After a week in Mexico, the PGA Tour sets up shop in the suburbs of Washington D.C. for the 19th edition of the Wells Fargo Championship.
TV viewers will once again need a program guide to follow the action as the field at TPC Potomac is less than stout, with only two players ranked inside the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Among those most likely to leave Maryland with the coveted (not really) blue blazer and silver trophy are the following 10 players:
10. Patrick Reed
Reed has struggled since recovering from double-lung pneumonia back in August… The 2018 Masters champion enters with just a single top-10 finish in 15 starts on the season… In seven career starts at the Wells Fargo, Reed has never missed the cut, with a T6 (2021) his best showing.
Odds: 40-1
World Rank: 33rd
Field Rank: 8th
Last Six: 42, 35, 26, 26, MC, MC
Best at the Fargo: 6th (2021)
9. Seamus Power
The world No. 40 has cooled off somewhat after a torrid start to 2022. Following three straight missed-cuts, though, Power seems to have righted the ship and enters off three-straight top-35 finishes, highlighted by a T5 at the WGC-Match Play event… The 34-year-old Irishman enjoyed a breakout season in 2021 which included his first PGA Tour win at the Barbasol Championship… In four career starts at the Wells Fargo, Power has never missed a cut, with a T13 in 2019 his best showing.
Odds: 33-1
World Rank: 40th
Field Rank: 10th
Last 6 Starts: 27, 5, 33, MC, MC, MC
Best at the Fargo: 13th (2019)
8. Sergio Garcia
Garcia has been solid in 2022 and enters off three straight top-26 finishes, including a T23 at the Masters… The now 42-year-old Spaniard is seeking his first tour win since the 2020 Sanderson Farms… Finished T4 at the Wells Fargo in 2019.
Odds: 40-1
World Rank: 47th
Field Rank: 15th
Last Six: 23, 26, 26, 38, 39, 24
Best at the Fargo: 4th (2019)
7. Max Homa
Homa is enjoying another solid campaign with a win and five additional top-20 finishes in 12 starts. The 2019 Wells Fargo champion sits at No. 38 in the world, and No. 19 in the FedExCup race… Against this week’s field, Homa ranks inside the top 10 in four of the six strokes-gained categories.
Odds: 33-1
World Rank: 38th
Field Rank: 9th
Last Six: 21, 48, 35, 13, 17, 10
Best at the Fargo: 1st (2019)
6. Abraham Ancer
The 31-year-old Texan is looking for his first top-10 finish of the 2022 calendar year… Ancer continues to be machine-like off the tee, though, ranking 6th on the PGA Tour in Driving Accuracy, hitting nearly 70-percent of his fairways… The University of Oklahoma alum finished solo runner-up at the 2021 Wells Fargo.
Odds: 20-1
World Rank: 15th
Field Rank: 2nd
Last Six: MC, 21, 20, 18, 24, 34
Best at the Fargo: 2nd (2021)
5. Matt Fitzpatrick
The recent form is definitely there for the 27-year-old Englishman with eight top-20 finishes, including six top-10s, in his 10 most recent worldwide starts… Fitzpatrick ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in scoring (69.98)… Still searching for his maiden U.S. tour win.
Odds: 33-1
World Rank: 25th
Field Rank: 4th
Last Six: 12, 2, 64, 30, 1, 20
Best at the Fargo: Debut
4. Tyrrell Hatton
The world No. 23 enters in solid form with seven top-25 finishes in his 10 most recent starts, including five top-10s, highlighted by a runner-up at Bay Hill… The 30-year-old Englishman leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting… In 261 attempts from 4 feet or closer, Hatton has missed just once.
Odds: 28-1
World Rank: 23rd
Field Rank: 4th
Last Six: 26, 52, 9, 21, 13, 2
Best at the Fargo: 42nd (2018)
3. Corey Conners
The Canadian is enjoying another solid season and appears on the verge of being a world top-25 player… Currently sitting No. 31 in the OWGR, Conners enters the Fargo off a T12 at Hilton Head and T6 at the Masters… One of the world’s best iron players, the 30-year-old Kent State product ranks 3rd on the PGA Tour in greens-hit (71.63%).
Odds: 20-1
World Rank: 31st
Field Rank: 7th
Last Six: 12, 6, 35, 3, 26, 11
Best at the Fargo: 42nd (2018)
2. Tony Finau
Did a T2 last week in Mexico right the ship for the Utah native? Or was it an aberration in what has been a rudderless campaign? The answer to that question starts this week for the world No. 18 – one of only two top-20 ranked players in the field… A T16 in 2015 is Finau’s best showing in five career starts at the Wells Fargo… Finau continues to make his money from the fairway, ranking 8th on tour in strokes gained: approach (.817) and 11th in greens-hit (70.83%).
Odds: 22-1
World Rank: 18th
Field Rank: 2nd
Last Six: 2, 35, 29, 35, MC, 33
Best at the Fargo: 16th (2015)
1. Rory McIlroy
The 33-year-old Northern Irishman is a three-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship. Yet, all three of his wins – including last season – have been claimed at the Quail Hollow Club… Still, McIlroy is far and away the best player in the field at TPC Potomac, and the only player ranked inside the OWGR’s top-10… The four-time major winner enters off an impressive performance at the Masters, where he thrilled fans with a Sunday round of 64, resulting in a solo runner-up finish.
Odds: 7-1
World Rank: 1st
Field Rank: 1st
Last Six: 2, MC, 33, 13, 10, 3
Best at the Fargo: 1st (2021, 2015, 2010)
Next Five: Paul Casey, Cameron Young, Webb Simpson, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley
