Wells Fargo Preview

Matt’s Field Preview

Rory McIlroy

Maybe Rory needed to see something go through the hoop to kick off his season. The driver has been tremendous and part of the reason he has so much success here. If this is the first time he really gets into the Sunday conversation this year, no one would be shocked. He has been hitting his irons poorly but it seems to be more mental than anything. 

Xander Schauffele

RBC Heritage was the first time Xander Schauffele lost strokes ball striking since the Scottish Open over the summer. The last time he lost strokes on approach was this season at Bay Hill which he bounced back with the near win at Sawgrass. He has shown the ability to bounce back tremendously and is in the middle of a great year. Runner up last year and clearly makes a ton of sense.. Like always… Not betting Xander ever is probably the best option. 

Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig is going to be extremely popular this week and rightfully so. The young man is taking care of every track he sees and this one makes a ton of sense for his total driving prowess. Buy Ludvig stock in any market. 

Akshay Bhatia

Akshay is a North Carolina guy so he should be comfortable out here. He has two starts here but nothing to write home about in terms of results. He has plenty more reps this time around and is a plus ball striking and more specifically total driver. Akshay makes sense out here and could surely make some noise. 

Keegan Bradley

Keegan is not going to be leading driving stats this week but he has gained off the tee in his two recents starts here which is impressive. Of late, Keegan has been striping his irons. I do like him on a tree lined track and believe he is closer than it may seem. Keegan can shock you this week. 

Sam Burns

Burns ball striking is extremely spotty right now and he is not the golfer you want on big, tough tracks. 

Patrick Cantlay

Pat has parlayed a solid few ball striking showings and looks like he is finally finding his form. This may be the first time I pull the trigger on PC. He has shown success on east coast long golf courses in his career. 

Wyndham Clark

Wyndham winning here as somewhat of a longshot was no surprise. He was trending and fit the course perfectly. Wyndham has a ton of guts and has been a machine this season. Three top 3’s in his last 5 starts. Trending in a great direction for a defense. 

Eric Cole

Dead last watch for Eric Cole. He is a shorter hitter and is hitting it very poorly coming in. 

Corey Conners

Has not missed a cut since June. Fairway, green, two putt. Very safe play and will slowly work his way up the leaderboard all week long. Very little win equity but a safe DFS play. 

Harris English

Harry had the 2nd best iron week of his career in this event last year. Sadly, he is coming in hitting them poorly. You would think he has the total driver prowess to have a leg up on the field but for some reason he has never driven it well here. Sometimes a course just doesn't fit your eye off the tee. 

Tony Finau

Tone is truly hitting his golf ball as well as he ever has but I have zero faith in him both making any putts or winning right now. 

Matt Fitzpatrick

I love Fitz on a driver heavy golf course but he has not been hitting it as well as he can. He has one trip here and it was a T35. He will surely go under the radar this week but I can see him in contention. 

Tommy Fleetwood

T5 here last year and is in alright form this time around. Fleetwood closing around 20/1 at Harbour was truly hilarious. The biggest loser on tour is probably a decent DFS look as he is steady across the board and should not get into too much trouble. 

Tom Kim

The driver is simply not there at the moment which will leave him in trouble at a high rate here. 

Jake Knapp

Knapp had another solid week and has really figured out the irons over the last month. We know he has plenty of driver upside but he is yet to really prove it on a big boy track. I would pass. 

Adam Schenk

Schenk hit the ball extremely well last week but could not get anything going with the putter. That's what happens when you become 22% owned for no reason. He has a T13 here in his career but outside of that, nothing. This course seems a tad do long for Schenk to make any noise.

Rickie Fowler

Rick has great course history around Quail and has found the iron game. He looks like he is one step closer to coming back yet again. His driver has been poor which is surely a concern around here but hopefully all the success around here can chanell the good vibes. Honestly do not mind Rick as a longshot here. 

Lucas Glover

Glover has not lost strokes ball striking in 2024 but has not played well around Quail in his career. He should play out of the fairway at a high rate and surely has great iron upside. By no means do I believe he is a bad play but I am not sure his real upside. T8? Adam is the Glover man and will have the final call.

Byeong Hun An

Ben has not played this course well in his career but I feel like it would make sense on paper. His last four starts have been great ball striking showings, I want to say he will be under the radar and provide high upside as he hits the ball very long and straight off the tee.

Cam Davis

Cam is driving it very well at the moment and has driven it well here in his career. Extremely important stat to key in on. He is a high upside and volatile player.

Jason Day

Day has a win and another T9 here but has been an absolute liability on approach. He has now lost strokes in 7 straight events with his irons. 

Emiliano Grillo

Grillo has hit the ball very well here in his career. Of late, he has lost the ball striking which is a bad sign for Grillo. 

Brian Harman

Harman will be a leg behind with the driving distance and he has been hitting is irons very poorly of late. A bad combination this week. 

