Wells Fargo Championship’s Quail Hollow Club feels like a second home for Max Homa
Max Homa is in his happy place this week.
“Charlotte is probably my favorite city we come to, along with the California cities,” Homa said Tuesday, after completing a practice round at Quail Hollow Club for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.
Homa, 32, a California native, scored his first PGA Tour victory four years ago in the Wells Fargo event. He also scored a key victory in the Presidents Cup played last fall at Quail Hollow.
“This place has a lot of great memories,” he said.
Homa, the world’s No. 5-ranked golfer, has one victory on the PGA Tour this year, in the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He said he struggled in the Masters and at the RBC Heritage Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C., last month.
But, Homa said he feels as if his game is improving again. And being at Quail Hollow won’t hurt, he added.
“This golf course suits me really well,” he said. “I feel like I know the greens well. It’s a big golf course, and I feel like I can swing away.”
Homa said he felt as if his game took a positive turn two weeks ago in the Zurich Classic, a two-man team event in New Orleans. He was teamed with Collin Morakawa, and while they failed to make the cut, Homa said his overall play was better.
“Now I’m at a course where I feel comfortable,” he said. “There’s something to be said for waking up in the morning, seeing how the wind is blowing, and knowing how I can adjust my shots on certain holes,” he said. “I feel familiar with the course.”
Homa is actually the tournament’s defending champion, although last year’s Wells Fargo Championship was played in Maryland. It was moved there so Quail Hollow could be prepared for the Presidents Cup.
Homa said he had a warm feeling when he reached the ninth green Tuesday in his practice round.
“That hole was No. 18 last year in the Presidents Cup,” he said. “It was cool, remembering making that putt on Friday to win the match.”
Homa, who went 4-0 in the Presidents Cup, beat Tom Kim by making a long putt on that hole. It helped the U.S. team to a 17½ to 12½ victory over the International team.
Winning it all
Homa wasn’t the only golfer who talking about feeling good Tuesday.
Tony Finau won last week’s Mexico Open, beating the world’s top-ranked player, Jon Rahm, by three strokes.
“It was a great week,” he said.
Finau said he hasn’t played especially well in the past at Quail Hollow but hopes what happened in Mexico can be repeated in Charlotte.
“I’m just hitting the ball better,” he said. “The No. 1 thing has been putting. I decided at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t change my putting grip, no matter what happened.”
He said he began experiencing putting problems several weeks ago and was tempted to change his grip again.
“But I didn’t, and then I won,” he said.
Finau became a social media sensation earlier this week when video surfaced of him caddying for his sons at a par-3 course in Mexico — just a few hours after Sunday’s final round.
“It was a cool way to cap off the week,” he said. “I fell in love with golf by playing in the evenings with my dad and my brother. Now I’m doing that with my sons.”
Finau said he did more than caddy.
“Oh, no, I played too,” he said.
Who won?
“I cleaned house last week,” he said. “I beat up on my sons, and I took the (Mexico Open) trophy.”
Pro am on Wednesday
Tee times for Wednesday’s pro am event have been announced, and fans will have to be there early to see tournament favorite Rory McIlroy tee off. His foursome is set for a 7 a.m. start on the No. 1 tee.
Here are Wednesday’s tee times for pros:
Morning tee times
No. 1 tee
7 a.m.: Rory McIlroy; 7:10: Justin Thomas; 7:20: Webb Simpson; 7:30: Cameron Young; 7:40: Adam Scott; 7:50: Harris English.
8 a.m.: K.H. Lee; 8:10: Trey Mullinax; 8:20: Davis Riley; 8:30: Shane Lowry; 8:40: Viktor Hovland; 8:50: Patrick Cantlay; 9 a.m.: Xander Schauffele.
9:15 a.m.: Wyndham Clark; 9:27: Austin Smotherman; 9:40: Chad Ramey; 9:52: Adam Schenk.
10:05 a.m.: Joel Dalmen; 10:17: Stephan Jaeger; 10:30: Russell Knox; 10:42: C.T. Pan; 10:55: Hayden Buckley.
