wells fargo championship 2022 DraftKings Preview
A TPC test lies ahead as a new face for the Fargo awaits
No shock last week as the #2 player in the world, Jon Rahm, went wire-to-wire in Mexico. There really wasn't much competition and he almost gagged it away. Are we impressed? No, not really. That's golf though. This week, however, the field strength has a bit more fire. Rory McIlroy is set to defend his 2021 title, though it will look a little different. Instead of returning to North Carolina, the PGA Tour is heading to Maryland for the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship at TPC Potomac. Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.Â
What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.Â
All of the course data, player stats, and most of the information below can be found on Fantasy National Golf Club (FNGC). At FNGC you can view historic course conditions, course scoring breakdowns, tournament history, simulators, and official strokes gained data provided by the PGA Tour. Start building your models at Fantasy National now!
The Field and Tournament Details for the wells fargo championship
The Wells Fargo Championship has a new home for 2022. Due to the President's Cup being played at Quail Hollow Club later this year, TPC Potomac will host the PGA Tour for the first time since 2018. This will be the second time the Wells Fargo Championship required a substitute. In 2017, the PGA Championship was played at Quail Hollow and the Wells Fargo was hosted at Eagle Point GC.
TPC Potomac has hosted 20 events over the year but only two in the last 15 years. The Quicken Loans National was played in 2017 and 2018. Kyle Stanley won at -7 in 2017 and Francisco Molinari blitzed the field by eight strokes, getting it to -21 in 2018. Molinari is in the field this year, along with the 2021 Wells Fargo champion, Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy tops the pricing this week at $11,500. Almost a thousand over Tony Finau at $10,600. Abe Ancer, Corey Conners, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Marc Leishman, Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, Gary Woodland, and Patrick Reed round out the $9k and above. Some other studs in the field include Paul Casey, Max Homa Si Woo Kim, Cameron Young, Seamus Power, Sepp Straka, Denny McCarthy, and Troy Merritt.
There are 156 players in the field with the top 65 and ties making the cut. The players will be competing for their share of a $9,000,000 purse and $1,620,000 to the eventual champ.
wells fargo championship Course Breakdown
- Course: TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm
- Location: Potomac, MD USA
- Yardage: 7,160
- Par: 70
- Architect: Ed Ault, Tom Clark, Ed Sneed (1986)
- Grass: Bentgrass
- Comp Courses: TPC River Highlands, Sedgefield CC, East Lake, TPC Sawgrass, TPC Twin Cities, TPC Deere Run, Seaside (Sea Island)
Formerly TPC Avenel, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms sits Northwest of Washington, DC. The 7,100 yard Par 70 first opened in 1986 and has undergone renovations in 2009 and again in 2015 with input from Pete Dye and Tom Fazio along with player consultants Davis Love III and Fred Funk. Bentgrass is featured throughout the course with some fescue mix in the rough.
TPC Potomac is middle of the pack in terms of distance. There are narrow fairways and very small greens (4th smallest on Tour). The greens are also sneakily slopey and fast, rolling at 12.5. Some of the course weaves through forest and is lined with trees throughout. There will be lots of blind shots into greens, especially if you miss the fairways. Some thick, pesky rough awaits wayward tee shots. Other defenses include 80 difficult bunkers and water in play on 10 holes. A creek runs throughout the course with ponds on a few as well.
Three players hold the course record of 62 which were all fired in 2018: Kevin Streelman, Abraham Ancer, and Francesco Molinari. Each player is in the field this week.
As for the weather, it will most likely be an issue at some point. Rain and wind are in the forecast including some really gusty stuff over the weekend.
Key Stats for the wells fargo championship
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: OTT
- Driving Accuracy
- Greens in Regulation
- Par 5 Scoring (550+)
- Par 4 Scoring (450-500)
- Bentgrass Putting
What we know about TPC Potomac sets the tone for this week. Guys will need to hit fairways and get the ball as far down most of them as possible. It's not an easy course and there is lots of trouble. The greens will be tough to hit as well. Both driving accuracy and GIR% are well below the Tour average.
