Wells Fargo Championship Picks, Predictions, and Odds (Bet on Wyndham Clark to Go Back-to-Back)

May 7, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

After a couple of weeks of less-than-exciting PGA Tour events, we’re about to enter a stretch of must-watch golf, starting with this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.

Quail Hollow is set to host the sixth signature event and the majority of the best golfers on Tour are set to compete in it. With that being said, there’s one notable absentee this week, Scottie Scheffler. The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world is awaiting the birth of his first child so he’ll be taking the week off before heading to Valhalla for next week’s PGA Championship.

That leaves Rory McIlroy as the betting favorite this week, fresh off a win alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic.

Let’s dive into everything you need to know to bet on this event, including the odds and my three picks to win.

Wells Fargo Championship Odds

The top 15 odds to win listed below are via FanDuel Sportsbook:

Rory McIlroy +700
Xander Schauffele +1000
Ludvig Aberg +1100
Wyndham Clark +1800
Patrick Cantlay +2000
Max Homa +2200
Collin Morikawa +2500
Tommy Fleetwood +2500
Viktor Hovland +2800
Sahith Theegala +3000
Justin Thomas +3000
Cameron Young +3000
Hideki Matsuyama +3300
Matt Fitzpatrick +3300
Tony Finau +3500

Wells Fargo Championship How to Watch

Thursday: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (CBS)

Wells Fargo Championship Purse

Dates: Thursday, May 9 – Sunday, May 12
Purse: $20 million ($3.6 million to winner)
Defending champion: Wyndham Clark

Wells Fargo Championship Notable Golfers

Wyndham Clark: Wyndham Clark’s magical 2023 season started right here at Quail Hollow where he captured his first PGA Tour win. He ran away from the field en route to a four-stroke victory over Xander Schauffele and then followed it up by winning the U.S. Open in June. He’s fresh off a T3 finish at the RBC Heritage so he may be rounding back into form after a missed cut at the Masters.

Max Homa: Max Homa has won this event twice, but only once when it was at Quail Hollow. His second win came in 2022 when this event was hosted at TPC Potomac due to Quail Hollow hosting the Presidents Cup. He’s still searching for his first win in over a year and returning to this course could be the perfect opportunity for him to do exactly that.

Wells Fargo Championship Best Bets

Wyndham Clark +1800

The first name that sticks out to me is the defending champion, Wyndham Clark. His T3 finish at the RBC Heritage helps me forget his abysmal performance at Augusta and it’s tough not to think he can win here again in 2024.

He’s second on the Tour in total strokes gained this season behind only Scottie Scheffler, and he’s already proven 2023 wasn’t a flash in the pan by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. He followed up that win with a second-place finishes at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

Quail Hollow fits his style of golf to perfection. You have to be long off the tee here and Clark enters this week ranking sixth in driving distance along with seventh in total ball striking.

Don’t be surprised if he successfully defends his title this week.

Hideki Matsuyama +3300

Hideki Matsuyama was one of the more popular bets at the Masters last month, but the 2021 winner at Augusta had a disappointing outing, finishing T38. Well, I’m not ready to jump off the Matsuyama train quite yet, especially now that he has had some rest and should be good to go at Quail Hollow.

The 32-year-old enters this week’s event ranking ninth in total strokes gained and, more importantly, leads the field in strokes gained: around-the-green, an area of utmost importance at Quail Hollow.

He has had solid performances here in the past, including a top-five placing in 2017, and I believe he’s being extremely undervalued on the odds board at his current price.

Rickie Fowler +6600

My dark horse bet this week is none other than Rickie Fowler. He hasn’t had his best stuff in 2023 but has improved in his last two starts, finishing T30 at the Masters and following it up with a T18 finish at the RBC Heritage. That could be a sign that he’s finding his form and now he returns to a course he’s had success at in his career.

Fowler got his first PGA Tour victory here back in 2012 and finished inside the top five three times since then. That means we can get long odds on a golfer who seems to be rounding into form at a course that he’s extremely comfortable at.

