Wells Fargo Championship preview

Lowdown: The PGA Tour is in North Carolina this week for the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club. Lucas Glover defends the title against an extremely strong field. Rory McIlroy, who won this event in 2010, can get back to World Number 1 with a top seven finish here. Luke Donald has snuck back ahead of the Northern Irishman, but he's not competing at Quail Hollow. McIlroy will face competition from an impressive line-up of players in this tournament. Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell will all tee it up. Tiger has said he's made some key swing changes following his disappointing showing at the US Masters. He's made alterations to his set-up and posture in preparation for playing in this, a tournament he won back in 2007. Founded by James J. Harris in 1959, Quail Hollow is a private member's club, but it has been host to this tournament since 2003. The course was designed by George Cobb in 1961 but was revamped by Tom Fazio in the late 1990s. There's an illustrious list of winners from the event, formerly known as the Wachovia Championships. David Toms came out on top in 2003 and, since then, Joey Sindelar, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, Sean O'Hair and Rory McIlroy have been victorious. Last season Lucas Glover came through a playoff against his great friend Jonathan Byrd. Glover took the title at the first extra hole.

Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina Date: May 3-6 Course stats: par 72, 7,442 yards Purse: $6,500,000 Winner: $1,170,000 Defending Champion: Lucas Glover (-15)

TV Coverage: Thursday 3 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 8pm Friday 4 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 8pm Saturday 5 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 6pm Sunday 6 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 6pm

Player Watch: Rory McIlroy - In 2010 the Northern Irishman finished with a blistering final round of 62 to take the tournament in incredible style. He'll be looking to move back to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking and he'd do so emphatically if he could secure victory this week.

Jim Furyk - A former winner, back in 2006, Furyk has showed great consistency so far in 2012. He's been no worse than 11th in his last four starts. He makes few mistakes and that's a key to success at Quail Hollow.

Ken Duke - Something of an outside bet, but Duke was tied seventh last week in New Orleans and has two further top-10 finishes to his name so far this season. He has a reasonable record at Quail Hollow and could be a good each way choice.

Key holes: 17th. A par-3 of 217 yards where the ball must be carried all the way to the green over water. When the pressure is on, this hole is bound to produce some drama.

Holes 16-18 here are known as "The Green Mile," with the 18th the pinnacle of the challenge. It's one of the hardest finishing holes on the PGA Tour, a 478 yard par 4, uphill with a creek on the left and bunkers on the right.

Skills required: Playing the par-5s. It's imperative here to make the most of the four par-5s on the course. It's a tough layout and there are few "gimmie" birdies out there. The winner will play the long holes well and pick up some shots. To do that they will have to drive the ball well.

Where next? European Tour - Open de Espana preview