11:07 a.m.: Mark Hubbard; 11:20: Dylan Fritelli; 11:32: Lanto Griffin; 11:45: Gary Woodland.
No. 10 tee
7 a.m.: Sungjae Im; 7:10: Tony Finau; 7:20: Matt Fitzpatrick; 7:30: Collin Morikawa; 7:40: Sam Burns; 7:50: Corey Conners.
8 a.m.: Sahith Theegala; 8:10: Keith Mitchell; 8:20: Denny McCarthy; 8:30: J.J. Spaun; 8:40: J.T. Poston; 8:50: Sepp Straka; 9 a.m.: Max Homa.
9:15 a.m.: Alex Smalley; 9:27: Brandon Todd; 9:40: Matt Wallace; 9:52: Ryan Palmer.
10:05 a.m.: Aaron Rai; 10:17: Erik van Ronyan; 10:30: Patrick Rodgers; 10:42: Kevin Streelman; 10:55: Michael Thompson.
11:07 a.m.: Adam Svensson; 11:20: Adam Long; 11:32: Beau Hossler; 11:45: Lee Hodges.
Afternoon tee times
No. 1 tee
12:15 p.m.: Jordan Spieth; 12:25: Rickie Fowler; 12:35: Kurt Kitayama; 12:45: Zach Johnson; 12:55: Andrew Putnam.
1:05 p.m.: Tyrrell Halton; 1:15: Emiliano Grillo; 1:25: Mackenzie Hughes; 1:35: Francesco Molinari; 1:45: Troy Merritt; 1:55: Tommy Fleetwood.
2:05 p.m.: Matt Kuchar; 2:15: Chris Kirk; 2:25: David Lipsky; 2:37: Peter Malnati; 2:50: Sam Ryder.
3:02 p.m.: Tyler Duncan; 3:15: James Hahn; 3:27: Robert Streb; 3:40: Cailum Tarren; 3:52: Max McGreevy.
4:05 p.m.: Nick Watney; 4:17: Doug Ghim; 4:30: Kevin Tway; 4:42: Matthias Schwab; 4:55: Kramer Hickok.
No. 10 tee
12:15 p.m.: Brian Harman; 12:25: Tom Kim; 12:35: Lucas Glover; 12:45: Seamus Power; 12:55: Taylor Pendrith.
1:05 p.m.: Luke List; 1:15: Keegan Bradley; 1:25: Cam Davis; 1:35: Si Woo Kim; 1:45: Adam Hadwin; 1:55: Chez Reavie.
2:05 p.m.: Taylor Moore; 2:15: Alex Noren; 2:25: Matthew NeSmith; 2:37: Doc Redman; 2:50: Martin Laird.
3:02 p.m.: Danny Willett; 3:15: Nate Lashley; 3:27: Grayson Sigg; 3:40: Scott Piercy; 3:52: Chesson Hadley.
4:05 p.m.: Cameron Champ; 4:17: Jason Day; 4:30: Stewart Cink; 4:42: Ryan Brehm; 4:55: Patton Kizzire.
Heading to the tournament?
The $20 million Wells Fargo Championship is at the Quail Hollow Club in south Charlotte, and tickets are still available online.
Public parking is not available at the club. Fans can park at designated lots and will be taken to the tournament via shuttle bus service.
Your parking options are:
SouthPark B: Tickets must be purchased in advance Wednesday-Sunday.
Carowinds: Wednesday-Friday. Tickets can be purchased online in advance, or cash payment can be made on the day of the event.
Ballantyne Corporate Park: Saturday and Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online in advance, or cash payment can be made on the day of the event.
Please see tournament policies regarding items that may or may not be permitted into the tournament grounds, and to answer other questions, such as proper attire. A variety of food and beverage options are available at the tournament.
The first and second rounds will be televised by the Golf Channel on Thursday and Friday. Coverage Saturday and Sunday will start on the Golf Channel and then switch to CBS.
