Fresh off a strong finish at the Zurich Classic, Louis Oosthuizen returns to Quail Hollow for a run at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Quail Hollow returns as a PGA Tour venue this week after hosting the 2017 PGA Championship which saw Oosthuizen claim the unwanted feat of finishing second in all four Major championships.
Without a win on US soil, the 35-year-old will be looking to build not only his positive result at Quail Hollow, but also a consistent run of form which includes five top 25s in his last seven starts.
T12 at The Masters, Oosthuizen must continue his solid form from tee to green and hope his putter can keep him in contention against a strong field that includes the man who beat him to last year’s final Major, Justin Thomas, and a host of world stars including Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson.
Added to those established names are emerging stars like Tony Finau and European Tour’s Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood who add their names to a leaderboard that will also see Tiger Woods return to action, meaning that Oosthuizen’s journey won’t be a walk in the park.
Fowler and McIlroy both have particularly fond memories of the now par 71 Quail Hollow, which underwent extensive renovations to stack up as a Major venue.
Only the par-four 1st hole (495 yards) and the par-three 4th (167 yards) have been shortened from the PGA Championship set-up which scored at 73.468, making it one of the toughest courses on tour all year.
McIlroy’s course record 61 still stands on a course where no player has made more money than the Northern Irishman who arrives at the first tee on Thursday looking to add to his two wins and four top 10s. Fowler, second at The Masters and T5 at the at the 2017 PGA Championship, won in North Charlotte in 2012 and has three top 10s setting him up to contend.
