This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Wells Fargo Championship
Charlotte, North Carolina
Quail Hollow Club - Par 71 - 7,521 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $8.1M
The Preview
Normally-difficult scoring conditions at the Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course were tamed this past week by Sam Burns, who tallied a quartet of sub-70 rounds en route to his maiden PGA Tour victory. When it was all said and done, only seven of 156 entrants reached double-digit red numbers, and a similarly tough par-71 layout awaits at the Quail Hollow Club.
There's one primary contrast from the Tour's recent stops at locations such as Innisbrook and Harbour Town, however, as length becomes factored into the recipe for success in Charlotte and driving distance will be rewarded. Shorter approaches into fast and firm, but relatively-sizable Bermuda greens provide intrigue for bombs off the tee. Late-round drama is made possible by the Green Mile at Quail Hollow, as players attempt to survive the three-hole closing stretch that plays to a +0.79 average in relation to par. Aside from early-afternoon wind gusts in Rounds 2-4, weather should be a non-factor this week.
Recent Champions
2020 - None
2019 - Max Homa
2018 - Jason Day
2017 - Brian Harman (Played at Eagle Point Golf Club)
2016 - James Hahn
2015 - Rory McIlroy
2014 - J.B. Holmes
2013 - Derek Ernst
2012 - Rickie Fowler
2011 - Lucas Glover
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Off-the-Tee
Proximity: 175-200, 200-plus yards
Par-4: 450-500 efficiency
Driving Distance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Justin Thomas - $48
Supplanting Bryson DeChambeau atop the FedExCup Standings, Thomas was a ball-striking machine at Innisbrook last week where he led the Valspar field in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. North of six strokes lost with the flat stick, however, would ultimately keep Thomas from notching what should've been his sixth top-10 of the season. The World No. 2 now heads back to the site of his 2017 PGA Championship victory with hopes of positive putting regression. Over his last 24 rounds, Thomas ranks first in SG: Approach, second in SG: T2G and sixth in proximity from over 200 yards. Expanding the sample size to 36 rounds, he's also top-3 in P4: 450-500 efficiency and birdie-or-better percentage.
Jon Rahm - $47
Rahm's elite driving ability provides an anchor-worthy floor at a venue like Quail Hollow, as the Spaniard hasn't lost strokes off the tee in any single measured event since the 2019 Tour Championship. He ranks seventh in SG: OTT over his last 24 rounds, but he's also third in SG: T2G and ninth in SG: Approach during this span. Rahm will be making his first appearance since a top-5 at the Masters, which succeeded additional top-10 performances at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and THE PLAYERS Championship.
Viktor Hovland - $45
Dishing out $45 worth of salary on a Quail Hollow debutant might seem frightening, but Hovland ranks ninth or better among his peers in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, SG: T2G, proximity from 175-200 yards and proximity from 200-plus yards over his past 24 rounds. Hovland is fresh off a six-under 65 in the final round of the Valspar Championship, where he paced the entire field with 22 total birdies en route to a T3 finish. He's fifth on Tour in birdie average this season and has gained strokes off the tee in 14 consecutive starts dating to the Northern Trust last August.
Glue Guys
Max Homa - $37
Homa rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the PLAYERS Championship and the Masters by tying for sixth at the Valspar Championship this past week, marking his 10th top-25 of the season as he climbed to 16th in the FedEx Cup standings. He's gained confidence as a driver of the golf ball since his win here at the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship, but the flat stick has also been a major net positive as of late. Homa has gained at least 3.9 strokes putting in four of six showings since a top-10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The long irons have remained steady as well, ranking second in Prox: 200-plus and 17th in Prox: 175-200 yards over his last 24 rounds. Additionally, Homa is third in par-breaker percentage and 10th in P4: 450-500 scoring over his past 36 rounds.
Cameron Tringale - $33
Tringale's impressive recent form includes a string of T13-T9-T3 from the Honda Classic through the Valspar Championship, which is accompanied by a ranking of eighth in SG: Tee-to-Green over his last 24 rounds. He also seems to have found something with the putter, gaining a combined 9.7 strokes on the greens in his last two starts at Innisbrook and TPC San Antonio.
Emiliano Grillo - $33
Grillo posted his worst statistical putting performance since November's Vivint Houston Open in just two days at the Valspar last week, ultimately missing the cut by one shot despite firing a five-under 66 in Round 1. A punt with the flat stick isn't an abnormal occurrence for the Argentinian, however, so let other gamers tremble over the dreaded rogue MC. Grillo still ranks second in SG: Off-the-Tee and fourth in proximity from 200-plus yards over his last 24 rounds, while also residing eighth in P4: 450-500 efficiency over his last 36 rounds. He finished T9 at Quail Hollow in 2018 when he ranked sixth among the field with 7.6 strokes gained from tee to green that week.
Bargain Bin
Keegan Bradley - $23
Bradley earned solo runner-up honors at Innisbrook last week, yet his Yahoo salary actually dropped one dollar to $23 for the Wells Fargo Championship. Such value combined with ball-striking prowess will inflate rostership, but he's tough to fade despite a lousy track record at Quail Hollow, though he did tie for 33rd at the 2017 PGA Championship here. Bradley is third in proximity from 200-plus, sixth in SG: T2G and 11th in SG: Approach over his past 24 rounds. He's gained strokes with his irons in 17 consecutive starts and has collected five straight top-30 finishes since the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Tom Lewis - $20
These final two min-salaried options are definitely GPP-style dart throws at 150/1 or worse odds to win, but Lewis has made it through to the weekend in five consecutive tournaments dating to the Honda Classic. The Englishman gained nearly 2.5 strokes off the tee at Innisbrook last week, leading him to 10 birdies in his first 36 holes before the putter and irons went cold in Round 3. Despite below-average approach play at the Valspar, he's still 25th in proximity from 175-200 yards and 32nd in SG: APP over his last 24 rounds.
Luke List - $20
It surprises nobody that List lost nearly four strokes putting in just 36 holes on the way to a missed cut by one shot at last week's Valspar Championship, but he's now gained a combined 6.5 strokes on his approach shots in two starts since the RBC Heritage. He's seventh in driving distance over his last 36 rounds and 12th in proximity from 175-200 yards over his past 24. List tied for ninth at the 2018 edition of the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing second to only Keith Mitchell in SG: Off-the-Tee in the process.
