The PGA Tour heads over to North Carolina for the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte.

With a strong field expected to compete for the winning share of $1,170,000 the Wells Fargo Championship will be hotly contested, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy back in action after a disappointing US Masters.

The Players Championship is just a week away, and many of golf’s biggest names are looking to tune up their games. Phil Mickelson joins the competitive field, and will be one of the favourites, alongside previous winners Tiger and McIlroy.

Woods has admitted that he’s been working on altering his swing since The Masters, a change which was necessitated by the four operations on his left knee over his career. He revealed; “at the Masters, I was kind of struggling with my ball-striking a little bit. My setup wasn’t quite right, as well as my takeaway. I just needed to do hundreds of reps. I’m getting dialled in.”

Rory McIlroy still holds the course record, a 62 that he shot en-route to his 2010 win, on the 7,442 yard Quail Hollow Club.

Defending champion Lucas Glover exemplified the formula for success on the course last year, leading the field in total distance of putts made. Indeed, putting and scrambling should prove vital at Quail Hollow.

Consider that of the 15 that finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard a year ago, only five ranked inside the top 25 in greens in regulation. Meanwhile, 12 finished inside the top 25 in fewest putts per round; 10 cracked the top 25 in total distance of putts made.

The fairways annually are among the most difficult to find. In 2011, the field averaged 47.64 percent, third-lowest of any event. The course has ranked inside the top five in five of the last six years. Yet, the challenge increases on the approach to the 6,500-square foot greens. In each of the last four years, Quail Hollow has ranked most difficult in proximity to the hole. Unsurprisingly, it’s a regular inside the top 10 most difficult in three-putt avoidance.

If you’re looking at backing someone outside of the big four, including former No. 1 Lee Westwood there are some sleeper picks worth checking out.

Our tip is Charlie Wi, available at +10000. One of the poster boys in golf, his inclusion is a long shot, but the data supports it. While he’s a mere 1-for-2 at Quail Hollow with a T56 five years ago, he’s coming off a share of fourth place in San Antonio where he ranked T2 in birdies. He’s currently 52nd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained-putting, 29th in three-putt avoidance and 47th in adjusted scoring.

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PGA Tips: Zurich Classic

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