No disrespect to the RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic, or Valspar Championship, all three of which proved to be highly entertaining weeks on the PGA Tour, but this week's Wells Fargo Championship sure feels like the first big-time event since the Masters. Both the strong field, and the major championship course in Quail Hollow, gives it that type of vibe.
And yet, it's a guy a little further down the odds board, past the Justin Thomas's and Rory McIlroys and Bryson DeChambeaus of the field that is garnering some serious early-week attention due to the fact he's got one of his juiciest numbers in awhile. Yep, it's Will Zalatoris.
We last saw Willy Z at Harbour Town, where he followed up his remarkable runner-up finish as a Masters debutant with a T-42. A natural letdown, maybe, but he did get off to a strong start, shooting 68-67 to get into contention before fading on the weekend. Now, a few weeks later, he's well rested and primed to get back on track, hoping to finally join the winner's circle along with Sam Burns, who notched his first W after coming close countless times over the last year. Zalatoris if clearly the next logical candidate to do just that.
His number - 30-1 at the William Hill Sportsbook, a bit of a price break on his 25-1 odds he went off at at Harbour Town. Of course, that was in a much weaker field, something that can't be said about the Wells Fargo, which includes 2017 PGA Champion (at Quail Hollow) Justin Thomas, the solo favorite at 10-1. Plus Jon Rahm (12-1), Bryson DeChambeau (16-1), Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele (both 18-1), and Viktor Hovland (20-1). We'd ask if Zalatoris is ready to contend for victory No. 1 against the big boys on a big boy course, but he just did that a few weeks ago at Augusta National. He's more than ready.
Zalatoris isn't alone in having an eye-popping number, either. Tony Finau is 28-1, while Max Homa, a former Wells Fargo winner coming off a strong week at Valspar, is 35-1. The complete odds list for players competing at Quail Hollow can be found below.
(Odds courtesy of William Hill, as of Monday afternoon):
Justin Thomas: 10-1
Jon Rahm: 12-1
Bryson DeChambeau: 16-1
Rory McIlroy: 18-1
Xander Schauffele: 18-1
Viktor Hovland: 20-1
Webb Simpson: 25-1
Tony Finau: 28-1
Patrick Cantlay: 28-1
Patrick Reed: 30-1
Will Zalatoris: 30-1
Corey Conners: 30-1
Sungjae Im: 33-1
Joaquin Niemann: 35-1
Cameron Tringale: 35-1
Abraham Ancer: 35-1
Max Homa: 35-1
Brian Harman: 40-1
Jason Day: 40-1
Russell Henley: 45-1
Shane Lowry: 45-1
Tommy Fleetwood: 45-1
Keegan Bradley: 50-1
Bubba Watson: 55-1
Stewart Cink: 55-1
Rickie Fowler: 60-1
Emiliano Grillo: 66-1
Harold Varner III: 66-1
Harris English: 66-1
Matt Wallace: 66-1
Lucas Glover: 70-1
Kevin Streelman: 80-1
Brendan Steele: 80-1
Gary Woodland: 90-1
Matt Jones: 90-1
Brendon Todd: 100-1
Joel Dahmen: 100-1
Maverick McNealy: 100-1
Francesco Molinari: 100-1
Cameron Davis: 100-1
Talor Gooch: 100-1
Keith Mitchell: 100-1
Sebastian Munoz: 125-1
Adam Hadwin: 125-1
Ian Poulter: 125-1
Ryan Moore: 125-1
Denny McCarthy: 125-1
Carlos Ortiz: 125-1
Matthew NeSmith: 125-1
Erik Van Rooyen: 125-1
Russell Knox: 125-1
Charl Schwartzel: 125-1
Aaron Wise: 125-1
Luke List: 125-1
Phil Mickelson: 125-1
Lanto Griffin: 125-1
Nick Taylor: 150-1
Kyle Stanley: 150-1
Sepp Straka: 150-1
Camilo Villegas: 150-1
J.T. Poston: 150-1
MacKenzie Hughes: 150-1
Harry Higgs: 150-1
Zach Johnson: 150-1
James Hahn: 150-1
Patton Kizzire: 150-1
Jhonattan Vegas: 150-1
Michael Thompson: 150-1
Tom Hoge: 150-1
John Huh: 150-1
Tom Lewis: 175-1
Scott Stallings: 175-1
Vaughn Taylor: 175-1
Pat Perez: 175-1
Richy Werenski: 175-1
Rory Sabbatini: 175-1
Troy Merritt: 200-1
Henrik Norlander: 200-1
Byeong Hun An: 200-1
Jason Dufner: 200-1
Chez Reavie: 200-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee: 200-1
Nate Lashley: 200-1
Chase Seiffert: 200-1
Wyndham Clark: 200-1
Adam Schenk: 200-1
Sam Ryder: 200-1
Doc Redman: 200-1
Adam Long: 200-1
Patrick Rodgers: 250-1
Roger Sloan: 250-1
Brice Garnett: 250-1
Rafa Cabrera Bello: 250-1
Chesson Hadley: 250-1
C.T. Pan: 250-1
J.B. Holmes: 250-1
Danny Lee: 250-1
Tyler McCumber: 250-1
Andrew Putnam: 250-1
Brian Stuard: 300-1
Bronson Burgoon: 300-1
Cameron Percy: 300-1
Akshay Bhatia: 300-1
Bo Hoag: 300-1
Robert Streb: 300-1
Mark Hubbard: 300-1
Vincent Whaley: 300-1
Ben Martin: 300-1
Brandon Hagy: 300-1
Will Gordon: 300-1
Ryan Armour: 300-1
Kris Ventura: 325-1
Jamie Lovemark: 350-1
Ted Potter Jr.: 350-1
Scott Piercy: 350-1
Tyler Duncan: 350-1
Joseph Bramlett: 350-1
Peter Malnati: 350-1
Scott Brown: 350-1
Bo Van Pelt: 400-1
Sean O'Hair: 400-1
Scott Harrington: 400-1
Seung-yul Noh: 400-1
Michael Gligic: 400-1
Beau Hossler: 400-1
Jim Herman: 400-1
Jimmy Walker: 400-1
Hank Lebioda: 400-1
Sung Kang: 400-1
Austin Cook: 400-1
Kevin Tway: 500-1
Hunter Mahan: 500-1
Bill Haas: 500-1
Kramer Hickok: 500-1
Johnson Wagner: 500-1
Grayson Murray: 500-1
Jonas Blixt: 500-1
Rob Oppenheim: 500-1
Xinjun Zhang: 500-1
David Hearn: 500-1
Robby Shelton: 500-1
K.J. Choi: 500-1
Luke Donald: 500-1
Ryan Brehm: 500-1
D.J. Trahan: 500-1
Kelly Kraft: 500-1
Satoshi Kodaira: 500-1
Rafael Campos: 500-1
Martin Trainer: 1,000-1
Cory Schneider: 1,000-1
Michael Kim: 1,000-1
D.A. Points: 1,000-1