2021 Wells Fargo Championship Preview

2021 Wells Fargo Championship Preview

• Dates: May 3-9, 2021
• Where: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Course: Quail Hollow Club (35-36—71/7,521)
• Defending champion (2019): Max Homa
• Purse: $8,100,000 ($1,458,000/winner)
• FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
• Field size: 156
• Format: 72-hole stroke play

Things to Know

• Due to COVID-19, the Wells Fargo Championship was not contested in 2020
• Field includes four of top-five players in Official World Golf Ranking: Justin Thomas (2), Jon Rahm (3), Xander Schauffele (4), Bryson DeChambeau (5)
• Defending champion Max Homa comes off T6 at last week’s Valspar Championship; no player has successfully defended his title in the event
• 2010, 2015 Wells Fargo Championship winner Rory McIlroy makes first start since the Masters (MC)
• Masters Tournament runner-up and Wake Forest University grad Will Zalatoris to compete on sponsor exemption in 17^th start of the season
• The 2022 Wells Fargo Championship will be played at TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm in Potomac, Maryland as the 2022 Presidents Cup is conducted at Quail Hollow Club

2019 Wells Fargo Championship Final Leaderboard

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Max Homa	69	63	70	67	269 (-15)
2	Joel Dahmen	66	66	70	70	272 (-12)
3	Justin Rose	70	67	68	68	273 (-11)
T4	Paul Casey	69	71	66	69	275 (-9)
T4	Jason Dufner	68	63	71	73	275 (-9)
T4	Rickie Fowler	71	70	66	68	275 (-9)
T4	Sergio Garcia	69	73	65	68	275 (-9)

2019 Wells Fargo Championship Notes

• Max Homa became the fifth player to claim his first victory at the Wells Fargo Championship joining Anthony Kim (2008), Rory McIlroy (2010), Rickie Fowler (2012) and Derek Ernst (2013)
• Homa won his first career PGA TOUR title came at the age of 28 years, 5 months, 2 days in his third Wells Fargo Championship start

More on Max Homa

• After 2019 Wells Fargo Championship victory, finished No. 60 in the 2018-19 FedExCup Standings
• Earned second PGA TOUR victory at the 2021 Genesis Invitational via playoff (defeated Tony Finau)
• Has four top-10s in 18 starts this season; No. 16 in the FedExCup standings

Wells Fargo Championship and the FedExCup

• The Wells Fargo Championship is the 32^nd of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season
• Seven of the 13 winners of the Wells Fargo Championship have advanced to the season-ending TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era: Tiger Woods (2007), Anthony Kim (2008), Sean O’Hair (2009), Rickie Fowler (2012), Rory McIlroy (2015), Brian Harman (2017), Jason Day (2018)

Current FedExCup standings

The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 and be well-positioned entering the FedExCup Playoffs

Position	Player	Points	Starts	Wins	Top-10s	Points Behind
1	Justin Thomas	1,607	13	1	5	—
2	Bryson DeChambeau	1,577	10	2	5	30
3	Viktor Hovland	1,430	15	1	5	177
4	Cameron Smith	1,381	15	1	6	226
5	Xander Schauffele	1,369	13	0	6	238
6	Stewart Cink	1,348	15	2	3	259
7	Patrick Cantlay	1,313	14	1	4	294
8	Jordan Spieth	1,250	15	1	6	357
9	Hideki Matsuyama	1,244	17	1	2	363
10	Dustin Johnson	1,203	11	1	4	404

2021 Wells Fargo Championship Field Notes

• 10 players in the top 15 in the OWGR: Justin Thomas (2), Jon Rahm (3), Xander Schauffele (4), Bryson DeChambeau (5) Patrick Reed (7), Webb Simpson (9), Viktor Hovland (11), Patrick Cantlay (12), Tony Finau (13), Rory McIlroy (15)
• 18 major championship winners, led by five-time major winner Phil Mickelson
• Three FedExCup champions: Bill Haas (2011), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019), Justin Thomas (2017)
• Nine past Wells Fargo Championship winners: Max Homa (2019), Jason Day (2018) Brian Harman (2017), James Hahn (2016), Rory McIlroy (2015, 2010), J.B. Holmes (2014), Rickie Fowler (2012), Lucas Glover (2011), Sean O’Hair (2009)

