The PGA Tour moves from Mexico to Maryland for the 19th edition of the Wells Fargo Championship.
With the Quail Hollow Club hosting the Presidents Cup in September, this year’s tournament will be contested at TPC Potomac.
The field will be headlined by defending champion Rory McIlroy, the tournament’s only top-10 ranked player.
McIlroy will be joined by several former Wells Fargo winners such as Max Homa (2019), Jason Day (2018) and Rickie Fowler (2012).
Other familiar names include Webb Simpson, Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Abraham Ancer, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed and Paul Casey.
As we do each week, what follows is a round-up of information and historical data to get you prepped for a weekend of golf in the swamp.
2022 Wells Fargo Championship
This week’s Primer is powered by Titleist Golf Store at Amazon.
PGA Tour: At-a-Glance
Name: Wells Fargo Championship
Title Sponsor: Wells Fargo
Tour Debut: 2003
First Name: Wachovia Championship
Dates:Â May 5-8, 2022
Where: Potomac, MD
Course:Â TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms
Distance: Par 70, 7107 yards
Format: 72-holes, Stroke play
Field: 144 Players (36-hole cut)
Purse: $9,000,000
Winning Share: $1,620,000
FedExCup/OWGR Pts: 500/40
Defending Champion:Â Rory McIlroy
How to Follow the Wells Fargo Championship
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 2-6 p.m. (GOLF); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Watch on ESPN+
PGA TOUR RADIO: Thu-Fri: 12-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m.
(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)
LINKS: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Wells Fargo Championship History
The Wells Fargo Championship is a relatively young tournament, with the inaugural tournament (then called the Wachovia Championship) teeing off in 2003.
Traditionally held in early May as part of the Tour’s swing through the southeastern states that are contested between the Masters and the U.S. Open, the first event winner was David Toms, who at 10-under par, won by two shots. Each of the next three editions were decided by playoffs.
Notable champions include Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler.
McIlroy is the only three-time winner – taking the 2010, 2015 and 2021 titles. In that 2010 victory, McIlroy made the cut on the number and then exploded on the weekend, shooting 66-62 to win by four strokes over Phil Mickelson.
History: Tournament Names
- Wells Fargo Championship (2011-22)
- Quail Hollow Championship (2009-10)
- Wachovia Championship (2003-08)
History: Recent Winners
2019: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
2017: Brian Harman (-10)
2016: James Hahn (-9)
2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)
2014: J.B. Holmes (-14)
2013: Derek Ernst (-8)
2012: Rickie Fowler (-14)
History: Tournament Records
Wins:
3 – Rory McIlroy (2021, 2015, 2010)
Scoring:
267 (-21) Rory McIlroy (2015)
Rewind: 2021 Wells Fargo Championship
It was an ugly finish, but a win was a win. Rory McIlroy finally ended his career tailspin with a victory at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship.
The then 32-year-old Northern Irishman posted a final-round 68 to claim a two-stroke victory over Abraham Ancer.
McIlroy finished his Sunday round at the Quail Hollow Club with a near disaster of a final hole, but escaped with just a bogey to sign off on a four-day score of 11-under par.
The win was McIlroy’s first since claiming the 2019 title at the WGC event in Communist China.
Final Top-5 Finishers
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Rory McIlroy -11 (-3)
2. Abraham Ancer -9 (-5)
3. Viktor Hovland -8 (-4)
3. Keith Mitchell -8 (+1)
5. Gary Woodland -7 (E)
Wells Fargo Championship Field
The top-ranked player in the field is defending champion Rory McIlroy, who sits No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
The 33-year-old superstar has teed it up in only six PGA Tour events this season but owns a win (CJ Cup) and solo runner-up at the Masters. He also added a backdoor T10 at Riviera.
Another player in solid form is Canadian Corey Conners, who’s posted four top-12 finishes in his last six starts, highlighted by a T6 at the Masters.
Tony Finau bounced out of a season-long slump last week with a T2 at the Mexico Open. It was the first top-10 finish for the Utah native in 2022. A T16 (2015) is Finau’s best finish in five career starts at the Fargo.
World No. 20 Abraham Ancer finished runner-up to McIlroy in 2021 but enters in shaky form. The Mexican star hasn’t posted a single top-20 result in a stroke-play event in 2022.
Matt Fitzgerald also enters in good form, having posted six top-20s in eight starts on the 2022 campaign, including four top-10s.
Another Englishman, Tyrrell Hatton, is also enjoying a solid PGA Tour 2022 thus far with five results of T26 or better in six starts on the year, headlined by a runner-up finish at Bay Hill.
This year’s field also includes 2012 Wells Fargo winner Rickie Fowler, who enters in horrible form. A fixture in the world top-10 for years, Fowler fell off the map in late 2019 and is now ranked 146th. The 33-year-old fan favorite enters off five missed-cuts in his last eight starts with a T42 his best finish of 2022.
Another top name teeing it up this week is Patrick Reed. The 31-year-old Texan has yet to rebound after vaccine-related injury in late 2021 and is looking for his first top-10 result of 2022.
