Odds Outlook: Quail Hollow specialist Rory McIlroy leads odds board for Wells Fargo Championship

The Quail Hollow Club, site of the 2017 PGA Championship and 2022 Presidents Cup, welcomes the elite field of 69 players for the Wells Fargo Championship.

The sixth Signature Event of the season serves as the final event before the second major championship, the PGA Championship, next week at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

Fresh off a victory two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Rory McIlroy (+900) returns to the top of the board at the BetMGM Sportsbook.

With Scottie Scheffler on the sidelines this week awaiting the birth of his first child, McIlroy, a two-time worldwide winner this season and No. 2 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, will be the man to beat in North Carolina. The three-time champion at Quail Hollow, including his first victory on the PGA TOUR as a 20-year-old kid in 2010, will also be a “defending” champion at Valhalla next week after his 2014 victory in Kentucky.

Hot on the heels of McIlroy is Xander Schauffele (+1000). The 30-year-old has cashed T25 or better in 10 of 11 events this season but is still searching for his first win. Playing in the final group last year with the eventual champion Wyndham Clark, the Californian cashed solo second and made the cut for the third time in three tries. After a disappointing T23 with annual partner Patrick Cantlay in New Orleans, he will rely on his No. 3-ranked tee-to-green game to separate himself this week.

Patrick Cantlay (+1800) would love to have his South Carolina mojo matriculate to North Carolina. Taking advantage of target practice at Harbour Town annually, he is making only his third visit to Charlotte. The 2021 edition saw him miss the weekend, but the 2023 tournament saw him rebound with four rounds of par or better for T21. The new PGA TOUR schedule and Signature Event placements pushes players into new comfort zones. The Californian’s ball-striking and putting numbers have not met his lofty standards this season, but he does lead the TOUR in Round 1 scoring, so expect a solid start.

Wyndham Clark (+1800) returns to Charlotte this week to do one of the most difficult duties in professional golf: defend a title for the first time and do so against an elite field of 70 players. The vibes should be on point, and the memories strong. The Wells Fargo Championship produced his first win on TOUR, led to a major title, the U.S. Open the following month, plus a Signature Event victory at Pebble Beach in February. Running second to the absent Scheffler at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass, Clark collected T3 at Harbour Town in his last outing. Only Scheffler ranks better in Strokes Gained: Total in 2024.

Missing the cut in his only non-Presidents Cup visit, Collin Morikawa (+2200) had a solid April on his own ball. Sharing third at the Masters, his best payday at Augusta National, he followed on with solo ninth at Harbour Town the following week. The wash-rinse-repeat driver has frequently found fairways, and his iron game is returning to the shades of 2020. The winners at Quail Hollow Club are not required to find fairways but they have been required to hole putts on the Poa Trivialis overseed that push 12-plus feet on the Stimpmeter. More on that tomorrow in Horses for Courses!

With his 2019 conquest, Max Homa (+2500) joined the list of big names to win for the first time on TOUR at Quail Hollow Club. Joining McIlroy, Fowler and Clark, the Californian missed the cut in his defense two years later (no event in 2020) but returned last season with another top 10 (T8) payday. Contending and winning on the biggest and most difficult tracks (Torrey Pines, The Riviera Country Club) has been his calling card over the last five years and produced his best paydays of 2024.

Making his 135th career start in the States, Tommy Fleetwood (+2500) will look to add his name to the exclusive list of first-time PGA TOUR champions at Quail Hollow Club. After packing it in early on his first visit, the Englishman is trending nicely with T14 in 2021 and T5 last year. Cashing in the top 10 three times this season, he has produced those results at Riviera, TPC San Antonio and Augusta National. All three tracks rank in the top eight used on TOUR in 2024 with Augusta National and TPC San Antonio sitting at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Quail Hollow annually ranks as one of the top 15 most difficult on TOUR.

Here's a look at other notable odds via BetMGM:

Note: Canadian Taylor Pendrith, the winner at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Ben Kohles (second) and Alex Noren (third), qualified for this week through the Aon Swing 5.

• +2800: Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas (2017 PGA Champion here), Sahith Theegala, Viktor Hovland
• +3300: Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick
• +4000: Adam Scott, Alex Noren, Brian Harman, Jordan Spieth, Russell Henley, Si Woo Kim, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris
• +4500: Jason Day (2018 champion), Byeong Hun An, Sepp Straka
• +5000: Akshay Bhatia, Chris Kirk, Corey Conners, Harris English, Sam Burns, Shane Lowry
• +5500: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Denny McCarthy
• +6600: Adam Schenk, Billy Horschel, Rickie Fowler, Stephan Jaeger, Tom Kim, J.T. Poston
• +8000: Andrew Putnam, Austin Eckroat, Brendon Todd, Taylor Pendrith, Tom Hoge
• +9000: Adam Hadwin
• +10000: Cam Davis, Eric Cole, Jake Knapp, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Kurt Kitayama, Lucas Glover (2011 winner), Mackenzie Hughes, Matthieu Pavon, Patrick Rodgers, Taylor Moore
• +12500: Nick Taylor, Seamus Power
• +15000: Adam Svensson, Webb Simpson
• +17500: Emiliano Grillo
• +20000: Kevin Tway, Nick Dunlap, Peter Malnati
• +25000: Ben Kohles, Gary Woodland, Lee Hodges
• +30000: Matt Kuchar
• +40000: Grayson Murray

Find others listed at BetMGM.com.

How the Wells Fargo Championship works:

• 69 players, 72-hole stroke play (no cut).
• The purse of $20 million will pay first place $3.6 million to the winner.
• The winner also receives 700 FedExCup points.
• The winner this week, if not already eligible, will qualify for the PGA Championship at Valhalla outside Louisville, Kentucky.

-Odds courtesy of BETMGM.COM-

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