Defending champion Rory McIlroy enjoyed an eventful start to his bid for a fourth victory in the Wells Fargo Championship.
Playing for the first time since finishing runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in the Masters, McIlroy birdied five of his first six holes and followed a double bogey on the fourth – his 13th hole of the day – with birdies on the fifth and sixth.
The resulting three-under-par 67 left McIlroy two shots off the early clubhouse lead shared by England’s Aaron Rai and the American pair of Matthew Wolff and Denny McCarthy.
Bounce back birdie 🐦
Perfect roll from @McIlroyRory to get within 2. pic.twitter.com/PPqeEa4yla— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2022
Advertisement
“I think first week back after three weeks off, there’s maybe going to be a couple of mistakes in there,” McIlroy said. “The three-putt on 17 was an unforced error.
“Eleven’s a tough hole, I got a bit of a flyer from the semi rough and made bogey, but you sort of accept that and deal with that. I probably left a couple out there but I’m still pretty happy with 67.
“It could have been a 65 or a 64, but it’s still a good start. That was a nice bounce back (after the double bogey) to birdie both of those holes. I said to myself walking off the green, if I could just get back to three under by the end of the day after that, I would be pretty happy.”
Drive the green ✔️
Two-putt birdie ✔️@McIlroyRory makes easy work of the drivable 14th to take the outright lead. pic.twitter.com/k4KKJCI4j6— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2022
Advertisement
With the tournament’s regular venue of Quail Hollow hosting the Presidents Cup later in 2022, this year’s event is taking place at TPC Potomac in Maryland, a move which would not appear to McIlroy’s advantage.
However, the course is just two miles from Congressional Country Club, where the 33-year-old McIlroy won the 2011 US Open by eight shots to claim his first major title.
“I love this part of the world, I like the area,” McIlroy said. “I went over to Congressional yesterday and that rekindled some nice memories. As I said, this style of golf just sort of suits me and I seem to play well around here.”
Rai carded five birdies in a bogey-free 65 as he seeks his first victory on the PGA Tour following two wins in Europe, the most recent coming after beating Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off at the 2020 Scottish Open.
