Can Max Homa Win the Wells Fargo Championship For the Third Time?

The 33-year-old Cal grad was eighth at Quail Hollow last year after winning in 2019 and '21.

Max Homa / Photo by Michael Madrid, USA Today

Max Homa is back at the Quail Hollow Club at Charlotte, NC, a course on which he has enjoyed great success.

The 33-year-old Cal grad begins play Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, where a year he finished eighth place. He won at Quail Hollow in 2019 and 2021, accounting for two of his six career PGA Tour victories.

Ranked No. 10 in the world, tees off at 6:39 a.m. PDT on Thursday.

Fellow Cal grad Collin Morikawa, 27, goes off at 5:33 a.m. PDT, and one-time Golden Bear Byeong Hun An has a 5:55 a.m. PDT tee time.

Wyndham Clark is the defending champion in an event that carries a $20 million total purse.

Homa has played well in two big events this season, finishing in a tie for eighth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March and a tie for third at the Masters — his best-ever showing at that major tournament.

In his only action since the Masters, Homa tied for 55th at the RBC Heritage last month.

Morikawa, ranked 13th in the world, also is seeking his first victory in 2024, although he has three top-10 finishes, including a share of third place at the Masters with Homa.

An, 32, has climbed to No. 32 in the current world rankings. Still in search of his first PGA Tour win, he has five runner-up finishes and three top-10 efforts this year.

Homa and Morikawa are rated fifth in pre-tournament odds, both at plus-2200, according to CBS Sports. Rory McIlroy is the favorite at plus-650.

Golf Week pegs Homa and Justin Thomas as co-favorite, each at 22-to-1.

Absent from the field this weekend is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who will remain at home with his wife, who is overdue to deliver their first child.

This is the final tuneup prior to the PGA Championship, a week from now at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.