Rory McIlroy is hopeful celebrating his 29th birthday (Friday) blowing out the candles with a 62 on day two of the Wells Fargo Championship.
McIlroy, winner of the Charlotte event in 2010 and 2015, managed five birdies and dropped just two shots in an opening day three-under par 68 on the ‘feel good’ par-71 Quail Hollow course.
McIlroy’s round matched a similar 68 he posted when last on the suburban Charlotte course but eight months on, the current World No. 7 is in a much better place having this year captured the Arnold Palmer Invitational and also going so close to success at Augusta National.
And after leaking a number of drives left in Wednesday’s Wells Fargo pro-am, McIlroy revealed he needed just five swings post the pro-am session on the practice range to work out what was wrong.
Rory McIl;roy shakes off any Masters hangover posting a first round 68 on day one of the Wells Fargo Championship.
“I would have taken 68 before I went out there and while my game felt a bit rusty yesterday in the pro-am and I didn’t play that well but I spent some time on the range late yesterday afternoon (Wed)”, he said.
“I managed to find a couple of feelings and was able to taken them straight onto the golf course and that was nice.
“The clubface of my driver was coming in just a touch left at impact, and then with the speed that I have, it just accentuates it.
“So, I was really just trying to square the clubface at impact and trying to get that feeling of returning it to where it is at address instead of maybe releasing it too much.
“It meant I was able to hit the ball much better and drove it much better while the course is a lot easier then what it was last August for the PGA.
Happy 29th birthday – Rory McIlroy.
“Also, I’ve won here twice before and it’s very much like playing Augusta National as Quail Hollow is a feel good course for me”.
McIlroy began his round from the 10th and he got the start he wanted in chipping to two-feet from well left of the hole for birdie.
He then hit a booming 345-yard drive down the par-4 12th hole and put his wedge shot to 12-feet and holing a curling birdie and the second in three holes.
McIlroy birdied the second of the par-5s at the 15th but then dropped a shot at his ninth, the uphill par-four 18th where his ball rolled into a small stream running much of the way down the left side of the hole.
The 14-time PGA Tour winner got back the shot in holing a 10-footer at the par-4 second.
McIlroy remained at three-under for the next three holes before bogeying his 15th, and the par-3 sixth, in missing the green back left but was back to three-under in birding the third and final par-5 on the course, the seventh but again after missing the green back left.
McIlroy had a 48-footer for birdie at the last but left his putt three feet shy of the cup.
His 68 matched a similar score when last at Quail Hollow for the 2017 PGA Championship but in very stark contrast to last August it was a lot brighter Ulsterman after his round.
And when asked an appropriae 29th birthday gift, McIlroy smiled saying: “Hopefully, go out and shoot a 62.”
