The golf season is ramping up, and the events are only getting better! 69 of the PGA’s absolute best are headed to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship. This Signature Event will be a proper tune-up for The PGA Championship next week. Only 2 premier golfers will forego this prestigious event, as Scottie Scheffler awaits his firstborn and Ludvig Aberg deals with an injury.
With no Scottie Scheffler, this event should be somewhat wide open. As bettors, we won’t have many opportunities to bet in a Scheffler-less field, which makes our picks this week that much more important. Rory McIlroy will go off as the favorite, coming off his team win with Shane Lowry and having won here 3 times. Rory certainly has a good shot at winning, but I’m primed to believe longer odds are worth a play in this small-field event.
The Course: Quail Hollow Club
This Par 71 course can and will absolutely devour short hitters, as it stretches to almost 7,500 yards. While distance isn’t an absolute must for success, it will certainly help. If you look at the previous winners of Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy, and Max Homa, you’ll find some of the longest hitters on Tour. I would strongly advise making distance a factor when placing bets at Quail Hollow.
Quail Hollow is one of the most difficult courses these golfers will see because of much more than just the length. The rough will be very penal, and making par away from the fairway will feel like a birdie. Long approaches will come into very difficult green complexes. An all-around great game will be demanded for a victory at Quail Hollow. I have my eye on 3 golfers who should be able to handle the challenging and taxing Quail Hollow Club. Let’s get into it!
Best Bets: Wells Fargo Championship
Wyndham Clark (+1600)
Wyndham Clark broke onto the scene with his Wells Fargo victory in 2023. He followed up his maiden win with a U.S. Open win and a Pebble Beach victory. Now, Clark sits as a Top 10 golfer in the world.
Heading back to a course he’s obviously had success at, Clark is in arguably the best form of his career. He comes into Quail Hollow with 3 Top 3 finishes in his last 5 events. Had it not been for Scottie Scheffler, he would’ve won 2 of those events… He is absolutely dominant off the tee, hitting it over 20 yards further than the Tour average. His approach game is spot on, and hit short game is world-class. Did I mention he’s the 4th best putter in the field?
Considering there’s no Scottie Scheffler to worry about, I think 16-1 is an absolute steal of a price. He’s a defending champion who has been playing like the second-best golfer in the world and is in a small field event without THE best golfer in the world. You can rest assured Wyndham Clark will be in contention come Sunday, and you’re going to want to have a 16-1 ticket in your hand.
Corey Conners (+5500)
Corey Conners has quietly been one of the most consistent golfers in the world. Dating back to last year’s U.S. Open, Conners has 19 consecutive made cuts. Considering he’s lost strokes in the short game in 13 of those 19 events, it’s so much more impressive.
Struggling on and around the greens is nothing to boast about, but when your ball-striking is so good that it doesn’t matter, it is. Conners finishes inside the Top 30 pretty much every week while being one of the worst short-game players on Tour. He achieves this by his elite ball-striking ability. He’s gained strokes Approaching the Green in 15 consecutive events. His Off the Tee play is superb as well, as he consistently gains about a stroke per round.
Conners has had mixed results at Quail Hollow. Last year’s T8 was his best finish, gaining strokes across the board. The 2 times prior to that, Conners finished T43 and T42 while gaining 6 strokes approaching the green in both years. His result will 100% depend on the short game. His mixed results and hit-or-miss putting over the past few months is worth a bet at 55-1. He probably won’t putt well enough to win, but anyone can get hot!
Nick Dunlap (+20000, Top 10 +1400)
Am I crazy for suggesting a 20-year-old could beat the PGA Tour’s best in a Signature Event? Probably. But Nick Dunlap is a certified winner and has been for a while now. Dunlap won 5 college events in 2023 and followed it up by winning his second event as a professional at The American Express in January.
There are a few reasons I believe Dunlap can contend this week. Firstly, as the youngest in the field by a wide margin, Dunlap can hit it just about as far as anyone. Secondly, he has had some real success on the greens. He’s gained strokes putting in 70% of his Tour starts. Finally, his approach can get hotter than hot. His -29 victory was thanks to a 60 on Saturday, the best score on Tour this season.
Nick Dunlap fits Quail Hollow perfectly. He’s long off of the tee, has quality approaches, and can sink the putts. Do I actually think he’ll win? Probably not. But at 200-1, he’s not supposed to! That’s the best part. I think there’s real value in the 14-1 number for a Top 10 placement. In a field of only 69, and on a course this challenging, it shouldn’t take much to be within a few strokes of 10th heading into Sunday. And it only takes 1 good round from there to cash that bet!