Wells Fargo Championship Information:
Location: Quail Hollow Country Club, Charlotte, NC
Date: April
Started: 2003 (as the Wachovia Championship); 2009: Quail Hollow Championship; 2011: Wells Fargo Championship.
2009 Award Money: $6,500,000
The Wells Fargo Championship was established in 2003 and was originally known as the Wachovia Championship and the Quail Hollow Championship for a brief period in 2009 and 2010. The stroke play tournament has attracted some of the biggest names on the professional tour since its debut, including past winners like Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, David Toms and Rickie Fowler. The event counts for 500 points toward the FedEx Cup rankings and boasts a $6.5 million purse. The Wells Fargo Championship is played each year in early May and is operated and managed by the charity Champions for Education, which has raised more than $14.8 million for local and regional charities since the tournament's inception.
The event has been held at the breathtaking Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., since 2003, which provides some of the most difficult terrain on the PGA Tour. The par 72 course spans 7,442 yards and is considered by many to be one of the best golf courses in the U.S. The course was designed by famed golf course architect George Cobb in 1961, who has worked on such prominent locales as Augusta National Golf Club, Sea Pines and many more. Over the years, the course has undergone a series of improvements, including modifications done by Arnold Palmer in 1986 and a complete redesign done by Tom Fazio in 1997.
The Quail Hollow course has confounded many of the world's best golfers over the years and features many signature holes that take advantage of the dynamic terrain of the region. The par-4 14th hole is a true challenge for any golfer, with a 15-acre lake on the left side of the hole and sloping terrain on the right that dips down to another water hazard. The 16th, 17th and 18th holes have affectionately been called "The Green Mile," which ranks among the toughest final stretches on the PGA Tour and has been the undoing of many professional golfers who carried major leads into the last leg of the course.
The Wells Fargo Championship has been a major boon for the Charlotte area, attracting thousands of spectators each year and raising millions of dollars for local educational charities. In the past, the tournament has been the site of many great PGA Tour moments, and five of the events have ended in thrilling playoffs. In 2008, golfer Anthony Kim set the course record for the event, posting a score of 16 under par and besting his opponents by five strokes. Kim also boasts the best aggregate score for the tournament, with an impressive final of 272 during 2008.