Benny and the Bets: Can Quail Hollow identify the next star… again?

Rory McIlroy. Max Homa. Rickie Fowler. Wyndham Clark.

What do these four superstars of golf have in common? Their first win on the PGA TOUR came at none other than Quail Hollow Club, the site of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.

It doesn’t feel like a coincidence to me. This track, also used for the 2017 PGA Championship and 2022 Presidents Cup in recent times, has a knack for finding elite winners. And more so, up-and-coming elite stars.

In 2010 McIlroy was still a baby-faced young man of just 20, his curly locks popping out the side of his cap. Already a star in Europe, McIlroy announced himself on the PGA TOUR with a blistering final round 62 to win by four.

Two years later, in 2012, McIlroy was bested in a playoff by a 23-year-old Fowler, who put away some near-misses to that point in his fledgling career with a brilliant approach to near tap in during extra holes.

Homa finally buried the demons of his well-publicized early career struggles at Quail Hollow in 2019, and it kick-started his ascension to one of the top players in the world over the last few years.

And who can forget the defending champion, Clark, who appeared to be an outlier winner a year ago but went on to prove his victory was no fluke by since adding the U.S. Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to his name.

So this begs the question: is there another player in the field this week we should have our eye on as the next player to not only breakthrough on TOUR, but to take their career to a new level afterwards?

Here are the five I believe are most likely to add to the trend this week at the home of the Green Mile:

Cameron Young (+2500 at BetMGM Sportsbook): The 2022 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year has seven runner-up finishes, two thirds and 16 total top-10 TOUR results in just 62 starts. Sitting 23rd on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the Tee (second in 2022, 11th in 2023) and 32nd on Approach, Young has the form to contend this week. Was third and seventh in his first two seasons on TOUR in Driving Distance. Has a T2 in this event, but not from this course. A runner-up and T9 in his last three starts have him at 16th in the world rankings. One gets the feeling that when Young does win, it will open the floodgates, making him the perfect candidate to be the next Quail Hollow killer.

Tommy Fleetwood (+2500): It seems almost frivolous to have Fleetwood on this list given he’s clearly a proven winner with seven DP World Tour titles to his name – including one in January of this year – but the fact remains he is devoid of a PGA TOUR win. At just 33, Fleetwood still has time to have a big surge in his career and a win on the TOUR could be the kick-starter to that. Ask yourself how surprised you would be if Fleetwood was to do the same double Clark did last year? I wouldn’t. He has three career top-5s in U.S. Opens, including a T5 last season. He’s also coming off a T3 at the Masters recently and sits 11th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Byeong Hun An (+4500): It seems forever ago that Benny An was the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur and had the world at his feet. Now at 33, he’s had a solid career, but certainly not what he would’ve hoped. A huge DP World Tour win at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship, a spot in the Presidents Cup in 2019 and five TOUR runner-up finishes are his highlights. One of those was a playoff loss at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, one of four top-10s this season, helping him to 32nd in the Official World Golf Rankings. Coming off a T4 last week, he might be trending just at the right time.

Denny McCarthy (+6000): Almost a year ago, I saw first-hand some McCarthy magic at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday that made me a believer of the world No. 31’s talent. There is no doubt it is built around sublime putting, but anyone who can make a bunch of putts is a huge chance on the occasion they find their tee-to-green game firing. Last season (eight top-10s) was the one, should he kick on, we say was the builder. Was nearly unconscious on the greens at the recent Valero Texas Open where he ultimately fell in a playoff, victim to a poor approach shot under pressure. If he can figure out his nerves under the pump, he could break out.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+6600): A three-time winner on the DP World Tour, this South African sits 54th in the Official World Golf Ranking and could still take his game to another level. Consider Clark was 80th in the world coming into Quail Hollow a year ago and now sits third! Bezuidenhout plays Wells Fargo for the first time but has some history on the course. While he was barely used at Quail Hollow in the 2022 Presidents Cup, he still managed a win and draw to go undefeated. Four top-30 finishes in his last four TOUR starts, including a T9 and T13. At just 29, he still has time on his side.

Others to consider:

• Alex Noren (+4000): 10 DP World Tour wins, 41 years old, three career TOUR runner-up finishes.
• Adam Schenk (+6600): Two-time TOUR runner-up in 2023, including a playoff loss at Colonial.
• Eric Cole (+10000): The reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year… at 35. Two runners-up, two thirds.
• Patrick Rodgers (+10000): Four career runner-up finishes, including two playoff defeats.
• Ben Kohles (+30000): Gutting loss last week in Texas, where he bogeyed the last hole to finish one shot short.

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