Lucas Glover has enjoyed plenty of success at the Wells Fargo Championship. (Revere/Getty Images)

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM

It was quite a performance by Billy Horschel at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Horschel put on an incredible putting exhibition on his way to his first PGA TOUR victory, not to mention his fourth straight top-10 finish. We'll examine his statistics from Zurich as well as some tidbits in preparation for this week's Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club by going inside the numbers ...

1  Number of over-par rounds Billy Horschel has shot in his past 16 attempts. … Not only does Horschel own the longest cuts-made streak on TOUR at 23, but he’s doing it with ease. Horschel is a combined 49-under par during that stretch of four tournaments – all top-10 finishes.

 

6  Consecutive birdies for Horschel during a final-round stretch, Nos. 7 through 12 at TPC Louisiana during the Zurich Classic. … While this is tied for the longest birdie streak on TOUR this season, it is the longest birdie streak during the same round of golf. Sang-moon Bae (Northern Trust Open) and Chris Stroud (Puerto Rico Open) had six-birdie streaks over the course of different rounds. Robert Garrigus (Humana Challenge) had a five-birdie, one-eagle streak over the course of two rounds. Meanwhile, Russell Henley (Sony Open in Hawaii/Humana) had a seven-birdie streak over the course of two tournaments. You may recall Henley making five straight birdies to close his final round to win Sony. He then opened with two birdies the next week at Humana.

 

21 feet, 10 inches  Fairway proximity for Horschel at the Zurich Classic. … When Horschel hit the fairway, he hit 93.55 percent of his greens in regulation. And his proximity from the fairway ranked first for the week. Horschel’s 8-under 64 in the final round was aided by 17 greens in regulation. Amazingly, Horschel hit just six of 14 fairways in the final round. He was just that good with his irons.

 

49 of 49  That was Horschel’s conversion rate on putts inside of 5 feet at Zurich. ... There’s plenty to love about Horschel’s recent putting. He was third in strokes gained-putting at 1.768, picking up more than seven shots on the field average in putting for the week. There’s more: Horschel didn’t have a three-putt all week. Plus, he’s canned 46 putts outside of 10 feet in his past four starts. Yeah, not too shabby.

 

248  Number of consecutive holes Bob Estes has gone without a three-putt, the longest streak of the 2013 season. … It’s also an active streak with Estes not three-putting in 36 holes at the Zurich Classic, where he missed the cut. Estes’ last three-putt came on the fourth hole in Round 1 of the Shell Houston Open.

 

$2,283,973.21  Career earnings at the Wells Fargo Championship for Jim Furyk, the most by any player there. … Furyk, taking this week off, owns four top 10s in nine tries, including a win in 2006. What may surprise some people is the second-leading career money leader at Wells Fargo. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed Lucas Glover, who comes in at $2,249,340.86. Glover, the 2011 Wells Fargo champion who also has four top 10s, is coming off a T4 at Zurich where he was the 36- and 54-hole leader. Glover is scheduled to play this week.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ARCHIVE

Week 2: Sony Open/Humana Challenge

Week 3: Humana Challenge/Farmers Insurance Open

Week 4: Farmers Insurance Open/WM Phoenix Open

Week 5: WM Phoenix Open/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Week 6: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am/Northern Trust Open

Week 7: Northern Trust Open/WGC-Accenture Match Play

Week 8: WGC-Accenture Match Play/The Honda Classic

Week 9: The Honda Classic/WGC-Cadillac Championship

Week 10: WGC-Cadillac/Tampa Bay Championship

Week 11: Tampa Bay Championship/Arnold Palmer Invitational

Week 12: Arnold Palmer/Shell Houston Open

Week 13: Shell Houston/Valero Texas Open

Week 14: Valero/The Masters

Week 15: The Masters/RBC Heritage

Week 16: RBC Heritage/Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Following his third-round 70 at the 2013 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Lucas Glover talks about going into Sunday’s final-round with a two-stroke lead.

By Brian Allee-Walsh, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

AVONDALE, La. -- A rediscovered putting stroke has Lucas Glover atop the leaderboard after the morning wave of players Friday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Glover stands at 12-under 132 after firing a 67 over the 7,341-yard, par-72 Pete Dye layout at TPC Louisiana.

Boo Weekley shot a 68 and sits one shot back at 133.

Glover has carded 17 birdies through 36 holes, suggesting the extra work with coach Dave Stockton Jr. the past seven months is finally paying dividends. Though hitting just 25 greens in regulation, he has made 32 of 34 putts from inside 10 feet through the first two rounds.

"Ball-striking wise, I've been where I'm used to being," said Glover, who can count the 2009 U.S. Open among his three wins on the PGA TOUR. "But I don't know that I've ever putted like I have the past two days, so I don't know if I can say I'm back because I've never been there. It changes every weekend.

"But it's been good. I've made a little adjustment with my setup -- a little more stable on my left side, a little more weight left. Did I see this coming? Yeah, it was just one of those things where I had to get the putter straightened out."

Glover has struggled through the first four months on TOUR after recovering from season-ending knee surgery last September. Through 10 events, he has one top-10 finish at The Honda Classic and four missed cuts, three in the last month.

Reduced to a couch potato and bored out of his mind for the first six weeks following surgery, Glover said he occupied himself doing crossword puzzles and reading.

"I'd rehab for an hour-and-half on the couch," he said. "I think it was exactly six weeks after surgery that I started on wedges."

