Rickie Fowler leads Wells Fargo by one heading into final round

CHARLOTTE – The Wells Fargo Championship took on a major championship feel Saturday as the Queen City warmed up, the course firmed up and some pin placements forced a few double takes.

Player after player left the 18th hole at Quail Hollow Club exhausted and a tad on the beaten side as the first two rounds featuring soft conditions became a distant memory when the thermometer raced into the low 80s, the winds picked up and the greens had everyone on edge.

“I'm glad it's over with, it was tough,” Harold Varner III said after his 74 dropped him to 1 under through 54 holes and eight shots behind leader Rickie Fowler, who shot 68 to share low-round honors on the day with James Hahn.

Fowler, who won his first PGA Tour title here in 2012, made three consecutive birdies twice during the round to offset two bogeys. He leads Roberto Castro (71) by one, with Hahn and Justin Rose (69) two back. Phil Mickelson, who has eight top-10s here but no wins, was on the first page of the leaderboard before making bogey at 16 and a quadruple-bogey 8 in the final hole en route to a 76. He is at 1 under.

And now comes Sunday, with the forecast calling for temps in the mid-80s and winds touching 20 mph. And Fowler is looking forward to it.

“It wasn't easy out there,” Fowler said. “With gusty winds I had shots that went a lot longer than expected and a lot shorter than expected, so it was tough to dial in numbers and get the ball close to the hole.

“ … I'm looking forward to (the greens) drying out and firming up even more tomorrow. You're going to have to be in control of your golf ball, especially out of the fairway. You're not going to be able to play this golf course out of the rough tomorrow.”

Fowler said his win here in 2012 “got the monkey off my back.” Next week he defends his title in The Players Championship. It was that win that gave even more confidence heading into Sundays. Since his playoff win in The Players, he’s won the Scottish Open, Deutsche Bank Championship and Abu Dhabi Championship. He also lost in a playoff earlier this year in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“From about a year ago to two years ago to where I'm at right now, whether it's being in the final group or having a chance to win, being in contention, it's completely different,” Fowler said. “It was I would say before maybe not the complete belief or knowledge of knowing what to do and how to win to get the job done, but now it's fun to go out there and go take care of business.”

Taking care of business was hard on Saturday, as the field averaged 73.70 strokes. And that’s with tees moved up on four holes.

“I wasn't expecting it to be that tough,” Rose said. “I thought it was going to be more in the 80s and less wind, and moving day, move up a couple of holes, give us some chances. But it turned out to be an incredibly difficult golf course again. A 69 was just what the doctor ordered in a sense, got me right where I want to be going into tomorrow.”

Nest year Quail Hollow hosts the 2017 PGA Championship and some players think the course is already in major-championship form.

“(The greens) are as fast as I've ever seen them,” Lucas Glover said after his 70 moved him to 5 under. “ … There's going to be some interesting comments today, I'm sure. I saw a couple of guys putting on one hole and then chipping on their next shot, which is in my opinion a little aggressive that that could even happen. But, you know, it's out there, it's a major championship golf course as we're going to see next year. The greens are fast, and the hole locations are definitely dicey.”

Defending champion Rory McIlroy’s frustrating season continued, his 73 a Cliff Notes of his winless 2016. With little momentum to build on after opening with two bogeys on his first four holes, McIlroy sits at 1 under through 54 holes.

“Obviously I didn't get off to the fast start that I was hoping for,” McIlroy said. “It was playing tough. I mean, it is playing really tough. … Maybe a little bit too far back, but at least I can go out there tomorrow and try to give it my all and try to post a good one.

“ … I just haven't been playing as efficient as I could be. I feel like everything is sort of there, it's just a matter of putting it all together, and for the most part this year I haven't been able to do that. There's been spells where it's been good and I've had a couple of chances to win this year, but it's a work in progress. I'm trying to stay patient, as patient as possible, but there's definitely times out on the course where I get quite frustrated.”