An impressive field is on hand for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, an event that has become popular with the players over its 13-year history thanks, primarily, to the venue: Quail Hollow Club, a classically-designed, 7,500-yard gem of a course that features one of the toughest finishing stretches in the world, a 3-hole gauntlet known affectionately as The Green Mile.

Three of the top five players in the world will be teeing it up, including World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, whose course-record 62 in the final round back in 2010 was good enough to earn him his first PGA Tour victory. McIlroy has played some great golf lately, winning the WGC-Match Play two weeks ago and finishing 8th at The Players Championship last week, so, unsurprisingly, he’s the prohibitive favorite here– BETDAQ has him priced at 4.7, while the man with the next-shortest odds, Henrik Stenson, can currently be backed at 21.0.

Don’t just look out for the familiar names, though– this tournament has produced a first-time winner in four of the past 7 years, and each of the last seven winners have been age 32 or younger. Will we see the trend continue? Based on the following selections, I certainly hope so…

WIN MARKET

Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)

Bill Haas (28)- Haas hasn’t putted particularly well this year, but he’s one of the best ball strikers on Tour– especially with the longer clubs– and he’s had success at Quail Hollow in the past, recording two top-5s and five top-30 finishes at this event. Plus, his game seems to be blossoming at the moment, as evidenced by his 4th-place finish at The Players last week and his 12th-place showing at The Masters last month. And this will be a “home game” for Haas, a Charlotte native, so he’ll surely have plenty of support from the gallery this week, which could help spur him on if he’s around the lead on Sunday. All in all, there’s a lot to like about Haas this week, including his current odds.

Justin Thomas (47)- Yes, he’s young. He’s never won before on the PGA Tour. However, Justin Thomas is coming, and he’s coming fast. It’s not a matter of “if” he will win on Tour, rather “when” (answer: soon) and “how many times” (answer: probably somewhere between 5 and 50). This kid– and yes, he’s 22 years old, so “kid” is appropriate– can really play. He hits the ball nine miles, he has an aggressive disposition that leads to frequent birdie binges, and he’s been tasting success with increasing frequency, recording top-25 finishes in each of his last three tournaments and seriously contending at The Players last week before a mediocre final round. Oftentimes it seems like young players who are thrown into the fire in a big event like The Players and come up short end up playing really well the next week, and I expect one of those performances from Thomas– a performance that looks like a weight has been removed from his shoulders, freeing him up so he can “just play”. If this kid gets comfortable, look out.

John Peterson (134)- Though he’s not quite as well-known as Thomas, Peterson is another young player who is bound to break through soon. After making just six of 25 cuts in his rookie season last year, Peterson has responded by making 14 of 15 this year, including seven in a row heading into this week. He’s played well when he’s had the chance, finishing 18th at Harbour Town, for instance, and 11th at the Valero Texas Open, but he hasn’t been eligible for the recent “big” events– The Masters, the WGC-Match Play, and The Players. That means he’s been toiling in relative obscurity lately, watching as his peers make a name for themselves in some of golf’s most revered tournaments. This has to be a bit of a bitter pill for someone in Peterson’s situation, and I would think it could serve as extra motivation– something that could give him the mythical “edge” that athletes perpetually seek. There are more concrete reasons to like Peterson this week, though, namely his accuracy off the tee, a hallmark of his golf game that should serve him very well at Quail Hollow, where the narrow fairways and long rough act as the course’s primary defense. Peterson will spend plenty of time in the fairway– like always– and his recent form suggests that he’ll be spending plenty of time on the leaderboard, as well. He’s a longshot, no doubt, but at the current price I think it’s a shot worth taking.

TOURNAMENT MATCH BETS

Henrik Stenson (1.8) vs. Jim Furyk (1.95)

While both Stenson and Furyk have played very well this year, their games seem to be quietly moving in opposite directions. Stenson has cooled off since his torrid March, when he was a top-5 machine (since then: 17th, 19th, 34th). Furyk, on the other hand, won The Heritage three weeks ago and then nearly won the WGC-Match Play, losing a tight semifinal match to eventual champion Rory McIlroy. And Furyk has a great history at Quail Hollow, winning here back in 2006 and finishing second twice, including last year. Recommendation: Furyk at 1.95

Hideki Matsuyama (1.91) vs. Phil Mickelson (1.91)

Mickelson is obviously the more accomplished player here and he’s had tremendous success at Quail Hollow, finishing in the top-12 in this event in eight of the past 10 years. However, with the exception of his 2nd-place finish at The Masters, he hasn’t played well this year, finishing outside the top-20 in six of 9 events and missing three cuts, one of which came at last week’s Players Championship. Matsuyama, meanwhile, is quickly establishing himself as one of the world’s top players, having finished 23rd or better in each of his last five tournaments (two of which were WGC events, plus The Masters and The Players. In other words, he hasn’t been doing this at the John Deere Classic). If you removed the names here and just listed these players as Player A and Player B, Player A (Matsuyama) would be the clear favorite. Recommendation: Matsuyama at 1.91


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