DraftKings Picks for the Wells Fargo Championship 2021

Another week of glorious golf approaches as the PGA Tour travels to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship at the long and difficult Quail Hollow Club. Let’s get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.

What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.

Let it Burns! Just a couple months after a final round blow up cost Bermuda Burns his first PGA Tour victory at Riviera and seemingly disappearing in the aftermath, ol’ Sammy put it all together at the Valspar. Big win, Longshot SZN. Congrats to anyone that was on him.

The 2020 Wells Fargo fell victim to the Covid cancellations so Max Homa, the 2019 champion, is in the field to defend his title. Former champs also include Jason Day (2018), Brian Harman (2017 though played at a different course), James Hahn (2016), Rory McIlroy (2015), and JB Holmes (2014).

The Wells Fargo Championship typically draws in a decent crowd and this year is no exception. Quail Hollow is a great course and with the PGA Championship looming, it should provide a good test for the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in two weeks. Four of the top five golfers in the world are in the field this week which include Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Bryson DeChambeau. Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Willy Zalatoris, Corey Conners, and course horse McIlroy are also in attendance.

Quail Hollow Club Course Breakdown

One of the toughest tracks the tour visits every year, Quail Hollow Club demands discipline off the tee, precision on approach, and finesse around the greens. George Cobb designed the course in 1961 with some renovations by Tom Fazio in 2016 before Quail Hollow played host to the 2017 PGA Championship which was won by Justin Thomas.

The 7,500 yard par 71 features Bermudagrass course wide but due to the season some overseeding will see a mix of Poa on the putting surface and Ryegrass tee to green. Sand and water are key defenses to the course along with the overall length and sizable, slopey greens.

Approach and putting are really big this week. Strokes gained off the tee is important as well because of the length. Some rain in forecast will likely soften things up a bit making the course play even longer. Plug in good drives gained and opps gained into your Fantasy National models. That will give you a good idea who is maintaining a good greens in regulation (GIR) rate and who’s putting those second shots closest to the flag. Par 5 scoring huge. Though the tee boxes will move back and forth, eight of the par 4s average 450-500 yards.

Driving accuracy, GIR%, and scrambling are all well below tour average here. 3 putt average is also quite high. Driving distance well above average with proximity to hole quite a bit further away than the average.

Only Rory has really ever ran away with this title firing 21-under in 2015. Most have rarely crossed the -15 mark which Homa did in 2019. The forecast looks a bit wild right now with a good mix of wind, rain, and sun for the week. Friday and Sunday look the worst at the moment for the wind and perhaps a PM/AM wave advantage may be in play but take a look closer to Thursday morning for that.

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The Picks & Fades

Each week I will give you my plays and a fade from each DraftKings salary range.

$9k+:

DB: Play - Max Homa | Fade - Rory McIlroy

Pat: Play - John Rahm | Fade - Patrick Cantlay

AC: Play - Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Corey Conners | Fade - Rory McIlroy

Once again Conners rates out numero uno in my model and he’s one of my favorite guys on tour so his spot on this list will be secure for the foreseeable future. Xander and Hovland rate out superb in my model and the ownership looks great on all three. It’s not always easy to find a fade up here but with Rory’s course history, his ownership is likely to be very high and we haven't really seen anything great for quite some time.

$8k:

DB: Play - Keegan Bradley | Fade - Harris English

Pat: Play - Abraham Ancer | Fade - Brian Harman

AC: Play - Abraham Ancer, Cameron Tringale | Fade - Brian Harman

Pat and I are pretty much on the same page here. Not going to move off of Ancer and Tringale while they are performing as well as they are and rate out 9th and 3rd respectively in my model. Despite how Harman has been hitting it lately this is a monster of a course and his stats just don’t gel with this type of track.

$7k:

DB: Play - Matt Wallace | Fade - Ian Poulter

Pat: Play - Stewart Cink | Fade - Russell Henley

AC: Play - Brendan Steele, Matt Wallace, Matt Jones | Fade - Ian Poulter

The 7k range once again looks pretty juicy and there is definitely a full lineup of guys I could play here. Steele played great at Zurich with Keegan and is 26th in my model this week. 11th off the tee, 25th in par 4s, decent putter, ball striking numbers at QH are great, has a t10 and t15 in previous visits. Wallace is 13th in my model including 4th in 450-500 yard par 4s. His last three events were solid and though he doesn't have any rounds at Quail Hollow his corollary track record is great. Similar story for Jones. 18th in my model. Great ball striking. Solid par 5 and par 4 scoring along with a sweet short game. Fading Poulter is likely a cop out but when all the numbers are red, well the flags are up. He also has his son on the bag this week so hopefully this isn’t a Stewie Cink type of thing.

$6k:

DB: Play - Luke List, KH Lee, Adam Schenk

Pat: Play - Tom Lewis, Sam Ryder,

AC: Play - James Hahn, Luke List, Tom Lewis

I can’t not play Hahn after having him last week and now returning to a course he has won at. Get it together for a week James! List is the highest rated guy in my model in the 6ks, coming in at 15th. Which is great because I really like Luke List and want to see him do well. The only real question mark is the short game but he has performed well in Charlotte. Lewis had a great start to the week at Valspar before fading away but has made 5 cuts in a row. 28th in my model with good all around stats, just need the putter to cooperate.

THE INS & OUTS

OUT: Brendon Todd (COVID), Camillo Villegas

IN: JJ Spaun, Justin Suh** (sponsor)

Monday Qualifiers:

62 (-8)

Seamus Power (bogey-free, 8 birdies)

64 (-6)

Keenan Huskey (7 birdies, 1 bogey)

65 (-5)

Lucas Herbert (7 birdies, 2 bogeys)

66 (-4; via 2-for-1 playoff)

Patrick Cover (6 birdies, 2 bogeys)

Field set at 156

**NOTE: This will be Suh's last sponsor exemption unless he achieves STM. He needs 82.446 FEC points or no worse than a two-way T8 (worth 82.500)