McIlroy enjoys birthday bounce

Rory McIlroy, 34, shot an opening round of 3-under 68 at Quail Hollow, the site of his three previous Wells Fargo Championship wins (2010, 2015 and 2021).

Rory McIlroy splashes from a bunker on the 14th hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. Picture: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Birthday boy Rory McIlroy enjoyed a comfortable return to competitive action at the Wells Fargo Championship yesterday.

McIlroy, 34, shot an opening round of 3-under 68 at Quail Hollow, the site of his three previous Wells Fargo Championship wins (2010, 2015 and 2021).

Spectators sang to him before his opening tee shot, and the 21-time PGA Tour winner heard a smattering of birthday wishes as he walked down every fairway.

“I feel relaxed here,” he said. “It's just a level of comfort at this golf course and at this club that I probably don't have any other venue on Tour," he told pgatour.com. 

It was a noticeable shift from the last time he teed it up, a missed cut at the Masters that McIlroy admitted earlier this week was “incredibly disappointing.” After three weeks off, he says he’s “rejuvenated.”

He took advantage of his first par 5, the 10th hole, getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker to birdie his first hole of the day. 

A steady stream of pars was interrupted by another birdie on the drivable par-4 14th.

“I’ve played here so many times I know where to miss it,” he said. “I missed a few greens but I didn’t feel like I hit the ball that badly.”

McIlroy's switch back to his TaylorMade mallet putter this week after using a Scotty Cameron blade putter in his previous two events also paid dividends. He gained strokes on the field and made every putt inside six feet in the first round.

“Sometimes you need to miss something for a little bit and you get it back in your hand and it feels good,” said McIlroy.

“It was just really nice to be out there again,” McIlroy said. “… Nice to feel like I played well. I didn't want to spend my birthday afternoon grinding on the range.”

Séamus Power shot a two-under 69 that included five birdies as he seeks to regain momentum heading into the summer.