Wells Fargo Championship 2024: Stacked leaderboard heading into the weekend

Wyndham Clark is the Wells Fargo defending champion

The 20th edition of the Wells Fargo Championship takes place at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina for the final PGA Tour event before next week’s PGA Championship.

The Wells Fargo maintains its elevated status in 2024 as one of the eight signature events on the PGA Tour, bringing with it an increased prize purse along with smaller no-cut fields.

Following 12 years as an official sponsor of the event going back to 2011, Wells Fargo announced in January that they won’t be renewing after the 2024 tournament. With the PGA Tour already losing Farmers Insurance as a sponsor combined with the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open only committing to one-year deals in 2024, the short-term future of the tour isn’t looking promising.

Wyndham Clark secured his first PGA Tour victory last year in the event, finishing at 19-under, four shots clear of Xander Schauffele. His 265 total is the lowest score in the history of the tournament, which clearly gave him the confidence boost needed to hold off Rory McIlroy a few weeks later to claim his maiden major championship at the U.S. Open.

With Valhalla calling, this week gives those competing in Kentucky the perfect chance to sharpen up their game ahead of the second major of the year, where Brooks Koepka who ominiously returned to form at LIV Singapore, goes in search of a fourth PGA Championship.

South of the North Carolina border this week, the PGA Tour’s inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic runs concurrently, while over on the LPGA Tour, the world’s best women compete for the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Who is playing at the Wells Fargo Championship?

Like all signature events on tour, the smaller field means the Wells Fargo Championship field is stacked full of quality. A total of 15 major champions will be teeing it up in Charlotte this week, including McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Clark, who will be looking to win the title for the second consecutive year.

Will Zalatoris returns after missing the recent CJ Cup Byron Nelson due to a flare-up with his back as he plays the event for the first time since 2021, where he missed the cut.

One notable absence is that of Scottie Scheffler. The undisputed best player on the planet has won four of his previous five events, including his second Masters title last month. Where did he finish in the tournament he didn’t win? Second.

The full field competing at Quail Hollow can be found here.

What is the format of the Wells Fargo Championship?

Due to its elevated status as one of the eight signature events combined with a smaller field, there won’t be a cut at the tournament. All players competing will play 72 holes of strokeplay, 18 more than their counterparts on the LIV breakaway tour.

Where is the Wells Fargo Championship being played?

Quail Hollow will host the tournament for the 19th time. The par-71, 7,521-yard course was designed by architect George Cobb, but it has been altered several times since by Arnold Palmer and Tom Fazio.

Aside from hosting the Wells Fargo Championship, the course used to host the Kemper Open between 1969 and 1979, while the PGA Championship (2017) and Presidents Cup (2022) have both been contested at Quail Hollow.

Originally a scoreable par-72, Fazio’s redesign in 2016 ahead of the 2017 PGA saw the course change to its current format as a par-71.

Holes 16-18 have been dubbed the ‘Green Mile’ due to their notorious difficulty. The 16th is a 506-yard par 4, the 17th is a 223-yard par 3 where water comes into play, while the final hole is a 494-yard par 4 which features a creek down the entire left side. These three holes could provide plenty of entertainment on Sunday, especially if there are several players within a couple of shots of the leader.

Who will win the Wells Fargo Championship?

McIlroy comes into the event having won his 25th PGA Tour title at the recent Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Shane Lowry. The Northern Irishman has plenty of pedigree at Quail Hollow. Not only has he won the tournament three times (2010, 2015, and 2021), but the 35-year-old also holds the course record of 61, which he recorded in 2015.

A two-time winner of the tournament, Max Homa, is another one to watch out for. The American came close to winning his first major title at the Masters, finishing in a tie for third at Augusta. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is a late withdrawal with a minor knee issue.

How much will the winner of the Wells Fargo Championship receive?

The Wells Fargo Championship has a $20m prize fund due to its elevated status. The winner will receive a cheque for $3.6m while the runner-up will take home $2.18m.

Read up on how the PGA Tour purses have evolved in recent years and which players feature in the all-time top earners on the PGA Tour.

How to watch the Wells Fargo Championship

Viewers in the US can watch the action on the Golf Channel.

All ET times

Thursday, May 9: The Golf Channel, 14.00

Friday, May 10: The Golf Channel, 14.00

Saturday, May 11: The Golf Channel, 13.00

Sunday, May 12: The Golf Channel, 13.00

UK viewers can watch the event on Sky Sports Golf.

Thursday 9 May: Sky Sports Golf, 12.30 | 19.00

Friday 10 May: Sky Sports Golf, 12.30 | 19.00

Saturday 11 May: Sky Sports Golf, 12.15 | 18.00

Sunday 12 May: Sky Sports Golf, 12.15 | 18.00

The Wells Fargo Championship: Tee times

Tee times and groupings for rounds 3 & 4 can be found here.

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About the Author

Ross Kilvington – Contributing Golf News Writer

Ross Kilvington is a freelance writer from Scotland who currently writes previews for Today’s Golfer, covering events on the DP World, PGA and LPGA tours along with the LIV Golf Series.

Ross holds a passionate interest in golf and tries to play as often as possible, although having two daughters under the age of 6 means his quest to break 80 will have to wait a little longer.

Despite first picking up a club aged 11, highlights are few and far between on the golf course.

An Eagle on the par-4 16th at Kinghorn is one that stands out (it doesn’t matter that it was only 290 yards).