The Flyover: Wells Fargo Championship

THE OVERVIEW WILMINGTON, N.C. — Last we saw Dustin Johnson, he was warming up on the Augusta National driving range and trying to figure out if his injured back felt well enough to play in the Masters. (For those just back from a long space mission, it did not.) That was four weeks ago. Johnson was back on the range at the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point on Wednesday, striping his driver and happily chatting up his caddie/brother Austin and range-neighbor Pat Perez. All seemed right again with the world No. 1.            “Feeling good,” said Johnson, who is making his first start in the Wells Fargo since 2011. “Healthy, so can’t complain. Obviously, I haven’t played much or done a whole lot of practicing, but body’s all good. Glad to be back out playing again.” Eagle Point is serving as a one-year stand-in for Quail Hollow while the latter preps to host the PGA Championship in August, and golf-starved fans stood behind Johnson on the range and marveled as he worked on his swing. He is going for his fourth win in his last four starts, so they could be witnessing history. If Johnson wins the Wells Fargo, it would be the longest win streak on the PGA TOUR since Tiger Woods won five in a row nearly a decade ago.            Johnson’s lower-back injury, incurred when he slipped down a small flight of stairs at his rental house in Augusta the night before the start of the Masters, appears to have healed. He played five holes at Eagle Point on Tuesday, and the full 18 during the Wednesday pro-am. “It took probably three weeks,” he said. “… Maybe last Friday probably was the first day I hit balls and didn’t feel it. No, it was just bruised badly. I went and had an MRI. It was clear, no issues, but bruised — bruised it really bad.” Whether or not he is 100 percent will be one of the overriding questions this week. Davis Love III was among those who picked Johnson to win this week despite his long break. Johnson himself didn’t necessarily disagree, saying that while he hasn’t practiced much, he has practiced enough to compete. What’s more, he added, he wanted to play this week to knock the rust off. “Last couple years, I would have four weeks off going into THE PLAYERS Championship,” Johnson said. “So I figure, well, especially since I didn’t play Houston and then, obviously, I didn’t play Augusta, I needed to — I wanted to get some reps in before THE PLAYERS. And I hadn’t played here in a while, so it was kind of close to home for me, so it was pretty easy. I’m glad I came down. This golf course is great.” As for the freak accident at Augusta, he says he has put it behind him, so to speak. “No, I mean, it just happens,” he said. “Crazy things happen. The only time it was maybe tough was just watching the tournament, but after watching it or after Sunday, it’s been fine.” LAST CALL FOR THE PLAYERS Steve Wheatcroft has only conditional status on the PGA TOUR this season, so he wasn’t sure he was even going to get into this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point. The 39-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, was the sixth alternate when the field was finalized last Friday. Then he moved up to third over the weekend. Then Zurich Classic of New Orleans winners Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith withdrew from the Wells Fargo, and Wheatcroft was in. Now he’s got another impossible dream: cracking the field for THE PLAYERS Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass next week. “I love it down there,” said Wheatcroft, who got into THE PLAYERS for the first time last year and made the cut before shooting 74-79 on the weekend. “It was definitely fun. I’ve lived there long enough and I’ve taken friends of mine out there to watch the tournament on the weekend. It was nice to be on the other side of the ropes for once. We don’t get to see it play like that year-round, especially not the way it played on Saturday. That was like no golf course I’ve ever seen, and I worked at Oakmont for three years back in ’99, 2000, 2001.” Wheatcroft has a special affinity for THE PLAYERS in part because he practices at TPC Sawgrass. He moved to the area about 10 years ago, and he and his wife and their two young children moved into a new house just last week. But like 78 others players in the field at the Wells Fargo at Eagle Point, Wheatcroft didn’t finish in the top 125 in the FedExCup last season. Nor did he work his way into the top 10 on the 2016-17 FedExCup points list or play his way into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking by the Monday after the Zurich. As a result, it comes down to this for Wheatcroft and 78 others: Win and they’re in. They’ve got to win the Wells Fargo at Eagle Point in order to crack THE PLAYERS field. “I’ll just try to win and see what happens,” Wheatcroft said. “It would be huge. I had a big crew out there last year and they had their shirts on, these bright blue shirts with a green golfer on the front and Team Wheatie on the back. I had my neighbors and friends out there. It’s a longshot, and I have no plans to play, but if it happens it would be phenomenal.” THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER He’s back … but did the month away from the TOUR cause him to lose the momentum of three straight wins?  Will he ever win in North Carolina? He’s made 19 previous TOUR starts in the state, with second place his best finish. Arguably, no one in the field knows Eagle Point better than this member, but how much of an advantage will that be? Wells Fargo Championship THE FLYOVER A closer look at Eagle Point’s finishing hole, the 580-yard par-5 18th. The hole generally plays into the wind, but the hole should be reachable in two for the longer hitters. THE LANDING ZONE The shortest par 4 at Eagle Point is the 353-yard seventh hole. Some players will try to drive the green, although a large collection of deep bunkers guarding the right side of the green provide adequate defense. The putting surface slopes back to front. Here’s a look at the hole from the tee box. WEATHER CHECK According to PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams, there may be an isolated shower on thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon thanks to a humidity increase. The rain and thunderstorms will be more likely as a strong cold front pushes through the state. TEMPS: Pleasant, with the temperatures in the low 60s for the latter part of the week. RAIN: Rain expected on Friday thanks to that cold front, but should be clear on the weekend. WINDS: Brisk winds in the first two rounds, with speeds above 20 mph. Should be less on the weekend. For the latest weather news from Wilmington, North Carolina, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I’ve had this happen at Quail Hollow where I kind of relax mentally and end up making a couple dumb mistakes that I wouldn’t normally make. So I’ve got to use that comfort to my advantage and not to my disadvantage. ODDS AND ENDS 1. PHIL SEEKS BREAKTHROUGH. Phil Mickelson has made 13 starts at Wells Fargo and has never missed a cut. Better yet, he has nine top-10 finishes. That’s the second most of any tournament he’s entered without a win. Only in the U.S. Open does Mickelson have more top-10s (10) without a win. 2. WESLEY FROM INSIDE 150. This season, Wesley Bryan – who’s making his Wells Fargo debut this week — leads the TOUR in approaches from 50-125 yards. His average of 14 feet, 4 inches is nearly 5 feet closer than the TOUR average of 19 feet, 2 inches. In addition, on approach shots from 75-100 yards, he’s hitting it, on average, 5 feet, 8 inches closer than the TOUR average. 3. LONG RANGE DJ. Dustin Johnson’s long-range conversion rate has improved this season. From outside 25 feet, DJ has rolled in six putts – that ranks him seventh on TOUR in that category. A year ago, he made just 10 putts from longer than 25 feet. 4. WILMINGTON VIEWPOINT. This will be the first TOUR event in Wilmington in 60 years. “Wilmington, you know, it’s hard to know if it’s a golf town or not because there’s never been a TOUR event here,” Webb Simpson said, “but I know all the fans are excited.” WATCH THE PREVIEW

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