First Round Leader Odds for 2021 Wells Fargo Championship

• The Wells Fargo Championship from Charlotte, NC tees off Thursday, May 6th
• Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are co-favorites to lead after the first round at Quail Hollow Club
• See the best bets and odds to grab the first-round lead in the article below 

Just two tournaments remain before the second major of the season at the PGA Championship, and this week boasts a very strong field at the Wells Fargo Championship. Four of the top-five players in the world are teeing it up, with Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas co-favorites to win the event.

Despite Quail Hollow Club featuring a difficult three-hole finish dubbed ‘The Green Mile’, in all but two instances in 17 iterations of this event has the winning score been double digits under par. With last year’s tournament being canceled due to COVID-19, Max Homa returns as defending champion.

Rahm and Thomas are +1800 co-favorites to grab the first round lead at the site of Thomas’ first career major triumph at the 2017 PGA Championship. In this article, we’ll explore which players have the best chance of being the leader after day one at Quail Hollow, along with what players are playing well on Thursday’s this season.

2021 Wells Fargo Championship First Round Leader Odds

Odds as of May 4th

The forecast is expected to be mainly sunny the entire day, with mid-50 degree temperatures for when the morning wave tees off and getting warmer to the high 60’s when the afternoon players start their rounds.

Morning players will face the tougher wind with gusts reaching 15 miles per hour, and as the afternoon competitors play, the winds will die down to around seven miles per hour.

A benefit for those teeing it up early Thursday to offset the higher winds is the exact same as it is every week – less bumpy greens with fewer players chewing them up.

Rory McIlroy Dominates Quail Hollow

Even though McIlroy hasn’t played up to his normal standards by missing two of his last three cuts, these are friendly confines. The Ulsterman dominates Quail Hollow as the only two-time winner of this tournament.

Subsequently, his strokes gained stats in the last 20 rounds at this track are spectacular.

McIlroy’s Strokes Gained Stats In Last 20 Rounds at Wells Fargo

McIlroy has seven top-10’s in nine starts at this tournament, and before his recent speed bump had consecutive top-10’s at the WGC-Workday Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

In the last 24 rounds on tour, the four-time major champ is ninth in SG: off-the-tee, 13th in ball striking and 28th in total strokes gained, so it’s not as if the sky is falling.

• Pick: Rory McIlroy (+2800)

Past Champ Brian Harman In Fine Form

Brian Harman has good vibes from this tournament, having taken the title in 2017 – albeit at a different golf course. In eight career times competing at this venue, he’s made the cut seven times, including a T-13 at the 2017 PGA Championship.

He’s also one of the best this season in getting off to a hot start.

2020-21 PGA Tour First Round Scoring Average Leaders

Harman ranks fifth in scoring on Thursday’s, averaging 69.13 shots this season. Six of his last eight opening rounds have resulted with a score in the 60’s.

He also comes in on a heater, having gone T-3, T-5, T-12, T-13 in the last four times he’s teed it up.

• Pick: Brian Harman (+6000)

Joel Dahmen With Track Record of Success

Just two starts ago Joel Dahmen achieved his first career PGA Tour title at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. That knocked off the rust after he was mired in a pretty big slump in 2021.

His last two spins around Quail Hollow have been very impressive. The last time this tournament was contested in 2019, he was the runner-up to Max Homa. The year before that he had a respectable T-16 showing.

In those two years, Dahmen combined to gain 13 shots on the field tee-to-green, and eight shots approaching the green and putting. While his current inconsistent play is hard to predict, these odds are juicy and worth a flier.

• Pick: Joel Dahmen (+8000)