Other marquee names include Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland, Max Homa, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day and Paul Casey.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Rory McIlroy (7/1)
2. Corey Conners (20/1)
2. Matt Fitzpatrick (20/1)
4. Tony Finau (22/1)
5. Abraham Ancer (28/1)
5. Russell Henley (28/1)
5. Tyrrell Hatton (28/1)
Full Field & Odds
The Road to the Wells Fargo Championship
How The Field Qualified for the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship
Winner: U.S. Open
Gary Woodland (2019)
Winner: Masters Tournament
Patrick Reed (2018)
Sergio Garcia (2017)
Winner: The Open Championship
Francesco Molinari (2018)
Winner: THE PLAYERS Championship
Rory McIlroy (2019)
Webb Simpson (2018)
Si Woo Kim (2017)
Jason Day (2016)
Winner: TOUR Championship
Xander Schauffele (2017)
Winner: WGC Event
Abraham Ancer (2021)
Winner: Invitational Event
Max Homa (2021 Genesis)
Tyrrell Hatton (2020 Arnold Palmer)
Invitationals: Genesis Arnold Palmer, Memorial
Tournament Winners Exempted
Paul Casey (2019 Valspar)
Stewart Cink (2020 Heritage)
Corey Conners (2019 Valero)
Joel Dahmen (2021 Corales)
Cam Davis (2021 Rocket)
Tyler Duncan (2019 RSM)
Tony Finau (2021 Northern Trust)
Rickie Fowler (2019 Phoenix)
Dylan Frittelli (2019 John Deere)
Lucas Glover (2021 John Deere)
Branden Grace (2021 Puerto Rico Open)
Lanto Griffin (2019 Houston)
Jim Herman (2019 Wyndham)
Matt Jones (2021 Honda)
Sung Kang (2019 Byron Nelson)
Matt Kuchar (2019 Sony)
Martin Laird (2020 Shriners)
Nate Lashley (2019 Rocket)
K.H. Lee (2021 Byron)
Marc Leishman (2020 Farmers)
Luke List (2022 Farmers)
Adam Long (2019 Desert)
Keith Mitchell (2019 Honda)
C.T. Pan (2019 Heritage)
J.T. Poston (2019 Wyndham)
Seamus Power (2021 Barbasol)
Chad Ramey (2022 Corales)
Chez Reavie (2019 Travelers)
Sepp Straka (2022 Honda)
Nick Taylor (2020 Pebble)
Michael Thompson (2020 3M Open)
Martin Trainer (2019 Puerto Rico)
Kevin Tway (2018 Safeway)
Erik van Rooyen (2021 Barracuda)
Richy Werenski (2020 Barracuda)
Matthew Wolff (2019 3M)
Career Money Exemption
Luke Donald
Bill Haas
Rory Sabbatini
Nick Watney
Sponsors Exemptions
Jacob Bridgeman (1)
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (1)
Wesley Bryan (2)
Johnson Wagner (2)
Ben Martin (3)
Brandon Matthews (3)
Gregory Odom, Jr. (3)
1. Korn Ferry Tour Finals; 2. Members otherwise not exempt; 3. Unrestricted
PGA Section Champion
Larkin Gross
Past Wells Fargo Champions
Brian Harman (2017)
Who are otherwise not exempt.
Life Member Exemption
Davis Love III
Top 125 Prior Season FEC
Charley Hoffman
Keegan Bradley
Charl Schwartzel
Russell Henley
Jhonattan Vegas
Kevin Streelman
Harry Higgs
Mackenzie Hughes
Matt Fitzpatrick
Troy Merritt
Pat Perez
Andrew Putnam
Doug Ghim
Brandon Hagy
Peter Malnati
Adam Schenk
Kramer Hickok
Brian Stuard
Henrik Norlander
Doc Redman
Roger Sloan
Hank Lebioda
Denny McCarthy
Brendan Steele
James Hahn
Zach Johnson
Russell Knox
Matt Wallace
Sam Ryder
Matthew NeSmith
Scott Piercy
Anirban Lahiri
Brice Garnett
Chesson Hadley
Major Medical Extension
Danny Lee
William McGirt
Morgan Hoffmann
Seung-Yul Noh
Jonas Blixt
KFT Points Winners (The 25 and The Finals 25)
Stephan Jaeger
Joseph Bramlett
3-Victory Promotion via Korn Ferry Tour
Mito Pereira
Korn Ferry Tour Graduates (reshuffled)
Cameron Young
Davis Riley
Alex Smalley
Hayden Buckley
Lee Hodges
Matthias Schwab
Aaron Rai
Taylor Moore
Max McGreevy
Vince Whaley
Adam Svensson
Kurt Kitayama
David Lipsky
Greyson Sigg
John Huh
Trey Mullinax
Brandon Wu
Austin Smotherman
Andrew Novak
Curtis Thompson
Paul Barjon
Seth Reeves
Justin Lower
Dylan Wu
Ben Kohles
Austin Cook
Callum Tarren
Nick Hardy
Scott Gutschewski
Jared Wolfe
Kelly Kraft
Peter Uihlein
David Skinns
Michael Gligic
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Dawie van der Walt
Brett Drewitt
Joshua Creel
Nos. 126-150 on Prior Season’s FEC Points List (reshuffled)
Beau Hossler
Mark Hubbard
Cameron Percy
Vaughn Taylor
Ryan Armour
Chase Seiffert
Satoshi Kodaira
Jim Knous
Camilo Villegas
Bo Van Pelt
Bo Hoag
Carey Hoffman contributed to this report.