Select Player Notes

Justin Thomas (FedExCup No. 1, OWGR No. 2)

• Makes fourth Wells Fargo Championship appearance; 2015/T7, 2016/MC, 2018/T21
• Lone major win came at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club (73-66-69-68—276/-8)
• With a T13 at last week’s Valspar Championship, the 2017 FedExCup champion overtook the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup
• Seeks fifth top-five finish in his 14^th start of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season
• Won THE PLAYERS Championship in March for 14^th career TOUR title; has most wins among players younger than 30

Jon Rahm (FedExCup No. 12, OWGR No. 3)

• Makes second Wells Fargo Championship appearance; Finished fourth in tournament debut in 2017
• Seeks a 10^th top-10 finish of the season and fifth consecutive: T9/THE PLAYERS Championship, T5/WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, T5/Masters Tournament, 7^th/Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Ryan Palmer)
• Leads the TOUR with nine top-10s this season
• Seeks a sixth career PGA TOUR title and first since the 2020 BMW Championship

Rory McIlroy (FedExCup No. 51, OWGR No. 15)

• 2010, 2015 Wells Fargo Championship winner seeks eighth top-10 finish in his 10^th start in the event; additional top-10 finishes in 2012/T2, 2013/T10, 2014/T8, 2016/T4, 2019/T8
• Owns 18-hole scoring record of 10-under 61 (R3/2015)
• Won the 2010 Wells Fargo Championship for maiden PGA TOUR title
• Seeks 19^th career TOUR victory in his 196^th start; most recently won the 2019 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
• Best of four top-10 finishes in 2020-21 is T5/2020 Masters Tournament

Bryson DeChambeau (FedExCup No. 2, OWGR No. 5)

• Makes fourth Wells Fargo Championship appearance; 2016/MC, 2017/MC, 2018/4^th
• Seeks ninth career PGA TOUR title and third of the 2020-21 season; 2020 U.S. Open, 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
• Makes first start since T46 at the Masters

Viktor Hovland (FedExCup No. 3, OWGR No. 11)

• Makes first appearance in the Wells Fargo Championship
• Finished T3 at last week’s Valspar Championship, his fourth top-five finish since his win earlier this season in Mexico (T2/Farmers Insurance Open, T5/The Genesis Invitational, T2/WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, T3/Valspar Championship)
• PGA TOUR titles (2); 2020 Puerto Rico Open, 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic

Webb Simpson (FedExCup No. 9, OWGR No. 41)

• Makes 12^th Wells Fargo Championship appearance; top-10 finishes in 2012/4^th, 2015/T2
• Seeks a sixth top-10 finish in his 14^th start of the season; in most recent start, finished T9 at the RBC Heritage
• In search of his eighth career PGA TOUR title and first since the 2020 RBC Heritage
• Charlotte resident and 2008 Wake Forest University grad (Religion)

Miscellaneous Player Notes

• World Golf Hall of Fame member Phil Mickelson makes 17^th consecutive start in the Wells Fargo Championship; holds a tournament-record 10 top-10 finishes, eight of which are inside the top five; First missed cut in the event came in 2019
• Patrick Reed’s best finish in seven Wells Fargo Championship starts is eighth (2018); is in search of his 10^th career TOUR title, second of the 2020-21 season and first since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open
• World No. 12 Patrick Cantlay will make first start in the Wells Fargo Championship; is in search of a fourth career TOUR title and second of the season (2020 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP)
• A native of nearby Gastonia, North Carolina, Harold Varner III makes sixth Wells Fargo Championship appearance; claimed career-best T2 at last month’s RBC Heritage

Tournament records and history

• 18-hole scoring record: 61 (Rory McIlroy/R3/2015)
• 72-hole scoring record: 267 (Rory McIlroy/2015)
• Largest margin of victory: 7 (Rory McIlroy/2015)
• Largest 54-hole deficit overcome to win: 6 (Vijay Singh/2005)
• Playoffs: 7 (most recent: James Hahn over Roberto Castro/2016)

The 2021 Wells Fargo Championship Preview is via PGA TOUR