Up four to start the final round, Rory McIlroy turned in a largely uneventful 3-under 69 to win his second Wells Fargo Championship by seven shots over Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers. Here’s what you may have missed in a record-setting performance at Quail Hollow.
Leaderboard: McIlroy (-21), Simpson (-14), Rodgers (-14), Phil Mickelson (-12), Gary Woodland (-12), Robert Streb (-12)
What it means: The win is McIlroy’s second at Quail Hollow, following his first PGA Tour title in 2010. En route to victory, he set tournament records for the event’s most birdies (27), the lowest score to par (-21), the best 18-hole score (61) and the largest margin of victory (seven). Tour title No. 11 comes just two weeks after his triumph at the WGC-Match Play and marks McIlroy’s third worldwide win in 2015 and his seventh in the last calendar year, dating back to the BMW Championship last May. The world No. 1’s worst finish in his last six Tour starts is a T-11. His history at Quail Hollow, the venue for the 2017 PGA Championship, looks like this: 1, MC, T-2, T-10, T-8, 1.
Round of the day: Three players - Gary Woodland, Kevin Chappell and William McGirt - carded 5-under 67s on Sunday, six shots higher than McIlroy’s course-record score the day prior. Woodland’s T-4 was his fifth top-5 finish this season.
Best of the rest: After starting the day tied for fourth and eight shots back, the rookie Rodgers got as low as 7 under through 16 holes before stumbling to a double bogey-bogey close. His dropped shot on 18 actually cost him special temporary status for the remainder of the season, as he wound up in a tie for second place with Simpson and not in the solo-second position he needed. That said, Rodgers will be able to play the next three PGA Tour events, with the opportunity to earn status.
Biggest disappointment: Playing alongside McIlroy in the final pairing, Simpson never mounted a charge. The Quail Hollow member traded birdies and bogeys all afternoon en route to an even-par 72.
Shot of the day: Justin Thomas took dead aim at the flagstick on the par-3 13th, firing an 8-iron from 183 yards that kicked off the pin and settled 4feet behind the hole. Thomas turned in a final-day 70 to tie for seventh.
Quote of the day: “It feels pretty good at the minute.” - Rory McIlroy, when asked how it feels to be Rory McIlroy
