TOUR

Wells Fargo Championship Preview

The Wells Fargo Championship is up next for the PGA Tour, and this is typically a popular event for its members.

Rory McIlroy headlines the field as he returns as defending champion, looking for his first victory of the calendar year.

Quail Hollow Club will relinquish hosting rights this season, as the venue prepares for the Presidents Cup later into the year.


The Previous Edition

Rory McIlroy picked up an unlikely win during the last edition, securing his first PGA Tour title for more than 18 months.

The Northern Irishman had finished one-stroke ahead of Abraham Ancer and two late birdies into his final round proved enough for his victorious moment.

This was the third victory he has had at Quail Hollow – but he’ll need to win at a completely new venue this year.


Course

TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm isn’t an overly long course, measuring 7,160 yards for the week.

It boasts a par of 70 and it has not hosted a PGA Tour tournament since 2018.

Featuring a wooded terrain with water coming into play often, accuracy will be the order of the day.

Bentgrass is used on the greens, fairways and tees and there is plenty of bunkerage acting as another form of defense.


Field

This will be the first time McIlroy has featured in a professional golf tournament since that iconic Sunday display at Augusta, carding 64.

Scottie Scheffler was the comfortable victor in the end, but that was an excellent note for McIlroy to finish on – and hopefully one that can instill further belief.

Ancer will be keen to put the disappointment of his Mexico Open performance behind him, and this is a course that he likes.

The Mexican shares the course record and we must also remember that he finished runner-up at last year’s event, so he too should be flowing with confidence.

This is also a course that Francesco Molinari has previously championed, when it last hosted a PGA Tour event in 2018.

The Italian has tumbled down the world rankings since that infamous collapse at Augusta a few years back, but a win soon could dramatically change his mindset.

Max Homa is also in the field and he’ll be looking to get among the winner’s circle yet again, following a brief hiatus from the party scene.

Jason Day is also scheduled to tee it up, and it’s been really impressive seeing him feature so heavily throughout the season so far.

Rickie Fowler returns to the fold, and he’ll be desperate to find some form having endured the worst period of his career.

It was overwhelmingly negative to see him not involved at this year’s Masters, and he’ll certainly use those emotions as inspiration to feature at the next.

Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia are other notable figures who will be involved across the next week.


Can McIlroy defend his title or will a more unknown character steal his thunder?