Wells Fargo Championship 2015: Tee times, pairings for Thursday’s round

The PGA Tour jumps from the organization’s favorite event, The Players, up to Charlotte for the Wells Fargo Championship, an annual stop that’s among the pros’ favorites on the circuit. Quail Hollow is almost universally praised by the players as one of the best courses, if not the best, that they play each year on the regular rotation.

Quail Hollow is a classic American layout, designed originally by George Cobb in the mid-20th century. It’s always been one of the best courses in the world from tee to green, but the putting surfaces have had trouble over the years. In 2010, Phil Mickelson, who otherwise loves the course, ripped the greens saying they were among the worst on Tour. They’ve also been in extremely poor condition in at least one recent edition of the Wells Fargo. So they were all re-done in late 2013 and the reviews have been positive.

The tournament is only 13 years old, but it’s a major championship track -- they’ll host an upcoming PGA -- and the organizers have established a first-rate event on top of that venue advantage they already have. The result is a relatively deep field every year, especially for it’s new slot the week after The Players.

Mickelson is back again this year. He’s finished in the top 10 seven of the 10 times he has entered, but has yet to close out on this course he loves. He’s now coming off a missed cut at The Players, and aside from that push at The Masters, is having another underwhelming year. We all know the prime target on his calendar is the U.S. Open in a month, and the 44 year old has not been showing well at these regular PGA Tour stops. It’s been a grind since that 2013 Open Championship, but his final push towards the U.S. Open begins now. He tees off with Jim Furyk and defending champ J.B. Holmes at 8 a.m. ET, anchoring the morning side of the draw on Thursday.

The afternoon side of the tee sheet is highlighted by Rory McIlroy, who had his Stateside breakout at this tournament in 2010 as a chubby and shaggy-haired 20 year old. McIlroy was an absurd 3/1 favorite to win again at this venue this week. Those are Tiger-in-his-prime kind of odds, but the world No. 1 is the clear class of the field and he comes to Charlotte in form. His length off the tee is a huge advantage almost everywhere he plays, but it’s particularly useful around Quail Hollow and that “Green Mile” finish.

Rory will play the first two rounds with Patrick Reed and Ben Martin, going off Thursday at 1:20 p.m. They should be featured throughout the afternoon Golf Channel broadcast. Here’s the full tee sheet for the opening round (all times ET):