World No. 2 Rory McIlroy lived up to his pre-tournament favouritism with a five under 67 on the first day of the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Holllow course in Charlotte, North Carolina.
McIlroy, who turns 24 on Saturday, raced to four under par with four birdies in succession from the fifth hole when he made a 5-footer at the par-5 fifth, then rolled in a birdie from 3 feet at No. 6. He two-putted the seventh hole from 21 feet and tapped in from 20 inches at No. 8.
And while he dropped a shot at the ninth, the Holywood blockbuster golfer then birdied the 10th and 11th holes to move to five under par.
He then dropped a second shot of his round at the 12th before the 2010 Quail Hollow champion birdied the last on some greens that are only a week old.
A poor winter has meant the condition of the greens to be suspect.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy living up to his pre-tournament favouritism with a round of 67 on day one of the Wells Fargo Championship. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
McIlroy was among four other players, including American Nick Watney, in the clubhouse lead.
“I didn’t hole that many long putts but I gave myself plenty of chances so I am really happy with my day,” said McIlroy.
“I thought looking at the scores this morning that someone would go lower than five under par but the course is playing long. It’s soft out there and if you are going to score you have to drive it well.”
McIlroy is competing for the first time since last month’s Masters and after three weeks away from tournament competition the double Major Champion has to be pleased with his effort as he looks to win for a first time this year.
McIloy’s round is the fifth occasion in 11 rounds of Quail Hollow he’s shot in the 60s including his final round course record setting 62 to win his first PGA Tour event three years ago.
And while McIlroy failed to threaten at Augusta he did finish runner-up a week earlier in the Valero Texas Open.
“There have been a couple of points in the season where I thoughtthat I had that‑‑ where I thought I got that bit of momentum,” said McIlroy.
“The last round at Doral shooting 65 and getting backdoor top 10 there, and getting into contention in San Antonio I thought was a big week for me. I played great. I played really good on Sunday. I shot 66. Did all that I thought I needed to do, just someone else on the day played that little bit better and beat me. So I was really happy with that.
“My game at The Masters was good, I just had a bad stretch of holes which put me out of the tournament. If I eliminated that, it would have been a different story.
“But I’m happy with where my game’s at.
“That little bit of spark, that little bit of momentum to maybe get on a run like I got on at the end of last year would be nice, but I’m being patient with it and just waiting for the right time.
“I took the best part of two weeks off after the Masters and didn’t touch a club but then went back out to Florida last week and spent three or four days of really good practice and came here to Quail Hollow feeling really good about my swing.”
