After a well needed off week, thanks to the different scoring scheme of the Zurich Open, the PGA Tour gets back into its regular groove this week with the Wells Fargo Championship. That means a trip to the quaintly titled Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Of course I am playing at FantasyDraft, a format I really like — they drop the low score from your seven-man roster ($100 K cap) for the weekend. For this week, I am simply playing a $1 50/50 with 90 slots, so sign up and see if you can beat me!
Quail Hollow logs in at a healthy 7,600 yards for the Wells Fargo Championship, with just three fives but all of which require some big hitting. The shortest registers at 546 yards, barely edging out the hole 1, which at 524 still hits the Quail Hollow scorecard as a par 4. And, though there are a pair of fours under 350 yards, the four threes show the length of the holes can indeed play with one’s game, ranging from a short of 184 yards, with a long of 249.
Weather could indeed factor over the weekend, for even though temperatures in Charlotte will range from a low of 76 on Sunday to a high of 88 on Friday, with sunshine gracing Day 1 of the tournament. However, rain and showers are anticipated for both Saturday and Sunday.
I do like defending champ Brian Harman, who was so hot to start the 2018 circuit, but there are of course some other players I like a lot, so lets take a look. I went with the big hitters and then the strong short game with my top six picks (remember, at FantasyDraft you pick seven and the low score is dropped).
Tiger Woods ($15,800): Tiger is certainly back in some kind of groove, having made five of six cuts since returning to the Tour, hitting the top 10 twice while averaging 108.66 points per weekend. Quail Hollow just seems ripe for finishing first for a guy who can indeed hit and putt.
Phil Mickelson ($15,700): Mickelson has made the cut 13 times over 13 tries at Quail Hollow, and I am indeed playing golfers who will theoretically give me a weekend of good swings. Phil has seven top 10s over those 13 attempts and, again, he can get down to course and is deadly with his putter.
Tony Finau ($14,600): Another steady player in Charlotte, Finau is three-for-three at Quail Hollow, has five top 10s this year and has made the cut 11 of 13 times, averaging 110.61 points per weekend. And at 317.6 yards, Finau ranks second at average distance from the box.
Brian Harman ($14,100): I just have to go with the defending champ, partially because he is the champ and partially because this time of year has been good to him (as in he gets hot come spring). He finished the RBC Heritage at six-under and with a week off should be ready to go defending his title.
Luke List ($13,800): Another big hitter (at 314.9 yards, List ranks at #3 at driving distance average), a rugged fourth round at the RBC Heritage knocked List down to third, his fourth top 10 finish this year where-in List has made the cut 12 of 16 times. List is averaging 114.18 points per weekend.
Adam Hadwin ($13,100): Hadwin might be a low-end selection, but he is indeed a perfect 12-for-12 at making the cut this year, putting his consistency there ahead of all the other picks for the week. Hadwin has three top 10s and is averaging 108.25 points per weekend.
