGA Tour victory and two more since.
Playing at over 7,500 yards, Quail Hollow consistently rewards those that are long and strong off the tee, and few are better with driver in hand than McIlroy. Though the Camerons (Young & Champ) are in hot pursuit, Rory remains the longest player in the game. He's averaging just over 326 yards in driving distance this season, the best mark on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy rarely misses cuts and it's even rarer still for him to miss back-to-back cuts such as he has in his last two starts at THE PLAYERS and Masters. The last time it happened? 2021, when he missed back-to-back cuts at the...wait for it...PLAYERS and Masters. What did he do in his next start? You guessed it, he won the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. For Rory backers, time is indeed a flat circle.
The Ponies
Viktor Hovland
- Event Scoring Average: 69.00 (One career start)
- Notable Course History: T3 ('21)
- DraftKings Price: $9,200 FanDuel Price: $10,600
Vik eventually has to win one of these things, right? While the happy-go-lucky Norwegian has some wins on his professional resume, he's yet to truly break through in a big-time event. However, he's been routinely knocking on the door.
Firmly in the mix at last year's Open Championship, this year's PLAYERS, and last month's Masters, the 25-year-old is showing why nearly everyone around the golf industry has predicted big things for him since he was an amateur. Hovland is one of the game's most consistent ball strikers (first in this elite Wells Fargo field in SG: Ball Striking L24). That sharp tee-to-green play routinely puts him in a position to succeed on the schedule's toughest layouts, such as Quail Hollow.
Hovland's history at the Charlotte layout isn't extensive, but a weekend score of 68-67 - that resulted in a T3 in the 2021 edition of the Wells Fargo - is enough of a clue about his ability to handle this tough course.
Rickie Fowler
- Event Scoring Average: 70.43 (10 career starts)
- Notable Course History: T4 ('19), T4 ('16), Win ('12), T6 ('10)
- DraftKings Price: $8,800 FanDuel Price: $10,100
There have been some false starts over the past couple of years, but Fowler's game appears to actually be "back" in 2023. While we'd seen some random pops that gave us cause for occasional optimism during his prolonged slump, the fan favorite has finally rediscovered what was the calling card of his game for years...consistency.
While he's not been able to stamp his return with a win, Fowler has played the game at a very high level over the past six months - which just so happens to coincide with a reunion with long-time swing coach, Butch Harmon. The improvement has been eye-opening, as he finished last season ranked 101st on the PGA Tour in SG: T2G and has climbed all the way up to 17th this season.
Fowler has gained strokes on Approach in every single start he's made this year and grades out fourth in this week's elite field in SG: Approach (L36).
The good vibes should continue to flow this week at Quail Hollow, a golf course where he's found loads of success throughout his career. It's the layout on which he won his first PGA Tour event in 2012 and he's logged two top-five finishes and a pair of top-25s across his seven subsequent appearances.
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End of the Season Totals: @rotoballer @BettorGolfPod
2017 +54.26 Units
2018 +55.88 Units
2019 +27.743 Units
2020 + 37.015 Units
2021 + 68.846 Units
2022 +67.485 UnitsTotal Winnings: +311.229 Units
Total Outright Wins Since 2017: 36
H2H Totals Inside Thread… https://t.co/pNQrSK1rFE
— Spencer Aguiar (@TeeOffSports) December 12, 2022
Keith Mitchell
- Event Scoring Average: 70.00 (Four career starts)
- Notable Course History: T3 ('21) T8 ('19), T34 ('18)
- DraftKings Price: $7,800 FanDuel Price: $9,600
Oh, baby...it's feelin' Cashmere up in here. Cashmere Keith glides into Charlotte in search of his third straight top-eight result at Quail Hollow.
The UGA alum has consistently thrived on this lengthy layout thanks to his elite ability off the tee. Quail Hollow is a driver-heavy layout that requires excellence with the tee ball, an area where Mitchell has thrived. He grades out first in this elite Wells Fargo field in SG: OTT, while ranking 11th in Driving Distance (L50).
Though he's cooled a bit of late, Mitchell isn't too far removed from playing at a level that resulted in top-five finishes at Pebble Beach and Riviera, as well as solid, if unspectacular, performances at the API and PLAYERS.
Emiliano Grillo
- Event Scoring Average: 71.31 (Four career starts)
- Notable Course History: T14 ('21), T9 ('18)
- DraftKings Price: $7,500 FanDuel Price: $9,100
PGA DFS regulars figured out long ago that you can't trust Emiliano Grillo. However, the Argentinian does have his moments, and he's in a beautiful groove at the moment.
Grillo comes into Wells Fargo week on the heels of two excellent outings. He scored an impressive T7 against an elite field at the RBC Heritage three weeks ago. Most recently, the 30-year-old smashed at Vidanta Villarta, recording a T5 in last week's Mexico Open.
His recent run of form correlates directly with spikes in two facets: iron play and putting. Grillo has gained a combined 13.2 strokes on Approach over his last two, while also gaining a total of 7.3 strokes on the greens. He brings that growing confidence to a Quail Hollow layout where he's previously found success. Grillo has finished T14 or better in each of his last two visits to the Cobb design.
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