2012 Wells Fargo Championship Predictions
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
At last week’s Zurich Classic, Jason Dufner finally got the monkey off his back. Dufner held off Ernie Els in a sudden death playoff for his first career win on the PGA Tour. Dufner and Els both shot a 19-under 269, finishing two shots ahead of Luke Donald. This week the PGA Tour heads to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. The tournament will be played at Quail Hollow Club, one of the more difficult non-major courses on the schedule. Action will get under way Thursday, May 3 and will conclude on Sunday, May 6.
Lucas Glover is the defending champion, as he was able to defeat Jonathan Byrd in a one-hole playoff. While Glover has played well at this event, finished tied for 2nd in 2009, it seem unlikely that he will repeat. Glover has really struggled in the early portion of 2012. He has already missed the cut twice and his best finish came last week at the Zurich Classic, where he finished 66th overall.
The field is headlined by the trio of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy, arguably the the three biggest names in the sport. There are plenty of other big names in action this week, as the field features 11 winners from 2012 and a total of 19 past Major champions.
Taking a closer look at Quail Hollow, we find that in order to score well on this track you need to be on top of your game around the greens. Those that are able to putt well and scramble around the greens tend to have the best results. Looking at the top 15 golfers at this event last year, 12 finished inside the top 25 in fewest putts per round. This course features extremely large greens that seem to really protect the hole. Quail Hollow routinely ranks as one of the most difficult courses in proximity to the hole and three-putt avoidance.
For those of you looking to place a wager on who will finish ahead of the field this week, here is a quick look at the three golfers who I feel have a great shot at winning this event.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson has been on top of his game early in 2012. This will be his first start since finishing tied for 3rd at the Masters, his fourth top five finish this season. While Mickelson hasn’t been able to win at Quail Hollow, he has six career finishes inside the top 10, including a second place finish back in 2010. Mickelson is one of the best in the game around the greens, which is a big reason why he has had so much success here. He is currently 12th in putting (per hole), third in strokes gained putting and second in bogey avoidance. Whenever Woods is in the field it seems to bring out the best in Phil and I expect a very strong showing this weekend.
Hunter Mahan
This is a guy who I think has really turned the corner. He is the only player with two wins in 2012, as he won the Accenture Matchplay Championship and the Shell Houston Open. Not only is Mahan strong with the putter, ranked 33rd in putting, but he comes into this event ranked fifth overall in both fairways and greens hit in regulation. It can be extremely hard to find the fairway at Quail Hollow. Last year the field hit just 47.64% of the fairways. I look for Mahan to give himself plenty of opportunities for birdies and it doesn’t hurt that he has finished inside the top 25 in each of his last four starts at Quail Hollow.
Zach Johnson
Here is another golfer who I feel has the right game to score low and win this event. Johnson isn’t going to hit a mile off the tee, but he is extremely accurate from tee to green and can hold his own with the putter. He is currently ranked inside the top 10 in fairways hit in regulation, greens hit in regulation, and strokes gained putting. He too has had a strong history on this course, finishing in the top 25 in three of his last four starts, including a career-best T6 here a year ago.
Looking for some expert advice on how to golf better this year? Take a look at these great putting tips that are sure to lower your score next time out.
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