Rory reaching for holy Quail

WHEN Rory McIlroy created global headlines by winning the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, few could have imagined he would be without a tournament success 12 months later.

And yet, that’s where Rory, who celebrates his 22nd birthday tomorrow, finds himself as he defends an event renamed the Wells Fargo Championship over the same Quail Hollow course.

It’s not that he hasn’t maintained a high profile, having finished third in the British Open and the USPGA Championships and led with nine holes to play in theMasters, it’s more a case of victories escaping him with regularity.