As far as his chances this weekend, Glover said he'll go as far as his putter will take him.

"I'm not foolish enough to think I'm going to make them all every day," he said. "That's where patience comes in. You can't let it get to you.

"So as long as I'm rolling it down the line where I'm looking, that's all I can do. I've got to take that tomorrow and Sunday and not let it get to me. I'll be the first to admit I'll get mad if I'm not hitting my lines because that's something I can control."

Lucas Glover will undergo surgery on his right knee Sept. 5 to repair a torn meniscus and could miss the remainder of the season.

Glover first injured the knee while paddle boarding in Hawaii the week of the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He withdrew from the tournament and missed the next two months.

Last week in Greensboro, Glover was forced to withdraw again midway through the third round because of pain in his knee.

Glover, who missed the FedExCup playoffs for the first time in his career, could be back for the season-ending Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, which he won in 2005, though it’s more likely he would skip the event and wait until 2013 to return.

In 16 starts this year, Glover made just six cuts. His best finish was a tie for 46th at the Memorial tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Everyone knows about Fred Couples' affection for Augusta National. Well, Lucas Glover has a similar feeling when he comes to play at Quail Hollow, and not just because he won the Wells Fargo Championship last year.

Glover, who grew up two hours away in Greenville, S.C., has plenty of friends in the area. He stayed at a home on the 15th hole last year, started the week with a get-together of Clemson faithful and celebrated with his mom on Mother's Day when he beat childhood friend and college teammate, Jonathan Byrd, in the playoff.

Not to mention, Glover tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2009 and has two other top-10s in eight starts. Small wonder that Glover has such a comfort zone at Quail Hollow, which he says "absolutely, absolutely," has a major championship setup.

"You guys wrote about Freddie at Augusta, you expect him to drive through those gates and play well and he loves it there, and that's how I am here," Glover said. "I was here last Sunday and played with some friends, and probably the best round I've played all year, and I know it was practice and I know it doesn't matter and nobody cares, but just being here, there's something about it for me."

The positive vibes Glover feels at Quail Hollow could help jump start a truncated season, too, where he's made just six starts and hasn't finished higher than 66th. He took the West Coast off after injuring his knee when he fell awkwardly off a paddle board in December, then tore an intercostal muscle in his left rib at the Masters.

"So pretty tough to rotate, and I think if it had been any other week but Augusta I don't think I would have played," Glover said. "But it's pretty hard to withdraw from that one, so I played through it and just got it fixed and feel good."

Glover missed the cut at the Masters but managed to play the weekend at Hilton Head before, as he called it, “laying an egg” with a final-round 78. The 2009 U.S. Open champ was still in considerable pain at Harbour Town, but he wanted badly to play in the only PGA TOUR event in his home state.

Taking the next week off helped, and Glover pronounced himself "as healthy as I've been since the day I got hurt back in the end of December.

"(I) feel good, just got to keep working on the right things and try to put some scores together," Glover said.

All press conferences will be streamed live on PGA TOUR.COM. Wednesday, May 2 10:30 a.m. ET: Rory McIlroy Noon ET: Lee Westwood 1 p.m. ET: Phil Mickelson 1:30 p.m. ET: Bill Haas 2 p.m. ET: Hunter Mahan

Got a question for Lucas Glover? Send us your questions for Direct Connect — PGATOUR.COM’s video franchise that gets you closer to a PGA TOUR pro each week — and this week’s host Amanda Balionis may use it when she chats this week with Glover, the defending champion of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Glover, of course, also won the 2009 U.S. Open, and played last season with a Grizzly Adams-type beard, although he has since shaved it off. Glover, slowed by a knee injury earlier this season, has gotten off to a slow start, but perhaps the return trip to Quail Hollow will jump-start his season.

Direct Connect video will be posted each Wednesday afternoon on PGATOUR.COM.

The tee times for the first round of this week’s RBC Heritage have been released. CLICK HERE for the tee times. Use the space below to comment about the pairings at Harbour Town.

Here’s a look at some of the notable groups in the first two rounds:

Luke Donald/Kyle Stanley/Brandt Snedeker
All three players have won on the PGA TOUR this year, but the real story is the Donald/Snedeker rematch from last year's playoff at Harbour Town. Or it is the Snedeker/Stanley rematch from this year's playoff at Torrey Pines?

Bill Haas/Ernie Els/Padraig Harrington
Haas, the reigning FedExCup champion, is paired with two international superstars in the midst of career comebacks. Harrington has two top-10s in six starts this year, while Els has three top-fives in his last four starts.

Webb Simpson/Zach Johnson/Bud Cauley
This group almost spans three different generations. Cauley, a 22-year-old rookie, was one of the hottest players on TOUR before the Masters. However, rookies almost never do well at Harbour Town. Simpson, 26, has been under the radar after an epochal 2011, and still has three top-10s already in 2012.

John Daly/Rickie Fowler/Ricky Barnes
With Daly's pants and Fowler's hats, there will be lots of colorful clothes in this group. Barnes nearly won here last year before fading into a tie for fourth. Fowler has two starts here, one of them a tie for eighth in his first try in 2010.

Lucas Glover/Matt Kuchar/Geoff Ogilvy
Glover and Kuchar, a pair of Sea Island, Ga. residents, consider Harbour Town a local event. They will be paired with Ogilvy, who added Harbour Town to his schedule for the first time since 2007.

Now, it’s your turn: Which groups are you most interested in following this week?