Winners and Losers from the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship
Any exploration of the relative winners and losers from the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow begins with one name: Rory McIlroy.
The 26-year-old Ulsterman bettered his fellow competitors by seven strokes in shades of the 2012 PGA Championship and the 2011 U.S. Open when he won by eight strokes. He established both a new course record (61) and tournament scoring record (267).
McIlroy made a firm statement this week that he is the very best golfer in the world right now, and his game is in order as we move closer to the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.
Who joins Rory in the winners' circle this week? Who doesn't?
Read on to find out.
Winner: Rory McIlroy
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The big winner in North Carolina this week: the guy who fired a course-record 61 in the third round and whose golf ball logged more frequent flier miles than anyone else in the field this week (321.1 yards off the tee on average).
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy picked up his second win in his last three starts, and he did it in dominant, uncompromising fashion. His singular combination of power and accuracy off the tee was on full display this week as his free-swinging bombs brought back memories of last year's summer of brilliance in which he won the Open Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.
Here's the best example of McIlroy's bludgeoning of Quail Hollow: his 17th hole Sunday. The par four was playing 514 yards into the wind. The second hole of the fearsome green mile, it's the hardest hole on the course. What did Rory do? Smoked driver 364 yards off the tee, hit wedge to under three feet for birdie.
Course record, 61. Tournament record, 267. Seven-stroke victory. McIlroy is this week's biggest winner.
Loser: Restraint off the Tee
2 of 8Quail Hollow is the longest course on the PGA Tour circuit at 7,562 yards. It doesn't take an expert handicapper to determine, then, that the North Carolina track favors those who can rip it off the tee.
Rory McIlroy, obviously, unleashed howitzers for four straight days at Quail Hollow, averaging 321.1 yards off the tee for the week.
In addition to McIlroy, though, let's take a look at the driving averages this week of the players near the top of the leaderboard.
- Patrick Rodgers (T2): 314.6
- Webb Simpson (T2): 296.6
- Gary Woodland (T4): 303.5
- Phil Mickelson (T4): 308.9
- Robert Streb (T4): 307.4
- Geoff Ogilvy (T7): 308.6
- Justin Thomas (T7): 310.5
- Kevin Streelman (T9): 303.5
- Shawn Stefani (T9): 316.3
- Jason Bohn (T9): 294.1
- Brendan Steele (T9): 319.5
Winner: Local Knowledge
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If you watched the telecast, you were bludgeoned to death with this fact: Webb Simpson is a member at Quail Hollow.
In what amounted to a four-day "member's bounce," he used that fact to his advantage all week.
Simpson, who still appears uncomfortable with the switch to the conventional-length putter, capitalized on his experience at the venue to finish tied for second, even while he never got anything going on Sunday (carding an even-par 72).
"He knows the nuances of the course and the winds," Ian Baker-Finch mentioned on the CBS telecast. That knowledge led to Simpson's best finish of the season.
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Loser: Adam Scott
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World No. 11 Adam Scott came to Quail Hollow hoping to put a final-round 75 at the Players Championship at Sawgrass behind him.
And while the Australian battled Friday to make the cut, he came up a stroke short. Rounds of 71, 74 left him a stroke outside the even-par cut line.
Scott again looked uncomfortable with the long putter he's committed to using until the USGA takes it out of his hands next season. He lost 1.301 strokes to the field on the green at Quail Hollow. Scott is presently 193rd on tour in strokes gained: putting.
If he's going to be a factor at Chambers Bay in a month, he'll need to get his putting in order.
Winner: The Green Mile
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Quail Hollow's 16th, 17th and 18th holes make for one of the most treacherous closing stretches on the PGA Tour. And the Green Mile, as the trio of holes are known, was lengthened by more than 60 yards in 2014 amid the comprehensive green rebuilding at the North Carolina course.
Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard spelled out the Green Mile's difficulty:
"Since Quail Hollow became home to this championship in 2003, its three finishing holes have ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in difficulty among PGA Tour stops nine times. They’ve ranked No. 1 three times. They have never ranked lower than No. 3.
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This year, the Green Mile was again no picnic for the tour's best. Here's a clue how tough it was: During Saturday's third round where scores were more than a stroke better than the previous two rounds, all three holes still played over par. The par-four 16th, average 4.123 strokes. The long, par-three 17th: 3.333 strokes (the most difficult hole on the course). And the long, par-four 18th: 4.18 strokes.
Loser: Sunday Intrigue
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With Rory McIlroy entering the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship with a four-stroke lead, there was little drama in store for golf fans. Rather the opposite of, say, Rickie Fowler's Players Championship win last week.
After the first hole Sunday, McIlroy held a five-stroke lead, ensuring the rest of the tournament would be...meh.
Not that the appreciation of a dominant performance is lost on golf fans, but you'd assume in a straw poll nine out of 10 enjoyed the final round of the Players more than watching Rory McIlroy step on Quail Hollow's throat.
Winner: 2 Roomies
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Roommates Justin Thomas and Patrick Rodgers, who practice together at the Bear's Club in Jupiter, Florida, both did pretty well for themselves at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Rodgers, who teed it up in North Carolina on a sponsor's exemption, has been inspired by the success of his young contemporaries on tour.
“I just watched Jordan Spieth win the Masters and make it look pretty easy. That gives me a ton of confidence, and then Justin, my roommate, (I’ve) seen him towards the final group every week," the Stanford alum said after his second round.
He opened with consecutive rounds of four-under 68 and added a third-round 70 before lighting up Quail Hollow Sunday (before the wheels fell off over the final two holes). Still, it was an impressive week for a guy with no status on the PGA Tour. Rodgers tied for second at 14 under.
Thomas, for his part, did his best work in the third round, where he carded a 65 that included two eagles. He finished tied for seventh at 11 under.
Loser: Phil Mickelson's 18th-Hole Efforts
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Phil Mickelson made a Sunday run at Rory McIlroy but came up nine strokes short. He concluded his week with a four-under 68 to finish at 12-under 276, finishing tied for fourth.
Lefty would have had a real shot at winning at Quail Hollow were it not for a pair of stumbles at the 18th hole. He carded a double-bogey six at the difficult 18th in his opening round and a triple-bogey seven in his third round.
Mickelson has played the North Carolina course as well as anybody without tasting victory. The 44-year-old now has eight top-10 finishes in 12 appearances.
All stats via PGATour.com and the PGA Tour Media Guide
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