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Power rankings: Wells Fargo Championship

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Golf Channel’s game has a new look in 2019.

This year in addition to picking a tournament winner we’re also shifting the focus to head-to-head matchups, with both the Golf Pick ‘Em game and an additional Sunday-only contest that focuses on the final round. Both contests can be found in the NBC Sports Predictor app, which fantasy players can download to make their selections each week.

Players can compete for weekly cash prizes, with the best scores during the season qualifying for the season-ending FJ $100,000 Championship, where cash and prizes will be awarded to top finishers.

The contests continues this week with the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. Here’s a look at some of the top players you should consider when making picks, as Jason Day returns to defend his title:

1. Rory McIlroy: A two-time winner at Quail Hollow (2010, ’16), he tied for 16th at last year’s Wells Fargo thanks in part to a third-round 66. He has six top-10s in eight career trips, too. The guy also hasn’t finished outside the top 21 since Shanghai in the fall. Leads Tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green and that includes being a top-25 player around the greens.

2. Jason Day: The defending champion couldn’t stick around for the weekend at Zurich, but individually he’s been strong – when healthy, of course – notching top 10s at the Masters and Players. Last year’s win was his first start at Quail Hollow since 2012, when he finished T-9. His putting (ranked fourth in strokes gained) should always play very well here.

3. Rickie Fowler: Returns to action for the first time since his T-9 at Augusta National. He won here in 2012 and has two other top-6 finishes. He ranks seventh on Tour in strokes gained: putting.

4. Hideki Matsuyama: He hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s Open and makes his first start since a T-32 at the Masters, where he opened in 75. In four starts at Quail Hollow, he has two top-20s and a best finish of T-11, but he did finish T-5 at the 2017 PGA Championship here. Ranks just behind McIlroy in strokes gained: tee-to-green.

5. Phil Mickelson: Ended a run of poor play with a T-18 showing at Augusta National. He’s also perfect in 14 Wells Fargo starts at Quail Hollow with eight top-5s.

6. Justin Rose: He’s had some time to recover from his missed cut at the Masters, and he hasn’t missed two straight weekends since the Farmers Insurance Open and Honda Classic in 2015. In his last two Wells Fargo starts, he’s gone fifth-third.

7. Webb Simpson: Coming off a T-5 at the Masters and T-16 at RBC Heritage. His record here isn’t particularly strong, but he does have a pair of top-4s. Ranks 11th in strokes gained: around-the-green, which is key here.

8. Sergio Garcia: He’s missed just one cut in eight Wells Fargo starts, though he’s making his first start here since 2013. Teamed up well with Tommy Fleetwood to finish second at Zurich. While Day ranked outside the top 100 in greens hit while winning last year, strong iron play can’t hurt. Garcia is seventh in strokes gained: approach-the-green.

9. Paul Casey: Struggled mightily at Augusta National, but he’s still got a win and three other worldwide top-3s this year. He was T-5 last year at Quail Hollow and tied for 13th at the PGA here in 2017. Ranks 11th in strokes gained: tee-to-green.

10. Lucas Glover: He’s missed three cuts in 14 starts this season, but he also has 11 top 20s and six top 12s. At Wells Fargo, he has a win, second and five top-10s in 15 starts. Ranks 16th in strokes gained: tee-to-green.