Wells Fargo Championship
The Wells Fargo Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour.[2] Held in early May at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, it has attracted some of the top players on the tour. It debuted in 2003 as the Wachovia Championship and was known in 2009 and 2010 as the Quail Hollow Championship. In 2017, the tournament offered a $7.5 million purse with a winner's share of $1.35 million.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Charlotte, North Carolina Wilmington (2017) |
| Established | 2003, seventeen years ago |
| Course(s) | Quail Hollow Club Eagle Point Golf Club (2017) |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,600 yards (6,949 m)[1] |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $7.9 million |
| Month played | May |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 267 Rory McIlroy (2015) |
| To par | −21 as above |
| Current champion | |
 | |
From 2004–06 and 2011–13, the tournament ended in a playoff. Additionally, the event is known to have one of the tougher finishes on tour with 16, 17, and 18, commonly known as the "Green Mile," often ranked among the PGA Tour's toughest holes. The majority of the charitable proceeds from the tournament benefit Teach for America. The tournament is organized by Champions for Education, Inc.[3]
In 2017, the tournament was held on the coast in Wilmington at Eagle Point Golf Club, as Quail Hollow hosted the PGA Championship in mid-August.[4] Wilmington hosted the Azalea Open on tour in the 1950s and 1960s at the Donald Ross-designed Cape Fear Country Club; it was a tune-up event for The Masters through 1965,[5] part of the city's Azalea Festival.
Sponsorship
The event is sponsored by Wells Fargo, which purchased Wachovia in 2008. In 2009, Wells Fargo dropped the Wachovia name from the tournament for marketing purposes as they intended to stop using the Wachovia name for all purposes. In addition, Wells Fargo was concerned about the image of a bank sponsoring a sporting event that had received Federal funding under the Troubled Assets Relief Program.[6] Wells Fargo's sponsorship of the tournament runs through 2024 after it was announced on April 30, 2019 that a five-year extension to the agreement had been reached.
Tournament hosts
| Years | No. | Venue | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2016, 2018–2019 | 15 | Quail Hollow Club | Charlotte | North Carolina |
| 2017 | 1 | Eagle Point Golf Club | Wilmington |
Future venues
With Quail Hollow Club hosting the Presidents Cup in 2022, that year's Wells Fargo Championship will be held at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.[7]
Course layout
| Hole | Yards | Par | Hole | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 524 | 4 | 10 | 592 | 5 | |
| 2 | 452 | 4 | 11 | 462 | 4 | |
| 3 | 483 | 4 | 12 | 456 | 4 | |
| 4 | 184 | 3 | 13 | 208 | 3 | |
| 5 | 449 | 4 | 14 | 344 | 4 | |
| 6 | 249 | 3 | 15 | 577 | 5 | |
| 7 | 546 | 5 | 16 | 506 | 4 | |
| 8 | 346 | 4 | 17 | 223 | 3 | |
| 9 | 505 | 4 | 18 | 494 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,738 | 35 | In | 3,862 | 36 | |
| Source:[1] | Total | 7,600 | 71 | |||
Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Purse ($) | Winner's share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Championship | ||||||||
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[8] | |||||||
| 2019 | Max Homa | | 269 | −15 | 3 strokes | | 7,900,000 | 1,422,000 |
| 2018 | Jason Day | .svg.png){kind=small} | 272 | −12 | 2 strokes | | 7,700,000 | 1,386,000 |
| 2017 | Brian Harman | | 278 | −10 | 1 stroke | | 7,500,000 | 1,350,000 |
| 2016 | James Hahn | | 279 | −9 | Playoff | | 7,300,000 | 1,314,000 |
| 2015 | Rory McIlroy (2) |  | 267 | −21 | 7 strokes | | 7,100,000 | 1,278,000 |
| 2014 | J. B. Holmes | | 274 | −14 | 1 stroke | | 6,900,000 | 1,242,000 |
| 2013 | Derek Ernst | | 280 | −8 | Playoff |  | 6,700,000 | 1,206,000 |
| 2012 | Rickie Fowler | | 274 | −14 | Playoff | | 6,500,000 | 1,170,000 |
| 2011 | Lucas Glover | | 273 | −15 | Playoff | | 6,500,000 | 1,170,000 |
| Quail Hollow Championship | ||||||||
| 2010 | Rory McIlroy | | 273 | −15 | 4 strokes | | 6,500,000 | 1,170,000 |
| 2009 | Sean O'Hair | | 277 | −11 | 1 stroke | | 6,500,000 | 1,170,000 |
| Wachovia Championship | ||||||||
| 2008 | Anthony Kim | | 272 | −16 | 5 strokes | | 6,400,000 | 1,152,000 |
| 2007 | Tiger Woods | | 275 | −13 | 2 strokes | | 6,300,000 | 1,134,000 |
| 2006 | Jim Furyk | | 276 | −12 | Playoff |  | 6,300,000 | 1,134,000 |
| 2005 | Vijay Singh |  | 276 | −12 | Playoff |  | 6,000,000 | 1,080,000 |
| 2004 | Joey Sindelar | | 277 | −11 | Playoff | | 5,600,000 | 1,008,000 |
| 2003 | David Toms | | 278 | −10 | 2 strokes | | 5,600,000 | 1,008,000 |
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources[9]
References
- "Wells Fargo Championship". ESPN. (Leaderboard & statistics). May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
- "New name for Quail Hollow: Wells Fargo Championship". PGA Tour. August 3, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- Champions for Education
- Ross, Helen (June 27, 2016). "Changes in store for upcoming PGA Tour season". PGA Tour.
- Blondin, Alan (May 4, 2017). "Wilmington used to be home to star-studded PGA Tour event". PGA of America. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- "Event in Charlotte renamed Quail Hollow Championship". PGA Tour. February 27, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- Lavner, Ryan (8 July 2020). "Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow pushed back to 2022". Golf Channel. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- "PGA Tour statement regarding additional tournament cancellations". PGA Tour. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- Wells Fargo Championship – Winners – at www.pgatour.com