Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow benefits from PGA Tour schedule, format changes
Nearly all of the world’s top PGA golfers will be in the field Thursday for the opening round of the $20 million Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
And that, as they say, is how it looks when a plan comes together.
The first year of the PGA Tour’s Designated Event format has put a stellar field in Charlotte, just as it will do at 16 other events this season.
Even bigger changes are possible next year, according to PGA officials and golfers.
Three-time Wells Fargo champion Rory McIlroy, the world’s third-ranked player, leads the 156-player field for the tournament, which continues through Sunday.
The Wells Fargo Championship is among 17 tournaments this season — including the four majors — with a bulked-up purse and guarantees from leading golfers that they’ll participate.
“I haven’t played well here,” said No. 4-ranked Patrick Cantlay, who tees off at 7:23 a.m. Thursday. “But this is a designated event, and I’m happy to be here.”
“You’ve got to like this,” added Tony Finau, winner of last week’s Mexico Open. “It’s like a heavyweight battle when everyone is here.”
PGA officials and golfers came up with the designated event format for this season in an effort to improve the quality of fields at major events. Golfers can skip only one of the 17 events, and in return, they compete for purses guaranteed to be $20 million or more.
The format, either directly or indirectly, is a reaction to last year’s launch of the LIV Tour, which siphoned away a number of top golfers.
The world’s top two ranked players, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, are skipping the Wells Fargo. And ninth-ranked Will Zalatoris is injured.
But everyone else is playing in Charlotte this weekend.
“I think it’s been great,” Finau said of the designated events. “It’s pretty dang cool for our game.”
He pointed to some of the battles in designated events this year, such as Rahm edging Homa in February’s Genesis Classic, or Fitzpatrick topping Spieth in a playoff three weeks ago at the RBC Heritage Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
“That’s what we want for golf,” Finau said. “You’ve got to think about how it looks on TV.”
Jason Day, whose won the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, said Quail Hollow is a great place for a designated event.
“This is a premier golf course,” he said. “This tournament is huge. And this year, more so.”
“There’s a good mix of risk and reward holes here,” Day added. “It gives you some birdies, but it’s also tough.”
For McIlroy, the Wells Fargo Championship is a place to get his game restarted.
He failed to make the cut last month in the Masters, shooting 5-over for 36 holes. McIlroy skipped the next designated event, the RBC Heritage Classic, and is returning to action this weekend in Charlotte.
“I would have been doing myself a disservice and doing the people around me a disservice,” he said earlier this week, referring to his decision to skip the Hilton Head event.
PGA regulars long have considered the Wells Fargo Championship to be a must-play event.
“Everything about this tournament is first-class,” said Max Homa, ranked No. 7 in the world. “We’re treated very well here, the course is great, and everything is well-run.”
Even bigger changes are possible next year.
Imagine a Wells Fargo Championship with less than half the field — perhaps 70 to 80 golfers — and no cut after 36 holes.
That proposal is being considered for the 2023-24 season. Published reports have said eight of the designated tournaments will carry that non-cut format, which is also a part of the LIV Tour.
Not everyone is on board with the idea.
“I prefer a cut,” Day said. “Why do we need guaranteed pay? You don’t play well, you don’t get paid. That’s how life works. But I’ll leave that decision up to other people. I’m just trying to get my game straightened out.”
The Wells Fargo Championship is not guaranteed to be a designated event next season, however. PGA officials and players are talking about a rotation of events, with some tournaments (the majors, for example) being a permanent part of the rotation.
Designated events already played are the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January; the Waste Management Phoenix Up and the Genesis Invitational in February; the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tournament Players Championship and WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event in March; and the Masters and RBC Heritage Classic in April.
The next designated event after Charlotte is the PGA Championship, in two weeks.
Others this season are the Memorial Tournament, U.S. Open and Travelers Championship in June; the British Open in July; and the Fed Ex St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, and Tour Championship in August.
