Wells Fargo Championships 2022 Standings: Jason Day Leads With Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler Makes Noise
The first round of the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship features a little bit of everything. Hole-outs, a dispute over rules and low scores were at play at TPC Potomac on Thursday as competitors began playing in Potomac, Maryland. Jason Day was at the top of the rankings as the 34-year-old made the most of the soft conditions caused by rain earlier in the week to sign with a 7 under 63.
Day has remained undefeated since his victory in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2018. Those struggles have continued into this year, where after a controversy at the Farmers Open in January, he played cautiously. Beating it only five times in the past few months, the Australian’s best result since Torrey Pines went to his countryman, Jason Scrivener, at the Zurich Classic, where they finished 10th.
While the gray clouds do not ease into precipitation on Thursday, they will unfortunately likely last through the week. With heavy downpours forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it’s unknown when and under what conditions players will face their next golf course. It’s a far cry from 2018, the last time the PGA Tour visited the TPC Potomac, as the par-70 is very vulnerable to birds and should move forward.
Rick Gehman and Kyle Porter testify and react to Thursday’s action at the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship. Watch and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Leader
Jason Day (-7): Four years after the event, Day was positioned to win the Wells Fargo championship again. The 2018 winner of this tournament at Quail Hollow Golf Club, the former world No. 1 hit the field on Thursday. Hitting 8 birdies with just one bogey, Day came within reach of the competition’s 8 under 62 record, but instead played one stroke short.
“Yes, I am encouraged,” Day said. “I think it’s a step in the right direction. I obviously, I have to commend myself because I played a nice game of golf today, but we have three days left after this and I think the main goal is to try. , focus and put yourself in a position where you can win. Yeah, there are positives today. Come back, recover and try and get into the round tomorrow.”
Other candidates
2. Joel Dahmen (-6)
T3. Matthew Wolff, Denny McCarthy, Aaron Rai, Callum Tarren, Paul Barjon (-5)
There are a lot of good stories in the 5th place from Wolff to McCarthy, but Dahmen is the player that caught my attention. Led by 6 under 29, the 34-year-old was unable to maintain this momentum to roll into the home field when he was unable to take advantage of a number of scoring holes at TPC Potomac. He’s been at his best this year in shorter, placement-oriented courses when looking at his results at Pebble Beach and Harbor Town and this week seems to be no different.
Rory begins defending his title in a sporadic fashion
There’s a lot of good and a little bit of bad for Rory McIlroy. After starting four under through his initial six holes, the new 33-year-old played without a par until he missed a short-range birdie putt at par-4 16, his seventh hole of the day. that. Three times for bogey on his next hole, McIlroy will level, except for one swing.
Finding water from the tee on the par-4 fourth hole, McIlroy then hit a double, dropping 1 under for his round. With 5 birdies on his card at this point, the 4-time grand slam will hit 2 more, par-break-back-back-break-break transitions on the fifth and sixth holes.
“Yes, that was a great return for birdie both of those holes came back. I said to myself get off the green, if I can get back to 3 under the day by the end of the day. then I’ll be pretty happy, and obviously I’ve made it for the next two holes,” McIlroy said. “I’ve had some chances on the pitch, but yeah, happy with today. And over the course of a tournament that you’re going to have – you’ll think about the shots you can hold, but I think at at the end of the week, things go awry. I can’t be too disappointed.”
Crowds at home support McCarthy in controversy
It wasn’t his childhood golf course, Argyle Country Club, but TPC Potomac doubled home this week for Rockville, Denny McCarthy, hometown of Maryland. The best golfer out of the area in recent memory, the 29-year-old got the home crowd cheering on Thursday.
Registering 5th under 65, McCarthy was greeted with cheers at most of the holes as his group’s audience count was second only to McIlroy’s in the first round.
“Honestly, I feel like a bit of a Sunday. I think that’s just a good thing, I feel really comfortable,” McCarthy said. “If I had been at that location on Sunday, to be honest I would have felt a bit of it today. There was a huge following and I could feel the energy. I think it only bodes well for me.”
When asked what a typical gallery on Thursday looks like to him, McCarthy added: “The numbers could be single digits, I could count on one hand if it weren’t for it. It’s two hands, so it’s nice to – like I said, it feels like a Sunday with just a bunch of fun here. That circumstance is encouraging.”
Fowler is snooping
A decade out of his Wells Fargo Championship, Rickie Fowler is once again in hiding. Through well-documented struggles, the 33-year-old found his name on the first page of the standings after the opening round. Registering at 4-under 66, Fowler was finally able to find his putt with his irony, with the exception of par-4 6, where his putt was not needed.
Updated odds and selections
Here are the new odds after 18 holes, provided by Caesars Sportsbook.
- Jason’s Day: 6-1
- Rory McIlroy: 8-1
- Joel Dahmen: 9-1
- Denny McCarthy: 20-1
- Sergio Garcia: 22-1
- Aaron Rai: 22-1
- Matthew Wolff: 25-1
- Homa max: 25-1
- Matthew Fitzpatrick: 28-1
Homa intrigues me with his dribbling ability and the way he moves into his inner half. However, if this turns out to be bad weather, the Fitzpatrick could be the best value across the board. He coordinated a decent second-round walker under 68, failing to make many of his close shots. The rest of his game looks solid and he has stealthily been one of the most consistent players in 2022, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he is involved next Sunday.