This will be a ball striker's week. Distance can definitely be an advantage but you gotta have some precision as well. If you pair off the tee and something like fairways gained, you can see who offers both. From there, the approach bucket is going to be wide. some guys will have 150 in and others will have over 200. There are six Par 4s that range between 450-500 yards and two more that are close. Then you have the Par 5s. There are only two and they are beasts. One will play close to 600 yards and the other, almost 650.
Finally, the putter. These Bentgrass surfaces will roll firm and fast. I watched a couple of videos on the greens here and man, are the boys gonna have fun with these. Even the straightest-looking putt moved to either side. Some 20-footers moved both ways.
Here's a tidbit from our Nut Hut in-house caddie: " I do think the fairways are generous enough but there are lots of consequences out there in the form of hazards and bunkers. They should play a touch wider this week with softer conditions. The course isn’t overly long and you only have to play to a spot on a handful of holes."
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wells fargo championship Picks & Fades
Each week we will give you some plays and a fade from each DraftKings salary range. For all of DB and Pat’s thoughts and picks make sure to check out and subscribe to the Tour Junkies Podcast.
**Picks will be updated on Monday night**
To Play or Not to Play Brooks Koepka
BK is not in the field.
$9K & AboveÂ
- DB: Play - Gary Woodland | Fade - Abraham Ancer
- Pat: Play - Tony Finau | Fade - Patrick Reed
- AC: Play - Corey Conners, Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley | Fade - Patrick Reed
There are question marks up here. These three were my favorite-looking plays when the pricing dropped. Now, according to ownership projections, seems like they are everyone else's too. And why not? Each of them is a top 10 tee to green specialist. They check a lot of boxes. Won't be surprised if each of them is in the top 10 on Sunday. Might be the better play.
Even with Reed's price plummeting from last week. It's still a hard no. He couldn't muster anything at the end of last week and this course is far from a decent fit.
$8K Range
- DB: Play - Max Homa | Fade - Webb Simpson
- Pat: Play - Webb Simpson | Fade - Jason Day
- AC: Play - Paul Casey, Si Woo Kim | Fade - Webb Simpson
Casey should come in super low-owned after burning people at the Match Play and at The Masters. I really doubt he would be here if things weren't recovered. It is a risk though. His approach game, bogey avoidance, and history at comp courses make him very tempting. Si Woo is another ball striker. It's the theme of this week. He also does well on the long Par 5s and similar performance to Casey on the comp courses.
This is a Webb fit. Unfortunately, for Webb, he's not quite fit yet. It'll get there soon but I want to see it first.
$7K Range
- DB: Play - Matthew NeSmith | Fade - Matt Jones
- Pat: Play - Sepp Straka | Fade - Lanto Griffin
- AC: Play - Troy Merritt, Cam Davis, Martin Laird | Fade - Francesco Molinari
Merritt is second on Bentgrass greens over the last 12 months and has a T12 and a T4 in his last two starts. Off the tee isn't his specialty but when hitting the fairway gets difficult, his stats go up. Same with Cam. Cam also loves Bentgrass. His first when came on bent as well just last year. He'll be low-owned and is coming off a T3 at Hilton Head. Party Marty! Laird is fifth in my model, boosted by high fairways gained and 450-500 yard Par 4 scoring. He's also played six rounds at TPC Potomac and squeaked out a T29 his last time out. Solid play for your lowest-priced guy.
Moli has just been super bad since the Farmers and even before really. I expect his ownership to be much higher than it really should be given he's the last champion to play at this course.
$6K Range
- DB: Play - Chase Seiffert, Michael Thompson, Brandon Matthews
- Pat: Play - Scott Piercy, Eugenio Chacarra
- AC: Play - Austin Smotherman, Andrew Novak, Ben Martin
Been on the smother man. Battled last week. Reduced price. Staying on em. Novak was impressive in Mexico and has a T15 and a T11 in his last three starts. Seaside is also a good comp course where Novak calls home. Martin actually finished T5 here in 2017 and though missed the cut last week in Mexico, had three straight made cuts before.
There ya go. Weird week once again. Familiar event but an unfamiliar course to most. It's not going to be easy but should make for some great TV. All those guys always whining about birdiefests should be glued to the screen this week. We got a lot of good info coming into the Nut Hut this week. It's worth the price of admission.
THE INS & OUTS
*The field is 156