Purse: $6,700,000/$1,206,000 FedExCup: 500 points to the winner Format: 72-hole stroke play Field: 156 Twitter: @WellsFargoGolf
A look back at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship
Rickie Fowler, D.A. Points and Rory McIlroy finished tied at 14-under 274 after 72 holes of the Wells Fargo Championship, with Fowler making birdie on the first extra hole (No. 18) for his first TOUR win.
The playoff was the fifth at the Wells Fargo Championship and second straight.
In 2011, Lucas Glover defeated his former Clemson University teammate to win the Wells Fargo Championship.
More on Rickie Fowler
Fowler is the third-youngest winner of the event, behind Rory McIlroy (20 years, 11 months, 28 days) and Anthony Kim (22/10/15). His win came in his 72nd start on TOUR.
Fowler’s opening-round 66 is the lowest start by a winner of the Wells Fargo Championship.
Fowler won in his third start at the Wells Fargo Championship (T6-2010, T16-2011, 1-2012).
First Tee member to play Pro-Am with Rickie Fowler
Reyhan Griffin, a member of The First Tee of San Francisco since 2006, won a video essay contest that will allow him to play with Rickie Fowler in the Wednesday Pro-Am at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The program, Succeeding Together, celebrates the value of building relationships as a foundation for success in life.
The contest was created by Wells Fargo specifically for participants (ages 13-18) in The First Tee, a youth development organization that introduces young people to the game of golf and its inherent values at nearly 200 chapters across the U.S.
Griffin is currently a 4.0 student at Visitacion Valley Middle School and attends The First Tee classes after school and every Saturday at TPC Harding Park. He is a model student, consistently demonstrating all of the Nine Core Values and life skills he has learned as a member of The First Tee’s Future Foursome program. Reyhan cites both integrity and confidence as his two favorite core values. The most important lesson he has learned is to always make good decisions, even when no one is watching.
A look at the field
14 of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking: Rory McIlroy (2); Phil Mickelson (11); Lee Westwood (12); Sergio Garcia (14); Bubba Watson (16); Ian Poulter (17); Webb Simpson (18); Dustin Johnson (19); Hunter Mahan (22); Nick Watney (23); Bo Van Pelt (27); Bill Haas (28); Rickie Fowler (29); and Zach Johnson (30).
17 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings: Kevin Streelman (4); Phil Mickelson (7); Dustin Johnson (8); Russell Henley (10); Webb Simpson (11); Charles Howell III (12); Hunter Mahan (15); Chris Kirk (18); Bill Haas (19); John Merrick (21); Jimmy Walker (22); Martin Laird (24); D.A. Points (25); Josh Teater (27); Freddie Jacobson (28); Boo Weekley (29); and Angel Cabrera (30).
16 major championship winners, representing all four majors: Phil Mickelson (4); Padraig Harrington (3); Vijay Singh (3); Angel Cabrera (2); Retief Goosen (2); Rory McIlroy (2); Ben Curtis (1); Lucas Glover (1); Trevor Immelman (1); Zach Johnson (1); Martin Kaymer (1); Geoff Ogilvy (1); Webb Simpson (1); David Toms (1); Bubba Watson (1); and Mike Weir (1).
Six former Wells Fargo Championship winners: David Toms (2003), Vijay Singh (2005), Sean O’Hair (2009), Rory McIlroy (2010), Lucas Glover (2011) and Rickie Fowler (2012).
Among those in the field with Charlotte connections: Webb Simpson, Brendon de Jonge, Robert Karlsson, Johnson Wagner and Martin Laird.
Sponsor exemptions include:
Special Temporary Member Jordan Spieth, who at the age of 19, is looking to earn his 2013-14 PGA TOUR card. He has three top-10 finishes in seven starts this season with a total of $662,398 in earnings.
20-year-old Matteo Manassero of Italy will make his fifth start of the year on the PGA TOUR and his first start at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Young Winners at The Wells Fargo Championship
2010 Rory McIlroy 20 years, 11 months, 28 days
2008 Anthony Kim 22 years, 10 months, 15 days
2012 Rickie Fowler 23 years, 4 months and 23 days
Wells Fargo Championship notes
Phil Mickelson holds the Wells Fargo Championship record for the most top ten finishes, with six in nine appearances. Along with his solo second in 2010, he finished T5 in 2004, T7 in 2005, T3 in 2007, T5 in 2009 and T9 in 2011.
The 54-hole leader has won just three of 10 Wells Fargo Championships (David Toms-2003, Jim Furyk¬2006 and Anthony Kim-2008).
Lucas Glover (2011) is the only player in the history of the Wells Fargo Championship to post all four rounds in the 60s.
Nine players have competed in all 10 Wells Fargo Championships: John Senden, Billy Mayfair, Carl Pettersson, J.J. Henry, Stuart Appleby, Charles Howell III, Jeff Maggert, Rory Sabbatini and Vijay Singh.
Nos. 16-18 at Quail Hollow Club, nicknamed The Green Mile, have cumulatively ranked as the toughest three-hole finishing stretch on TOUR in two of the last three years. Here’s how they played in 2012: No. 16 (4.150/4th), No. 17 (3.143/6th), No. 18 (4.326/1st).
The par-4 18th hole at Quail Hollow played the toughest in 2012 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2008, the par-3 17th hole played the hardest. That was the only year that No. 18 was not the hardest since the tournament began in 2003.
Miscellaneous
PGA TOUR member Erik Compton will be on-hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Charlotte Knights AAA baseball game on Tuesday, April 30. Compton is best known throughout the golf world for his two heart transplants. His first heart transplant came in 1992, when he was 12, and his second transplant in 2008. For this, Compton was honored with the Ben Hogan Award in Augusta Georgia during the Masters in April 2009. Erik has also received the 2012 Babe Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award from the U.S. Sports Academy.
A great start by former winners McIlroy and Mickelson in this event.
Lucas Glover and Boo Weekley continuing their recent strong form.
Looking forward to the next 3 rounds.