He’s worth a sprinkle at 66/1.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Can a Canadian Win the Canadian Open for the Second Straight Year?

There was a 60-year gap between Canadian champions at the Canadian Open. But not only did Nick Taylor end that drought in 2023, but he did it in electric fashion, sinking a 72-foot putt in a playoff against Tommy Fleetwood.

Now that the pressure is off Canadians to break the winless streak, will we see a run of fellow Canadians win the event? Can one of them grab the win this week?

There are 26 Canadians in the field to give it a shot. Let's take a look at each of their odds of winning this week's tournament at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Odds listed below are via DraftKings Sportsbook

Since this is Canada's national open, the majority of Canadian golfers in the field are amateurs with no real shot to win. The golfers with a legitimate chance are: Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, and Ben Silverman.

Conners is set as the betting favorite among Canadians at +2000, which means he has an implied probability of 4.76% of winning the event. He has just two wins on Tour, but he has been statistically the best Canadian golfer on Tour for a number of years.

He's been known as one of the best ball strikers in the world, but his short game often lets him down, losing strokes on and around the greens weekly. Just a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship, he gained +1.94 strokes on the field with his approach game, but losing strokes on and around the greens cost him and he finished just T26 on the week.

Conners has finished solo sixth and T20 at the Candian Open the last two years.

Nick Taylor, the 2023 Canadian Open winner, is the definition of a hot and cold golfer. He has won twice in the past 12 months but has just two other top 10 finishes in that stretch. You never know when he's going to show up with his best stuff, but when he does he has a great chance to win like he did at the WM Phoenix Open in February.

His last start resulted in a missed cut at the PGA Championship and before last year's win, he hadn't finished in the top 25 at a Canadian Open in his career.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

3 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Jordan Spieth Landed the Luckiest Bounce Off a Fan’s Elbow Into Fairway

Watching a Jordan Spieth round nowadays is like being on a roller coaster.

For one golf fan during Friday's second round at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, watching Spieth also came with a surprise bruise.

As the Texas native teed off on the 16th hole, his tee shot went so far right that he hit a spectator directly on the elbow. Luckily for Spieth, the ball bounced off the fan's elbow right onto the green.

The spectator was thankfully O.K., even though he is walking away from the tournament with a huge welt near his elbow. Spieth gave him a signed ball and glove to apologize for the injury but also thanking him for help on the shot.

A bounce ... off an elbow into the fairway?! 😲@JordanSpieth gifted this fan a signed ball after the lucky kick. pic.twitter.com/zvCsUTzgWt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 3, 2024

The fan appeared to be in good spirits despite the unfortunate injury.

Spieth ended up bogeying the 16th hole even with the fan's help to put him on the green. He missed the cut for this week's tournament after finishing four-under par.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

U.S. Women’s Open First Round Leader Odds and Prediction

The U.S. Women's Open is set to begin Thursday at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.

As expected, Nelly Korda is a massive favorite to win her second Major of the year after having won five of her last six starts. If you want my best bets to win this weekend, you can find my full betting preview here.

In this article, we're going to focus on the opening round. If you don't have the patience to wait for all four rounds to see if your bet is going to win, consider betting on the "First Round Leader" market. It gives us something to cheer for on Thursday so can make the opening round more exciting.

Let's take a look at the first round leader odds and then I'll break down my best bet.

The top 10 odds listed below are via BetMGM Sportsbook

Minjee Lee +3500

When targeting a golfer to lead after the first round, we want someone who can rack up birdies in a hurry who maybe we don't trust to do it all four rounds. Minjee Lee fits that description perfectly. She leads the LPGA in strokes gained approach (+1.69) but her short game is bound to let her down at some point during the tournament, which keeps her from the winner's circle.

Lee has also had her best stuff in the opening round this season. She's seventh on the LPGA in total strokes gained in Round 1.

Finally, she has historically excelled at the U.S. Open. She won this event in 2022 and finished T13 at the U.S. Open last season.

I'll back her to be the first round leader at 35-1.