Power rankings, Wells Fargo Championship: Rory McIlroy the man to beat?

Quail Hollow Club took a year off to prep for the 2022 Presidents Cup, but it returns to its Wells Fargo Championship hosting duties this week. 

The event has always attracted a handful of big names but the field is elevated this time around, thanks to it being tagged as a designated event with a boosted prize pool. 

A field of 156 players will be prepped to start the week with the low 65 and ties advancing past the 36-hole cutline. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Rory McIlroy

This will be his first event played since a disappointing missed cut at the Masters. He did a lot of pre-tournament prep work at Augusta National this time around and still fell short and needs to wait another year to take a crack at the career Grand Slam. His absence at the RBC Heritage made headlines since it was the second designated event that he’s missed this season. He is a three-time winner at Quail Hollow, so on paper this should be a great spot to return to action. We will want to consider his mental state before fully locking him into our lineups. With three weeks of rest since the Masters, you would think he’s ready to move on, but only time will tell. 

Max Homa

He’s the defending champ this week but got that ’22 win on a different host course (TPC Potomac). That doesn’t mean he’ll be bummed to return to Quail Hollow, considering his maiden PGA Tour win came at the course. He missed the cut at Harbour Town and also exited early at the Zurich Classic team event, but the comforts of Quail Hollow should present a good opportunity to bounce back. 

Viktor Hovland

He made his Quail Hollow debut at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship and found instant success. He landed a T-3 finish that week, gaining 4.6 strokes off-the-tee, 3.8 strokes on approach, and 4 strokes putting. He’s also twirled top-10s in three of his last four stroke-play events. 

Cameron Young

Driving is an extremely useful tool at Quail Hollow and you have to go way back to the 2022 Players to find the last time that Young lost strokes off the tee in a tournament. He’s piled up eight podium finishes but is still searching for that breakout win. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Quail Hollow was the site of that first win. 

Jason Day

This will be his first time playing since ballooning with a closing 80 at Augusta National. Other than that sour finish, he’s been trending back toward the winner’s circle. What was the site of his last PGA Tour win? That would be Quail Hollow at the 2018 Wells Fargo. 

RANKING THE FIELD

1. Rory McIlroy
2. Patrick Cantlay
3. Tony Finau
4. Xander Schauffele
5. Max Homa
6. Jordan Spieth
7. Viktor Hovland
8. Cameron Young
9. Jason Day
10. Justin Thomas
11. Matt Fitzpatrick
12. Collin Morikawa
13. Sungjae Im
14. Tyrrell Hatton
15. Rickie Fowler
16. Tommy Fleetwood
17. Sahith Theegala
18. Tom Kim
19. Wyndham Clark
20. Sam Burns