The wave of great golf rises again this weekend in May. The PGA Tour is in North Carolina, for the Wells Fargo Championship, a $7,3 million tournament, with $1,314 million for the former. The reigning champion is Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish number three in the world, still without victories in 2016. There are many excellent players competing for the title, from Phil Mickelson to Rickie Fowler, from Adam Scott to Patrick Reed, passing through Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Hideki Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari.
After a long period of absence, Jim Furyk, the charismatic and original North American player, is finally back in the game, recovering from a series of physical problems. Among the favourites, Bryson DeChambeau, who has turned professional for a few weeks after his good performance at the Masters as an amateur. The course is the Quail Hollow Club, a 72m par 6800, in Charlotte.
The European Tour moves instead to Morocco for the Trophée Hassan II, on the course of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, in Rabat, where seven blue players take the field: Edoardo Molinari, Matteo Manassero, Renato Paratore, Marco Crespi, Francesco Laporta , Nino Bertasio and Nicolò Ravano. The total prize pool is 1,5 million euros. These are two excellent tournaments, even if expectations are growing for next week's The Players, the so-called fifth major, in which all the big names will participate.
Speaking of big names, Jordan Spieth, number two in the world, made a note of his defeat at the Masters: “I meet many people who are worried about me – says Spieth – ladies who clap me on the shoulder to give me courage. I want to reassure everyone, it was tough, but I didn't die. I will survive what happened. Happens". The real test, however, will be on the green carpet, just next week. Only then will the young Texan be able to demonstrate that he has psychologically digested the loss of a major with a 5-stroke lead with a few holes to go.
