The PGA Tour is back with another Signature Event this week, as the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship begins on Thursday, May 9 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tournament returned to Quail Hollow last year after being briefly moved to TPC Potomac as the course was in preparation for the 2022 Presidents Cup .
With the Wells Fargo Championship serving as the sixth of eight Signature Events on the 2024 schedule, an elite 70-player field is on tap at Quail Hollow this week. Three-time tournament winner Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, and defending champion Wyndham Clark headline the field in Charlotte. Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, and Sahith Theegala are some other notable players teeing it up this week. World No. 1, reigning Masters champion, and 2024 four-time winner Scottie Scheffler is the only eligible player to skip the event, as his wife Meredith is soon expected to give birth to their first child.
THE FIELD/ODDS
Rory McIlroy (+800), Xander Schauffele (+900), Ludvig Aberg (+1200), Patrick Cantlay (+1800), and Wyndham Clark (+1800) enter the week as the betting favorites, according to BetRivers Sportsbook.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2200), Max Homa (+2500), Viktor Hovland (+2500), Collin Morikawa (+2500), Alexander Noren (+2800), Sahith Theegala (+3000), Hideki Matsuyama (+3000), Matthew Fitzpatrick (+3300), Justin Thomas (+3300), Adam Scott (+3300), Russell Henley (+3300), and Cameron Young (+3300) are the rest of the players listed below 40/1 odds.
Corey Conners (+4000), Tony Finau (+4000), Jordan Spieth (+4000), Si Woo Kim (+4000), Shane Lowry (+4000), Byeong Hun An (+4500), Jason Day (+4500), Will Zalatoris (+4500), Brian Harman (+5000), Sungjae Im (+5000), Akshay Bhatia (+5000), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+5000), Sam Burns (+5500), Denny McCarthy (+6000), Rickie Fowler (+6000), Stephan Jaeger (+6000), Harris English (+6000), Billy Horschel (+6600), Chris Kirk (+6600), Tom Hoge (+6600), Adam Schenk (+6600), Sepp Straka (+6600), and Tom Kim (+6600) fill up the middle tier of the betting board.
J.T. Poston (+7000), Taylor Moore (+8000), Adam Hadwin (+8000), Keegan Bradley (+8000), Lucas Glover (+8000), Matthieu Pavon (+8000), Kurt Kitayama (+8000), Austin Eckroat (+9000), Andrew Putnam (+9000), and Taylor Pendrith (+9000) are the rest of the players listed under 100/1.
For the complete tournament oddsboard, click here .
*Odds subject to change*
PAST WINNERS
2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8)* TPC Potomac
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
KEY STATS
SG: Approach
Driving Distance
Total Driving
Scrambling
Proximity 175-200/200-225 Yards
Bogey Avoidance
SG: Putting (Bermuda)
Par-4s: 450-500 Yards
Par-5s: 550-600 Yards
THE COURSE
Quail Hollow (par 71) is one of the meanest and most difficult courses on the PGA Tour, stretching 7,558 yards with tree-lined fairways, two-inch Bermuda rough and lightning-quick Champion Bermudagrass green complexes overseeded with Poa Trivialis. Designed by legendary golf architect George Cobb in the early 1960s, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based track has been a staple of the Wells Fargo Championship since 2003. Tom Fazio has renovated the course multiple times in the past 25 years, most recently last summer in preparation for this year's event and the 2025 PGA Championship.
Following Fazio's latest renovations, Quail Hollow plays immensely similar to a major championship setup. Precision is required off the tee to stay within the tree-lined fairways and dodge the well-positioned sand bunkers. Water hazards also come into play on seven holes, including each of the last five (Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18). Then, there's the immense distance of the course, as over 50 percent of approach shots come from outside 175 yards. Like most modern-day PGA Championship & U.S. Open venues, bombers and elite long-iron players appear to have the advantage at Quail Hollow.
The signature feature of Quail Hollow is 'The Green Mile', which is the nickname for the vicious three-hole stretch to close out the tournament. A 221-yard par-3 with a water hazard is sandwiched between two lengthy par-4s (each annually plays over par), often giving players fits at the end of their round.
Among the 11 par-4s on the course, eight measure over 450 yards, while Nos. 9 and 16 each play over 500 yards. Aside from the 346-yard 8th hole and 344-yard 14th, buckle up. Four of the five toughest holes from last year were par-4s.
All four par-3s stretch at least 184 yards, and two (Nos. 6 and 13) eclipse the 200-yard plateau. As mentioned above, No. 17 isn't any picnic down the stretch, either. The average distance of the par-3s is 196 yards.
Two of the three par-5s play over 575 yards but won't generate many bogeys. The 546-yard 7th hole will be reachable in two shots for a solid chunk of the field, while the No. 15 was the easiest of the three in 2021.
All in all, Quail Hollow is one of the most imposing and demanding challenges on the PGA Tour schedule. Players will inevitably find trouble at some point in the tournament, but how they recover from their mistakes will determine the champion. Bogeys are unavoidable on this course, but finding ways to bounce back is the ultimate difference maker. This week, I'll target elite ball strikers who score well on par-5s and have the scrambling ability to limit the number of bogeys made. I believe putting upside is also crucial, as each of the last four champions has ranked in the top three in SG: Putting for the week.
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