McIlroy Roars to Fargo Victory

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Rory McIlroy overcame a nervy start to complete a record-breaking seven-shot victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

McIlroy's overnight four-stroke lead was barely threatened throughout the final day at Quail Hollow as he fired a solid final-round 69 to become the first two-time winner of the event, and he also smashed Anthony Kim's previous tournament scoring record by five shots.

The world No 1 was the overwhelming favourite to emulate his breakthrough win in 2010 after his scintillating third-round 61 had given him a commanding lead, which was extended to five shots when playing-partner and nearest challenger Webb Simpson bogeyed the opening hole.

There was a glimmer of hope for Simpson and the field when McIlroy three-putted the second green, and Simpson rolled in a good putt for a birdie to shave the deficit to three.

But Simpson dropped another shot at the next and, after matching McIlroy's cast-iron birdie at the long fifth, the American three-putted from inside six feet at the sixth for a double-bogey.

Both birdied the seventh, and Patrick Rodgers then emerged as McIlroy's biggest threat when he made three birdies in five holes to cap an outward 34, and he then followed with an eagle at 10 and another birdie at the 11th.

Rodgers then reached 17 under with further birdies at 14 and 15 that hauled him within three of the leader, but his hopes of pulling off a huge upset vanished when he found water off the tee at the treacherous 17th.

McIlroy faltered on the greens for the first time in the week, but he still managed to pick up shots at the 12th and 14th before turning on the style at the 508-yard 16th, where he smashed a 364-yard yard drive over the corner of the dogleg and clipped a gap wedge to 18 inches for a tap-in three.

The 26-year-old dropped a shot at 17 after a poor pitch from right of the green, but it scarcely mattered as he walked to the final tee armed with a seven-shot lead when Rodgers bogeyed the last to finish on 14 under.

Simpson managed to salvage a 72 as he played the fearsome Green Mile in three pars to earn a share of second with Rodgers, leaving the stage clear for McIlroy to roll in a confident putt for par to finish on a remarkable 21 under par and claim the 11th PGA Tour title of his career.

Phil Mickelson briefly got into the mix as he made three straight birdies on the front nine and added another at the 10th to claim a share of second on 12 under, but he then bogeyed the next two holes.

The left-hander rallied with birdies at 13 and 15 as he returned a 68 to finish in a tie for fourth alongside Gary Woodland (67) and Robert Streb (71).

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All Wells Fargo for McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy was left frustrated by a ‘disappointing’ finish to his what he felt was a ‘solid’ first round at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The world No 1 struck six birdies during a solid opening 70 at Quail Hollow, although he would have finished higher up the leaderboard had it not been for a double-bogey on the penultimate hole.

McIlroy saw his tee-shot bounce off the rocks in front of the 17th green and land in the hazard, before he two-putted uphill after firing to within eight feet of the flag from the drop zone.

The late error leaves the world No 1 five strokes adrift of early pace-setter Robert Streb, but McIlroy, who won his first PGA Tour title in this event back in 2010, still had positives to take from his opening day.

“For the most part today it was solid golf,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4. “I took advantage of the holes I needed to out there, but a bit disappointed with how it finished.

“For the most part today I felt I was pretty good on the greens. I did what I wanted to today.

“I need to get out there early tomorrow and hopefully shoot something a little bit lower, keeping the mistakes off my card for the next three days.”

McIlroy, looking to bounce back from a disappointing display with the putter at TPC Sawgrass last week, drilled in a 10-foot birdie at the first but dropped a stroke at the par-three second after leaving his approach short of the green.

Gains at the fifth and the seventh allowed the world No 1 to reach the turn in 34, before a tap-in birdie at the 10th was followed by a two-putt bogey from 15-feet at the next.

He shaved the hole at the par-three 13th with a 27-foot putt back-to-back gains at the 14th and 15th temporarily lifted him to within three of Streb heading in to the famous Green Mile, although lost ground with that error on the par-three 17th. 

McIlroy was then forced to save par at the last, finding the rough from the tee and then a greenside bunker with his iron shot, eventually chipping out of the sand to leave a three feet putt. 

The Northern Irishman is involved in one of the first groups out on Friday, beginning his second round alongside Ben Martin and Patrick Reed, who posted a first round 66, at 1pm UK time.

