The batteries are recharged after a week off and we’re rolling into a course we are pretty familiar with for this year’s edition of the Wells Fargo Championship. Quail Hollow Club has played host to this event every year but one since the 2003 season teed off. The course itself is no joke as it is a par 71 that plays over 7,550 yards. It’s found its way into the top-10 most difficult courses on Tour on a few occasions over the past few years including its spot as the fifth toughest on Tour last season. It trailed two majors in the US Open and Open Championship venues as well as the Honda Classic and CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. The field will have to work their way around two water hazards and 60 bunkers as they move it around Quail Hollow.
PAST WINNERS
| Golfer | Year | Winning Score | DraftKings Points |
| Jason Day | 2018 | -12 | 109 |
| James Hahn | 2016 | -9 | 109 |
| Rory McIlroy | 2015 | -21 | 128 |
| JB Holmes | 2014 | -14 | 114.5 |
| Derek Ernst | 2013 | -8 | 101 |
Note: Quail Hollow played host to the PGA Championship in 2017. With it being a different set-up, I’ve omitted those results from the analysis in today’s piece.
OFF THE TEE
Looking at past winners here, we can start to get an idea of what’s important off the tee here. Broadening the view a bit reinforces that fact a bit. The length of Quail Hollow is real and, while you still have to play strategically good golf, distance is a key factor in giving yourself scoring opportunities here. There have been 44 golfers to finish in the top five of DK Scoring since 2010. Over that span, 27 of 44 (61%) golfers in that group finished inside of the top 25 of distance compared to just 17 of 44 (39%) golfers that hit that mark in accuracy.
| Driving Distance Rank (Last 24 Rounds) | Golfer (Salary) |
| 1 | Cameron Champ ($7,200) |
| 2 | Luke List ($8,000) |
| 3 | Brandon Hagy ($6,500) |
| 4 | Rory McIlroy ($11,800) |
| 5 | Trey Mullinax ($7,500) |
| 6 | Ollie Schniederjans ($7,000) |
| 7 | Phil Mickelson ($9,100) |
| 8 | Byeong-Hun An ($8,300) |
| 9 | Martin Trainer ($6,600) |
| 10 | JB Holmes ($7,900) |
ON APPROACH
We’re looking at a strong emphasis on hitting greens once again this week – no surprise there, obviously. The numbers aren’t quite as overwhelming as you might expect, though. Of the 44 golfers who finished in the top five of DK scoring, 12 (27%) finished in the top 10 of GIR and 27 (61%) finished in the top 25 of GIR. The fact that most years the winning score has hovered around -9 or so means that greens are tough to hit here and birdie opportunities are at a premium. The field averages about 60% of greens in regulation here compared to 63.4% at the average Tour stop. That might not seem like much but two or three extra birdie putts makes a difference in scoring across the board.
| GIR Rank (Last 24 Rounds) | Golfer (Salary) |
| 1 | Kyoung-Hoon Lee ($7,300) |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy ($11,800) |
| 3 | Jason Kokrak ($8,700) |
| 4 | Charles Howell ($8,400) |
| 5 | Hideki Matsuyama ($10,100) |
| 6 | Jhonattan Vegas ($8,200) |
| 7 | Lucas Glover ($8,500) |
| 8 | Keegan Bradley ($8,000) |
| 9 | Sungjae Im ($8,600) |
| 10 | Brendan Steele ($7,200) |
Key Stats
- Greens in Regulation
- Driving Distance
- SG: Around the Green
- SG: Putting
