Wells Fargo Championship Preview: Mr. Automatic

The poor Zurich Classic; as if it wasn't already up against it with its weak field and its spot in no-man's land, between the Masters and U.S. Open, the Zurich Classic had to battle Mother Nature all week, and, safe to say, it lost. Not even the best tournaments can survive a Monday finish, but the Zurich Classic? Nah, never had a chance.

Enough of the senseless tournament bashing, though, there are the majors, the WGC events and a handful of higher-profile events throughout the season and the rest just kind of fall into the mix. Some events end up being exciting, some not so much, but it's rare that these events are remembered. They are essentially filling the space between the events we really want to see, but fortunately for us, fantasy golf enthusiasts, they all count the same. It is unfortunate, though, when a tournament can't get any momentum going. It robs the event of any chance to build a following that week and completely kills the television aspect ... unless you like watching reruns of the previous year's event.

It's onto the next event now, another edition of the Wells Fargo Championship. There's nothing particular that stands out about this event, outside a decent field, but with any luck, we'll have something to get excited about come Sunday, and, with a little more luck, we'll get to see the conclusion on live T.V. Sunday evening. Hey, this time of year, we don't ask for much.

This week: Wells Fargo Championship - Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.

Last Year: Rory McIlroy shot a final-round 69 on his way to a seven-stroke victory over Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Rory McIlroy

To put this simply, McIlroy owns this event. Not only is he the defending champ, but he also enters this year's event on a streak of four consecutive top-10s. He did miss the cut prior to this current streak, but he also won the year before he missed the cut here. He's about as automatic as it gets at this event, the only question is whether you burn him with three majors left on the schedule.

Phil Mickelson

If he had won this event at any point in the last decade, then ownership of this event would belong to Mickelson as he's posted an amazing eight top-10s here in 12 starts. But alas, he does not have two wins here like Rory, so he must play second fiddle this week. What a second fiddle, though. If you are waiting on Rory, Phil is your guy this week.

Patrick Rodgers

Not a lengthy track record at this event for Rodgers, just the one start, but he managed a runner-up his first time through, so there's a chance he's got a good feel for this course. He's also coming off a decent week in New Orleans where he posted a solid 67-69 before the monsoon set it.

Kevin Streelman

Streelman is not having a great season, but a trip to Quail Hollow might be exactly what he needs to kickstart his game. Streelman missed the cut in his first three tries here, but since then, he's posted three consecutive top-15s. If you've burnt Phil and want to save Rory, Streelman could be your guy this week.

Geoff Ogilvy

Major reach here as Ogilvy has been awful this season, but he did show some signs of life last week with an opening-round 67 and always manages to play well here, no matter the state of his game. Ogilvy is a perfect 11 of 11 in cuts made at this event and posted a top-10 last year.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Adam Scott

Scott has played well here, but he enters this year's event having missed his previous three cuts at this event. He's also skipped this event four times in the last seven years, which leads me to believe he's not overly fond of this course.

Justin Rose

I'm sure he'll be motivated after the massive egg he laid last week at the Zurich, but I'm not sure this is the best place for a rebound for Rose. In six starts at this event, Rose has only one top-10, and has missed the cut twice. With any luck, Rose will get his game in shape for the Players in two weeks, but I don't expect a strong showing this week.

Bill Haas

Haas is a high-risk, not-so-high reward golfer this week. He does have two top-5s in 12 starts, but more often than not, Haas has failed to play well here. Haas has missed the cut here five times and hasn't cracked the top 40 since 2011.

Jonathan Byrd

Byrd was a hit or miss here even when he was at the top of his game. Now that he's nowhere near that point, he's likely just a miss this week. Byrd was last seen on the Web.com Tour's United Leasing and Finance Championship where he missed the cut.

Jhonattan Vegas

Vegas played well last week at the Zurich and has always been an extremely streaky player, but I have a hard time imagining he can break the trend he's set at this event over the last four years. Vegas has four starts here, with one made cut, which resulted in a T76.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Justin Rose (MC) - $0; Season - $6,147,702

This week: Rory McIlroy - This was not an easy call; in a perfect world, I'd be able to save Rory for a major, but his dominance here the last few years is too much to ignore. That, and the purse is fairly large, so a win here is almost as good as a win at a major or a WGC event -- monetarily speaking, of course.

YAHOO PICKS

Points: 2,351
Rank: 27,019

This Week:

Group A: Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler

Group B: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Webb Simpson

Group C: Jamie Lovemark, Paul Casey

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: Justin Rose (MC); Streak - 15

This week: Patrick Rodgers - My streak, nearly four months, ended last week with of all people Justin Rose. Oh well, time to start fresh and since we are back at zero, I'll take a bit of a risk with Rodgers, who has just one start here, but it was a good one.