Featured Group: Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland

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At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship.

WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP: TOUR Report | Tee Times | Expert Picks | Power Rankings | Fantasy Insider

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A trio of big-hitters who have already won tournaments in 2011 should attract plenty of attention during the first two rounds of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Not to mention, playing partners Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland and Nick Watney are also in the thick of the FedExCup race -- ranking fourth, sixth and seventh respectively in the race for the $10 million bonus.

So if you want to follow players who are at the top of their games, this is definitely your group.

The 40-year-old Mickelson is well-acquainted with Quail Hollow, too, after making seven appearances at the coure that will host the 2017 PGA Championship. He's had five top-10s, four of which have been finishes of fifth or better.

Lefty appeared poised to pick up his first win in North Carolina, too, when he took the lead into the final round last year. But on that particular Sunday, Mickelson was no match for the red-hot Rory McIlroy, who closed with a 62.

Look for some birdies, too. Mickelson, who has been idle since tying for 27th in his Masters defense, has never shot over par in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship -- and he's broken par four times in the second.

But while Mickelson may have the best record at Quail Hollow -- Watney's top finish, a tie for 11th, came in his first start and Woodland is making his debut -- the other two have been in contention a little more this year.

Mickelson challenged in San Diego before finishing second and posted one other top-10 before picking up his 39th PGA TOUR victory at the Shell Houston Open. But Watney had four straight top-10s leading up to his win at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and Woodland posted four of sixth or better in his first seven starts, capped off by the win at the Transitions Championship.

Watney's victory was the third of his PGA TOUR career -- and came with a measure of revenge at TPC Blue Monster. He capped a stellar final-round 67 with a birdie at the challenging 18th hole, which he had double bogeyed the previous day, to win by two over Dustin Johnson. Two years earlier, Watney's birdie putt on the same hole had come up an inch short and he finished second to Mickelson in the same event.

Watney has been enormously consistent in all phases of the game this season. He ranks 12th in driving distance, 17th in greens in regulation and seventh in the PGA TOUR's newest statistic -- strokes gained: putting, a category in which he's shown improvement each of the last three years.

Woodland served notice that 2011 might be his breakout season early when he lost in a playoff at the Bob Hope Classic in his second start of the year. He held shares of the 54- and 72-hole leads that week and birdied the 90th hole to force extra holes with Bill Haas and the eventual champ Jhonattan Vegas.

Two months later, Woodland went one better when he made an 11-footer for par on the 72nd hole to win the Transitions Championship. That was his only par in an adventurous final nine holes that saw him also make five birdies and three bogeys. The one-stroke victory over Webb Simpson came in his 33rd PGA TOUR start.

Statistical comparison

Key stats from Watney, Mickelson and Woodland from the 2011 season (TOUR rank in parentheses)

Category WATNEY MICKELSON WOODLAND   Driving distance 296.8 (12th) 295.7 (16th) 300.9 (7th) Driving accuracy 63.31% (68th) 52.35% (175th) 59.36% (118th) Greens in regulation 69.25% (17th) 66.15% (55th) 70.52% (9th) Strokes gained - putting .804 (7th) .100 (86th) .171 (78th) Scoring average 69.70 (2nd) 69.99 (7th) 70.02 (T8th)

Career at Wells Fargo Championship

Nick Watney Phil Mickelson Gary Woodland Appearance 7th 8th 2nd Cuts Made/Missed 6/0 7/0 1/0 Wins 0 0 0 Top-10s 1 5 0 Top 25s 5 6 0 Best Finish T11 (2005) 2nd (2010) 73 (2009) Last Appearance/Finish 2010/T22 2010/2nd 2009/73rd Scoring Avg. 71.50 70.39 74.00

EXPERT PREDICTIONS: We asked some of our PGATOUR.COM experts to predict which player will fare best this week at Quail Hollow:

Stan Awtrey: Phil Mickelson: He hasn't played since the Masters, but that shouldn't matter at Quail Hollow. He's got a little unfinished business to take care of in North Carolina.

Melanie Hauser: Everyone's playing well and everyone's game fits Quail Hollow. Nod goes to Lefty because of history -- five top-seven finishes and just one finish outside the top 12.

Craig Dolch: Phil Mickelson. Phil always plays well at Quail Hollow. Time for him to win.

FANTASY FORECAST: Two of the three cracked the top 10 in Rob Bolton's Power Rankings, with Phil Mickelson the top selection. Bolton took note of Mickelson leading the TOUR in birdies or better on par-5s.