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Harrington Classic 70 in Zurich

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Padraig Harrington signed for a two under par 70 at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans on Friday to finish in share of 36th place - six strokes off the leader, Ben Martin.

The Dubliner is targeting the US Open and has decided to play the qualifier next month at Walton Heath as his five-year exemption ended last year. As did his automatic playing rights to The Masters where the three time major winner was forced to miss out for the first time in 14 years.

The US Open qualifier is immediately after the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth at the end of May. To date Harrington has competed in 16 US Opens since making his debut in 1997 at Oakmont.

A few weeks ago, Martin had missed seven of eight cuts and figured he'd better make some changes. He started by meeting with his sports psychologist and hiring an old buddy from Clemson as his new caddie.

The results have been pretty good so far.

On Thursday, Martin treated a tiny late-afternoon gallery to a course-record round, shooting a 10-under 62 in the first round of the Zurich Classic.

"Really, everything was working well," Martin said. "I had a pretty good start and just kept it rolling. It was just one of those days, just like you draw it up."

Martin birdied 10 holes and made pars on the rest. His final birdie came on his most spectacular shot in a round full of them when he chipped in from 55 feet with a 54-degree sand wedge on the par-3 17th hole. That came a hole after the 26-year-old South Carolina native hit the flag on a chip from behind the green, setting up a tap-in par.

The previous record at TPC Louisiana was a 64, accomplished many times, including once earlier Thursday, when Andrew Svoboda did it to take a lead that held up until Martin surged past late in the day.

Peter Hanson and Sueng-Yul Noh were tied for third at 65.

Martin stayed home during the Masters two weeks ago, when meetings with his psychologist persuaded him to focus more on the process of playing on the tour than his results. Then he hired fellow former Clemson player Alex Boyd to haul his clubs, giving him a sense of comfort as he walked the course with someone he could talk to about anything.

"We're good friends ... have a lot in common, so a lot to talk about in between shots," Martin said.

Last weekend, Martin matched his career best with a third-place tie in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C. He also finished third in early March in the Puerto Rico Open, but missed four cuts after that.

Martin opened the Zurich with a 10-foot birdie putt, the first of six birdies on the front nine, most set up by approach shots within 10 feet. One exception was his 26-foot birdie putt on No. 5. He opened the back nine with a 14-foot birdie putt, made a 10-footer on 11 and a 20-footer on 13.

Most of the round was followed by only a dozen or so people, including his mother, Suzie, who could be heard making encouraging comments like, "nice putt," and "good par."

Svoboda birdied six of his last nine holes.

Like Martin, the 34-year-old Svoboda has never won on the PGA Tour and appreciates how much can change in the next three rounds. At the same time, New Orleans has seen its share of maiden tour triumphs. It has happened in six of the past nine years, and 10 of the past 16.

"I'll take that stat," Svoboda said.

Svoboda's best career finish on the PGA Tour is a tie for 15th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas last October.

Hanson's round was highlighted by an eagle on the par 4 sixth hole, accomplished with a 6-iron from 183 yards.

Hanson, who missed the cut at the Masters, put away his clubs for four days after that and tried to relax, which he said helped.

"We want to do this so exact and be so precise," Hanson said. "I over-read putts and overanalyze the shots, trying to figure this game out. I think sometimes you have to let the score come to you instead of you going after it."

Erik Compton, Chad Collins and Michael Thompson were tied for fifth at 66, and Jeff Overton, Stuart Appleby and Robert Streb followed at 67.

Compton, a two-time heart transplant recipient, spent the early part of the week meeting with children with heart conditions at a New Orleans-area hospital and participated in a junior golf clinic. Although that limited his practice time, he thought it put him in a good frame of mind.

"It seems to really relax me and really puts things in perspective," Compton said. "I seem to play better during the weeks where I have hospital visits."

On the par-5 seventh, his 297-yard drive sailed right of the fairway, crossing a cart path. But he belted a 227-yard shot out of the rough to the foot of the green and two-putted for birdie. He ended his round with a 22-foot birdie putt on nine to briefly put him atop the leaderboard.

"This is a course that I feel very comfortable on," said Compton, also winless on the PGA Tour. "You have to hit a lot of long iron shots and drive it well here, and those are some of the strengths of my game."

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