Rory McIlroy, whose seven-stroke romp at Quail Hollow past year made him a two-time victor of the Wells Fargo Championship, hopes a return to Charlotte, North Carolina, will jumpstart his 2016 season.
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Not only does the Quail Hollow Club benefit players like McIlroy who are long and accurate off the tee, but his confidence here is off the charts.
It wasn’t the only wayward golf ball of the day for Fowler and McIlroy.
“So random”, Fowler said. “The guy tried to say it was a gift”.
The strangest moment came on the 6th tee when, after McIlroy almost holed his tee shot, a fan in a flourescent green hat threw a golf ball with an earplug attached to it at the group as Fowler was teeing up.
Rory McIlroy – Rory’s the best player in the field and a two-time victor of the Wells Fargo Championship.
The man was removed from the property by police.
As for the golf, McIlroy made birdie on the 250-yard sixth, the group’s 15th hole of the day.
Fowler, the 2012 victor, finished with a 71, leaving him six shots behind Wheatcroft and Loupe, who were also paired together.
He didn’t know what it was until it stopped rolling.
Loupe, 27, who has three top-10 finishes this season, shot 31 on the front nine.
Wilkinson defied cold, windy conditions in the morning to card a four-under 68 and sit three shots behind American co-leaders Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe at the Wells Fargo Championship.
As mentioned previously, the field will be stacked with name after name of top-tier golfers, most notably being the No. 3 player in the world according to the Official World Golf Rankings; Rory McIlroy.
Hideki Matsuyama has recorded midfield finishes in his two visits to Quail Hollow and in his last few starts this season have included top tens at the Masters and Bay Hill.
McIlroy, ranked third in the world, struggled with a 40 on his first nine holes. “I didn’t really have my scoring head on”, he said.
Poulter started at the 10th and birdied 12 and 13 before parring his remaining 14 holes to stay at two under, and Casey had four birdies against two bogeys – including a late blemish at the 17th – as he also fired a 70.
“I’m working quite a lot on a couple of technical things coming into this week, so hopefully I can continue to imbed them in and get some competitive play as well, ” McIlroy said.
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But the four-time major victor, who is the only member of the world’s top five yet to win in 2016, had to settle for an opening 73 on Thursday to lie eight shots off the clubhouse lead held by the Americans. They played in the afternoon.
