Rory McIlroy is looking to now celebrate his return to the PGA Tour by celebrating the 26th anniversary of his maiden Tour victory with a remarkable sixth Truist Championship triumph.
After a no-frills opening 70, the double Masters champion roared into contention on day two of the tournament at Quail Hollow.
McIlroy produced six birdies in a four-under 67 to be right in the closing weeeknd mix at five-under and just four shots adrift of Sunjae Im and with Tommy Fleetwood at eight-under and the duo of Justin Thomas and Alex Fitzpatrick tied in third place at seven-under.
LET’S MAKE IT QUAIL HOLLOW No: 5⃣ …
As @McIlroyRory looks to celebrate his maiden 2010 @PGATOUR ‘W’ with a fifth Quail Hollow triumph & success @TruistChamp
Read: https://t.co/xgOvDBwJd6
Getty (Rors capturing his maiden PGAT )
✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/rZuKE4Tius
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) May 9, 2026
The Quail Hollow course in Charlotte, North Carolina has and will always be special to McIlroy having captured the first of now 30 PGA Tour titles at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship, and just two days prior his 21st birthday.
McIlroy captured a second with victory at the 2015 Wells Fargo, a third six years later in 2021 and left aboard a fourth Wells Fargo victory stage coach by four shots in 2024 and a whopping $3.6m winner’s cheque.
“I hit my irons better. I hit a lot closer, especially on some of the par-3s. Holed a couple extra putts which always helps,“ said McIlroy.
“ Yeah, it was a solid day. I wouldn’t say I played a lot better than yesterday, but I scored a little bit better, and maybe a little bit more efficient with some things. Overall it was a good day, and it was a good day to get myself back in the hunt and feel like I have a real chance going into the weekend.“
Second-Round Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | Sungjae Im | 64 | 69 | 133 (-9) |
| 2 | Tommy Fleetwood | 67 | 67 | 134 (-8) |
| T3 | Justin Thomas | 67 | 68 | 135 (-7) |
| T3 | Alex Fitzpatrick | 67 | 68 | 135 (-7) |
| T5 | Three players tied | – | – | 136 (-6) |
Sungjae Im (1st/-9)
- Earns his sixth career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and his second this season (Valspar Championship/finished T4)
- Finished inside the top 25 at the Truist Championship each of the last three years, including back-to-back top-10 finishes the last two times the event was hosted at Quail Hollow Club (2025/T23, 2024/T4, 2023/T8)
- First-round 64 tied his season low (Valspar Championship/R1)
- Returned to competition in March after being sidelined for five months with a wrist injury
- In seven starts this season, owns one top-25 finish (T4/Valspar Championship)
- Entered the week No. 104 in the FedExCup standings
- Two-time PGA TOUR winner: 2020 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, 2021 Shriners Children’s Open
- Seeks to become the third straight 36-hole leader at a Signature Event to go on to win (Cameron Young/Cadillac Championship, Matt Fitzpatrick/RBC Heritage)
Tommy Fleetwood (2nd/-8)
- Making his sixth career start in the Truist Championship where he finished T14 or better in each of his last four appearances: T4/2025, T13/2024, T5/2023, T14/2021
- In eight starts this season, owns five top-25 finishes, including four top-10s (best: T4/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
- 134 marks his best 36-hole total in six career starts at Quail Hollow Club (previous: 136, 2023 Truist Championship)
- Marks his best 36-hole position on TOUR this season (previous: T4, Masters Tournament, finished T33)
- 2025 FedExCup champion seeking his second PGA TOUR title in his 173rd career start
Additional notes
A wildly impressive bounce-back from @RickieFowler
After a first-round 74, the 2012 @TruistChamp winner went low today. pic.twitter.com/9WJ7TPrITK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 8, 2026
- In the 22 years of the Truist Championship, only two players have held the 36-hole lead/co-lead and gone on to win the event: Tiger Woods (2007) and Wyndham Clark (2023)
- Following rounds of 67 and 68, Justin Thomas (T3/-7) records his best 36-hole score of the season (135); in eight career starts at Quail Hollow Club, he owns three top-15 finishes (2023 Truist Championship/T14, 2017 PGA Championship/Won, 2015 Truist Championship/T7)
- Alex Fitzpatrick (T3/-7) enters the weekend inside the top 10 on the leaderboard for the third consecutive week: T2 at Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Won) and T6 at Cadillac Championship (finished T9)
- 2012 Truist Championship winner Rickie Fowler (T8/-5) cards the low round of the day with an 8-under 63, his lowest score in 50 career rounds at Quail Hollow Club (previous best: 66, two times); in 13 career starts in the Truist Championship, owns four top-10 finishes (2010/6th, 2012/Won, 2016/T4, 2019/T4)
- Four-time Truist Championship winner Rory McIlroy (T8/-5) records a career-best 14 consecutive greens hit (Nos. 4-17); through 36 holes, ranks second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (2.798) and fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (5.040)
- 18-hole leader Matt McCarty (T8/-5) follows his first-round 63 with a 3-over 74
- Defending champion Sepp Straka (T17/-3) seeks to become the first player to successfully defend at the Truist Championship
- Rookie Chandler Blanchet (T33/E) aces the 188-yard par-3 17th, his first hole-in-one on TOUR in his 16th career start; marks the fourth ace on No. 17 at Quail Hollow Club (Mark Hubbard/2023/R2, Carlos Ortiz/2016/R2, Colt Knost/2015/R1)
- Aldrich Potgieter (T68/+5) leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (2.906) and ranks last in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (-4.057)
- Cumulative Green Monster statistics (Nos. 16-18) through two rounds:
- The field is -153 on Nos. 1-15 and +101 on Nos. 16-18
