Paulie’s Picks: 2019 Wells Fargo Championship

This week the Tour heads to Quail Hollow in North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship. This is one of the most demanding courses on Tour, as it requires a player to use every club in the bag. The course plays very long at par 71 and over 7500 yards. Players who have had success at this event typically excel in at least one of these three areas:

• Driving distance
  • The course is long enough to allow driver on most holes, so players who are long off the tee will have a massive edge. Hitting a 7-iron instead of a 4-iron into the greens is a huge advantage.
• Mid- to long-iron approach shots
  • There are going to be longer shots into the green than on a normal week, even for the bombers.
• Strokes Gained: Around the Green
  • With the longer approach shots, firm greens, and tricky rough, there will be an increased emphasis on chipping and pitching. Scores will not be super low this week, so being able to scramble for par to keep things together will be key.

Here are some players to consider for this week:

DraftKings:

Justin Rose $10,300

Rose is going to be overlooked this week after his missed cut at the Masters. His salary is about $1000 cheaper than it should be, and we will get him at less ownership than other top players such as Rory McIlroy. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler are priced above Rose because they are past champions of this event, but Rose is no slouch at Quail Hollow. He has two top five finishes in his last three appearances. In the last 12 months, Rose has 15 top tens, including three wins and three runner-up finishes. Rose won earlier this year at Torrey Pines right after he faltered with a 34th-place finish in the weak field at the Desert Classic. Rose’s game checks all the boxes. He is long off the tee, great with mid to long irons, and deft around the greens.

Jason Kokrak $8,700

Kokrak has a good combination of length off the tee and a solid iron game. In his last eight events, he has gained at least 2.8 strokes on approach in each event. During that same timeframe, he has gained strokes off the tee in six of those eight events. The only two events where he didn’t were the Heritage and the Players. Both Harbour Town and Sawgrass force Kokrak to lay up off the tee a lot and not use his length as an advantage. Quail Hollow will allow him to hit driver on most holes and gain strokes on the field. He doesn’t have the best history at this course, but he has been playing with confidence this year. He is great for DraftKings, as he brings consistency (hasn’t missed a cut since the 2018 Open) and upside due to his high birdie rate.

One-and-Done

Phil Mickelson

Phil has an insane track record at this course. He has finished 12th or better in 11 of the last 14 years! His only missed cut during that time was at the 2017 PGA Championship, which presented the course much differently than the Wells Fargo will this week. Phil has worked hard to gain distance off the tee, and that will play dividends this week. His game is suited perfectly to this course. He can drop bombs off the tee, and he has one of the best short games on Tour.

J.B. Holmes

If you’re looking to catch up in your league and need to take a bit of a longer shot, Holmes is a great option. He won this event in 2014 and already has a win under his belt in 2019 at Riviera.