Rory McIlroy is returning to competition for a first time since last month’s Masters but lost amid talk of the Special Golf League and the Tour’s Player Impact Program is his superb record of success at Quail Hollow and venue for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.
Eleven years ago, McIlroy celebrated the first of now 18 PGA Tour victories and posting a new course record 62 on the final day to capture the then 2010 Quail Hollow Championship.
Five years later, McIlroy stormed to a seven-shot success in winning the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship and what was his 11th Tour triumph.
However, the now World No. 15 has returned not having tasted success since capturing the 2019 WGC – HSBC Championship in Shanghai, and well over 500 days ago.
Though there’s nothing like returning to a venue where you’ve not only won but finished first on two occasion and there’s six times on McIlroy’s victory CV where he can boast winning on the same venue twice.
We know McIlroy has added Pete Cowen to his coaching team and he spoke of how he’s getting back to working ‘on his strengths’ in now working with the quietly-spoken Englishman
“I feel better about my game than I did flying home from Augusta on Friday night, put it that way,” McIlroy said.
“I’ve worked a little bit on it, sort of just tried to understand what I do well. I guess trying to sort of focus on my strengths.
“I think I’ve neglected my strengths a little bit the past couple of months, and focusing more on those and focusing on what makes me a good golfer and how I swing the club and how I move the club.
“It’s all familiar feelings. It’s all stuff that I’ve worked on before, but maybe just gotten away from a little bit by trying to focus on other things. I feel like I’m on a pretty good trajectory at the minute.”‘
McIlroy tees-up at 5.54pm Irish time in round one and out in the group ahead of Shane Lowry and teeing-up at 1.05pm.
Seamus Power, and leading qualifier on Monday into the $8.1m event will out at 7pm Irish time