We head to the 2nd Major of the year with the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Quail Hollow plays as the host course to the Wells Fargo Championship each season so we have plenty of data on the course.

Last year at the Wells Fargo Rory Mcllroy won for the 4th time at Quail Hollow. He shot a final round 65 and tournament score of 17 under. He defeated Xander Schauffele by five strokes. Rory gained 15.6 strokes tee to green which was the 2nd most of his career behind the 16.9 strokes he gained when he won here back in 2015.

In 2023 Wyndham Clark got his first ever career win at Quail Hollow. He shot a three under 58 on Sunday to win by four strokes over Xander Schauffele with a final score of 19 under.

The 2017 PGA Championship was played at Quail Hollow. Justin Thomas won by two strokes despite shooting an opening round 73. He shot 8 under defeating Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen and Francesco Molinari by two strokes. This was the last PGA Championship played in August before ultimately being moved to May. The conditions were much firmer and faster than what we’ll see this week.

Quail Hollow is a 7,626 yard par 71, with Bermuda Greens overseeded with Poa Trivialis. The Course was renovated by Tom Fazio in 2013 and 2016 prior to the 2017 PGA Championship when it was changed from a par 72 to a par 71. The course has played more difficult since.

There have been 68 yards added to the course compared to last year’s Wells Fargo Championship. They’ve added 10 yards to the 1st hole, 25 yards to the 9th hole and 33 yards to the 17th hole.

There are 7 holes with water in play and 61 bunkers on the course. The rough is listed as 2.75 inches which is longer than it generally plays at the Wells Fargo but not tremendously penal for a Major.

Quail Hollow boasts the often most difficult finishing 3-hole stretch on tour, the “Green Mile”.

The Green Mile starts with the 500 yard par four 16th hole. It has trouble on both sides of the fairway. The approach shot isn’t much better with water on the left and behind the green and a bunker on the right.
Hole 17 is a 233 yard par 3 with a lake in the front and left of the green. The finishing hole has a creek running up the left side and bunkers up the right side of the fairway of this 494 yard par four.

There are three par fives, four par threes and eleven par fours. Six of the par fours play from 450-500 yards. Four of the five most difficult holes on the course are par fours with the afformentioned 18th hole being the most difficult boasting a 30% bogey rate.

The par threes are fairly long with the shortest being 184 yards and the longest being a monstrous 249 yards. As with most courses the par fives play as the easiest holes on the course. Especially hole 15 which boasts a 46% birdie rate. Previous winners have generally been towards the top of the field in par 5 scoring.

Off the tee golfers will see tree lined fairways which are some of the most difficult to hit on tour. Hitting fairways isn’t all that important with driving accuracy coming in at only 54 percent. Driving distance is an added bonus as the average drive comes in at 300 yards which is much higher than tour average. Golfers who can bomb it off the tee will have the advantage of shorter approach shots out of the rough. Shorter hitters will have to be playing their second shots from the fairways if they have any chance of cintending. Strokes gained off the tee at Quail Hollow is very important.

On approach golfers will hit into average size greens with tiers and slight undulations. Length with the irons is a necessity at Quail Hollow. Nearly a third of approach shots come from over 200 yards and 60% of all approach shots come from 175 yards or more.

As a result of longer approach shots, GIR percentage(62%) is lower than tour average. This will place some emphasis on around the green and scrambling. Three putts are also 15% higher than tour average with GIR proximity coming in at 36 feet. This course also annually comes in with one of the lowest make percentages inside of ten feet.

Ultimately gaining off the tee, hitting greens in regulation and putting is the preferred strategy this week. Some around the green and scrambling will come into play but any golfer looking to contend can’t be missing too many greens and will need to have a good week with the putter.

There are 156 golfers in the field and the Top 70 and ties will make the cut after 36 holes

The Key Stats

• Strokes Gained Off the Tee
• Strokes Gained Approach
• Approach from 200+ yards
• Driving Distance
• Scrambling

Wells Fargo Championship Historical Cut Line

• 2024: +1
• 2023: even
• 2021: +3
• 2019: +2
• 2018: +4

Golfers to Consider

Rory Mcllroy +450

has to be mentioned considering the fact that he’s won four times already at Quail Hollow.

Bryson DeChambeau +1400

Bryson has been on fire since the Masters where he finished in 5th place. He followed it up in Mexico City where he was the leader going into Sunday. He faltered down the stretch and ultimately finished 2nd. He won in Korea last week with a score of 19 under shooting 66 or better in all three rounds. He’s also finished 4th and 9th the last two times he’s played at Quail Hollow.

Bryson is obviously first in driving distance on LIV with an average drive of 333 yards. He’s been accurate off the tee as well hitting 66% of fairways which is 7th best on LIV. He’s 4th in birdies, 1st in eagles gained, 5th in GIR percentage, and 8th in putting on LIV this year.

Xander Schauffele +2200

Xander has continually performed well at Quail Hollow in recent years. He has back to back 2nd place finishes the last two years. He gained over ten strokes tee to green in both years and has only lost strokes putting here once.

Xander got off to a slow start this year due to a rib injury but has been consistent recently with three straight top-10 finishes. He’s gained strokes on approach in all but one tournament this year. He’s 6th in strokes gained approach over the last 24 rounds.

Patrick Reed +8000

Reed has some good finishes at Quail Hollow. He came 6th here in 2021, 8th in 2018 and was 2nd at the PGA Championship when it was played here in 2017. He’s gained over four strokes putting on these greens five times.

Reed is trying to make a case to make the Ryder Cup team and has been playing well. He finished 3rd at the Masters gaining over 10 strokes tee to green. Prior to the Masters he had a 2nd place finish on the Asian Tour and a 7th place in Miami. He just came 4th last week in Korea. Reed generally isn’t considering a long driver if the golf ball but has made improvements in that department. His average drive on LIV is 304.8 yards and driving distance is certainly a bonus at Quail Hollow.

Max Homa +8000

Let’s not sugar coat it, Homa has not played well this year. His best finish however did come in a Major when he finished 12th at the Masters. He’s played incredibly well at Quail Hollow winning in 2019. He finished 8th in each of the last two years here. He’s gained strokes on approach at Quail Hollow in four straight appearances.

As of writing this Homa currently sits tied for 16th place at the Truist Championship. Heading into the final round he sits at 6 under and is 2nd in the field in strokes gained off the tee. Which is very promising considering how poor he’s been with the driver and how important driving is at Quail Hollow.