“It’s a championship-style golf course, so played really well through 15 holes and then had a little hiccup there coming in, so it is what it is.” The ball was on a string for a bit and I did everything really well,” Schauffele said. But he bogeyed two of the three final holes to surrender the lead. Schauffele appeared ready to take control of the tournament early after racing to 7 under after 15 holes. “I just have to keep going and wait for those really big results and hopefully start contending again up at the top of the leaderboard and we’ll see what we can do from there,” Fleetwood said. 17 and 18 at Quail Hollow's difficult three-hole closing stretch dubbed the “Green Mile.” “I didn’t want to spend my birthday afternoon grinding on the range, so it was nice to play OK," McIlroy said with a laugh.įleetwood, who has won six times on the European Tour but never on the PGA Tour, finished a bogey-free round with birdies at Nos. He recovered on the closing ninth hole, spinning his approach shot to within 11 feet to set up a birdie. He wound up missing a 22-foot par putt to finish with his only bogey. McIlroy took advantage of his second opportunity, hammering a 366-yard drive down the fairway. 7, when he sent his tee shot way right and out of bounds, forcing him to hit a provisional. 10 down the fairway and a fan yelled “Happy birthday, Rory.” He went on shoot 34-34, some fitting numbers for his 34th birthday. “I think if you come back to the site of your first win on tour, and I’ve gotten to know (Quail Hollow president Johnny) Harris really well and it’s just a level of comfort at this golf course and at this club that I probably don’t have at any other venue on tour." He won again in 2021, making him the tournament's only three-time champion. It's also the site of his first PGA Tour victory in 2010 and where he set a tournament scoring record at 21-under 267 in a dominating seven-stroke win in 2015. He has won the Wells Fargo Championship three times and finished in the top 10 nine times in 11 starts. It's no surprise McIlroy is off to a strong start at Quail Hollow, a course that fits his game.
“It was just really nice to be out there again,” McIlroy said. The Northern Irishman said earlier in the week he didn't touch his clubs for more than two weeks, adding that he needed a “reset” to gain some perspective because golf had begun to consume his life. McIlroy withdrew from the HBC Heritage following a disappointing second round 77 at Augusta National, a controversial decision that cost him a $3 million bonus for failing to meet the playing requirements for the PGA Tour's new Player Impact Program. Patrick Cantlay, with Tiger Woods’ former caddie Joe LaCava on his bag, shot 67. Lee and Ryan Palmer, who are tied for second after opening 66s. Fleetwood’s 6-under 65 was one stroke better than Xander Schauffele, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Moore, K.H.
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