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J.B. Holmes won last year's Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
• COURSE: Quail Hollow Club, 7,562 yards, par 72. Opened in 1962, the George Cobb design quickly showed itself a worthy host of big events and continues to rise. Quail Hollow was the original site of the Kemper Open (1969-79), later hosting the World Seniors Invitational (1980-89) before Tom Fazio was brought in to redo greens and add yardage. The PGA TOUR returned in 2003, and recent years brought more upgrades as Quail Hollow was awarded the 2017 PGA Championship and 2021 Presidents Cup. The final three holes, dubbed the “Green Mile,” are considered perhaps the toughest closing stretch on TOUR.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• CHARITY: Teach For America Charlotte, the local arm of a national initiative to support recent college graduates who commit to two years of teaching in inner-city and rural public schools. In 2014-15, some 200 Teach For America alumni work in greater Charlotte.
• FIELD WATCH: World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Henrik Stenson and No. 5 Jim Furyk join defending champ J.B. Holmes in a lineup that features 11 of the top 25 players in this week’s rankings. … Stenson makes his first visit to Quail Hollow, still pursuing his first TOUR win since capturing the FedExCup title two years ago. He has three top-5 finishes thus far in 2015. … Barring a late WD, three players will keep their streak of not missing a start at Quail Hollow – J.J. Henry, Charles Howell III and Rory Sabbatini. … Corey Conners, runner-up at last year’s U.S. Amateur, makes his third start of 2015 on a sponsor exemption.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 272, Anthony Kim (2008).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Rory McIlroy (4th round, 2010), Brendon de Jonge (2nd round, 2014).
• LAST YEAR: J.B. Holmes capped a storybook comeback, holding off Jim Furyk by a shot to win for the first time since brain surgery briefly forced him to the sideline. The Kentucky native led by three with three holes to play, before two bogeys along the “Green Mile” raised the drama and cost him a chance at the tournament scoring record. Holmes’ closing bogey finished off a 1-under-par 71, sealing his first victory since the 2008 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Jason Bohn had the best chance to catch Holmes, trailing by one until finding the water at the par-3 17th on the way to a bogey-bogey finish. For Holmes, victory came 2 ½ years after surgery to correct Chiara malformations at the base of his brain. He also endured elbow problems and a broken ankle on the comeback trail.
• STORYLINES: McIlroy, newly crowned winner of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play, returns to the site of his first TOUR victory. He has three other top-10 finishes at Quail Hollow, including a playoff loss to Rickie Fowler in 2012. … Holmes and five other past champions also have a chance to become the first multiple winner in the event’s 13-year history. … Phil Mickelson still is seeking his first Wells Fargo victory, despite nine top-12 finishes in 11 previous visits. The Hall of Famer was runner-up to McIlroy in 2010, beaten out by the youngster’s closing 62. … Webb Simpson, a Quail Hollow resident who lives about a mile from the clubhouse, tries again for a home-turf victory. He held the 54-hole lead in 2012 before stumbling to a Sunday 73.
• SHORT CHIPS: Six other Charlotte residents join Simpson in looking for a hometown win: Brendon de Jonge, Robert Karlsson, Jason Kokrak, Martin Laird, Kyle Reifers and Johnson Wagner. … Derek Ernst’s tie for 30th last year marked the first time in five years a defending champion was around on Sunday. Fowler was a Saturday MDF victim in 2013; the previous three missed the regular cut. … 2011 champion Lucas Glover remains the only man to post all four rounds in the 60s at the Wells Fargo Championship. Martin Flores came close last year, but closed with a 72.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
Congratulations to our week 18 winner DL
current leaderboard
good luck to everyone this week
