Insider: All Wells Fargo lacks is a hometown success story
By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
The Wells Fargo Championship that begins Thursday at Quail Hollow is considered by many to be one of the premier annual events on the PGA TOUR. It draws a great field -- 32 of the top 50 players in the FedExCup standings are in Charlotte this week -- and is contested on a truly great course, one worthy to be chosen to host the 2017 U.S. Open.
Quail Hollow is a place that doesn't tolerate poor play. Look at the list of winners from the event's brief history and you won't find a fluke on there. Starting with David Toms at the inaugural event in 2003 and going through last year's stirring victory by Rory McIlroy, the Wells Fargo Championship rewards great performances. Any tournament would be proud to have the names of Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh on its roll of champions.
The only thing the tournament is missing is the presence of a winner with North Carolina ties somewhere on the list of champions.
Fans at every event enjoy seeing a local favorite put together a big weekend and end up holding the hardware on Sunday afternoon. Even at the Masters, there was a longing for a Georgia champion for many years, until Tommy Aaron finally broke through in 1973. It's only natural to root for the home team.
There's definitely some regional pride involved at Quail Hollow, too. Sure, it's great to have a world-class field playing in the backyard, but it's also wonderful to have someone from your own backyard capable of beating a world-class field.
Someone like Bill Haas, for example. Haas was born in Charlotte, went to college at nearby Wake Forest and now makes his home in Greenville, S.C., which is about 90 minutes to the south down I-85.
"Even though I don't live in Charlotte now, it feels like a home game event," Haas said. "You get enough people in the crowd that know I'm from close by and you get a feeling of that and they seem to be pulling for you a little more than the next guy, which is nice."
Haas, who nearly picked up his third PGA TOUR victory at the Bob Hope Classic earlier this year, says he doesn't feel any extra pressure to perform when he has friends and family in the crowd. In fact, he welcomes the support -- and has requested plenty of extra tickets for this week.
"The pressure you have on yourself out here is usually self implemented," Haas said. "... So sometimes it's nice to people in the crowd to kind of say, all right, we support you no matter what's going on, just go on and play."
Here in the heart of Atlantic Coast Conference country, Haas enjoys hearing the fans yell, "Go Deacs," too. "There are a lot of Demon Deacon fans here which I like cause I know there's a ton of Tar Heel fans here, too," he said with a grin.
Haas puts a win at the Quail Hollow Championship at the top of his list -- "right behind a major," of course. Here are some other players who have North Carolina ties in the field this week who are worth a look at Quail Hollow:
• Mark Wilson: A two-time winner this season who had been No. 1 in FedExCup points until overtaken by Bubba Watson last week (Wilson now ranks third), the University of North Carolina graduate would improve his career credentials with a win at Quail Hollow. He's not a long hitter (146th in distance), but he makes up for it with accuracy. He has the chops to play the course, as evidenced by his tie for seventh a year ago, when he closed with a 67.
• Brendon de Jonge: The Charlotte resident plays out of TPC Piper Glen. He's trying to build on the success of last year's breakthrough season and has continued to be a consistent competitor. De Jonge isn't overly long, but keeps the ball in play. He likes Quail Hollow, where he finished fourth in 2010 thanks to the 66 he fashioned in the final round. Getting his first career win in his adopted home city would definitely be the highlight of his career.
• Carl Pettersson: The self-proclaimed Swedish Redneck from North Carolina State only has one top-10 finish this season, but he likes playing in front of the locals. He's won four times on TOUR, including the 2008 Wyndham Championship in nearby Greensboro where he went to high school.
• Kevin Streelman: The Duke graduate has been a steady, consistent player on TOUR. He's made the cut in six of his last seven events and finished for 15th at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the Valero Texas Open. The only thing missing from his resume is a win. Accomplishing that at Quail Hollow might even merit a congratulatory call from Coach K.
• Webb Simpson: The Wake Forest graduate, who moved from Raleigh to Charlotte earlier this year, seems to be on the verge of a breakthrough. He's finished second twice this season, including last week in New Orleans when he lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson. Simpson has as much go-low potential as anybody on the TOUR.
• Davis Love III: There are few golfers more beloved in North Carolina than DL3, who went to school at UNC and still looks great in Carolina blue. Love may be in the twilight of his career as a competitor (he's only got one top-10 this season) but he's always dangerous at home and has two wins at Greensboro. It would be impossible to find a more fan-pleasing champion.
So far the home-field advantage has meant very little at Quail Hollow, but that could certainly change. If any of these local players are in contention on Sunday, the stretch of holes known as The Green Mile will be filled with even more drama than usual.
Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.
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