Nick Dunlap

Easy course merchant. Nick Dunlap cannot succeed on a track with nuance. Quail is not over the top detailed but it slightly leans that way. He does have the driver to find success though. 

Russ Henley

Russ has never played well here and has been very spotty with the iron play. He should play from most fairways although he will not be very long. Very similar ceiling to Corey Conners in my onion. 

Stephan Jaeger

Extremely solid week for Jaegs at The Byron. He has the driver to contend here and he has the confidence as well. He hit the ball extremely well in this event last season and seems to still be playing very solid golf.

Si Woo Kim

Si Woo continued to stripe the ball although he did not really pay off his price, which was expected. He will put on a tee to green display at Wells and it will probably be rewarded on the leaderboard. Si Woo is not a big golf course guy but I do not hate him here. 

Max Homa

His first win came here plus a T8 last season. I expect Max to be popular this week but I am not sure his game is as solid as we all think. Sure, he had a solid week at Augusta but outside of that, he has not hit the ball up to his ceiling. He tends to play well this time of the year so he may be close. At shorter odds and probably high ownership, I will pass. 

Sungjae Im

Sungjae withdrew last week at an event I thought he would play well at. I do not think his game is sharp enough to make it happen on a track of this stature. 

Chris Kirk

Kirk has never cracked the T30 here as it simply may be too big for his style of golf. 

Kurt Kitayama

Kurt is having a very solid ball striking season. He has now gained in four straight starts and heads to a track that should suit him. He has one start and it was a missed cut but I am willing to give him a look here. He is a bomber with great iron upside and can flash with the putter from time to time. 

Hideki Matsuyama

Deki is having a ball striking season where he is gaining 6+ regularly. This is definitely a track where that will be rewarded but he has never cracked the top ten in his career. Deki can surely make some noise here. 

Denny McCarthy

Denny has lost strokes ball striking in five of his last six starts. His only way to success is gain 8 plus strokes on the greens which is right up Denny’s alley. With that being said you have to be out of your mind to back Denny here.

Taylor Moore

T Moore has been driving the hell out of the ball which will play here tremendously. I have never backed him before but may give it a run this week. He hit his irons well in his debut here and surely has the upside to get into the mix in a field like this.

Collin Morikawa

Collin will be lapped off the tee on a track like this. Plus, he has lost on approach in four of his last five starts. Hard pass. 

Mattieu Pavon

First trip here but won on one of the bigger golf courses on tour in Torrey Pines. This field is much stronger put Pavon can surely be in line for a T20. 

JT Poston

The only this Poston has going for him is that he is a North Carolina guy. He is both short and inaccurate off the tee which is a horrible combo here and he is not hitting his irons well.

Seamus Power

As soon as Seamus became obvious, he missed the cut last week. This is not a Seamus track by any means. 

Chad Ramey

Chad Ramey had the best iron week of his career last year at Quail Hollow. Extremely odd but this man sneakily shows life every once in a while. He is in horrible iron form at the moment but he was coming into this week last year as well.

Patrick Rodgers

P Rodge has made driver gains this season and this is a course where it will be rewarded. The iron play has been sub par but he does have a T2 here in his career. 

Jordan Spieth

Jordy seems lost. Missed cut as the favorite last week is a tough look. He has been awful on approach but has hit the driver really well which is important here. He will be extremely under owned and could be a great DFS target. 

Sepp Straka

Sepp has not played well here before but he is rounding into form. He has gained over 11 strokes ball striking the last two starts. He is a very streaky player so he could be close to breaking through. 

Adam Svensson 

Svenny has been hitting his driver very poorly over this last month which could be an issue here. He has gained off the tee in both trips here but was hitting his driver better then.

Justin Thomas

JT gained strokes across the board at Harbour Town last week which is a great sign. He has finished in the top ten once here but this is surely a golf course he can play well at when he is clicking. If you want to by one really solid week of golf at 40/1, I am down too. 

Brendon Todd

B Todd somehow finished in the top ten here last year as well as Bay Hill a few months ago. He will hit every fairway and probably have a long iron or hybrid into every green but hey if hes hitting em well, hes hitting em well. He has gained on approach in his last three starts which is a great sign. 

Gary Woodland

Gary has multiple T5’s here which is on brand as this is an ultimate ball striking, driver heavy track. Sadly for Gary, he is not all the way back yet. I think he can be a decent DFS play at the right price. 

Sahith Theegala

Sahith is becoming more and more well rounded and consistent as the weeks go on. This is surely a golf course that he can play well on if he is sharp. He has shown great things across the bag the last few months. Give us a 50.

Cam Young

Cam finally had a poor ball striking start in his last event. He only has one start here but this is truly one of the better courses for Cam Young that we will see all year. His driving will start him on second base but he is truly a loser. I will probably bet him though. He did play his college golf in this area of the country which is another thing to lean on.

Will Zalatoris

Another Wake Forest guy who is used to this area of the country. Missed the cut in his only trip here. His driver kind of scares me which is odd for Willy Z but he is absolutely striping his irons. We may get a decent number on him.