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Rory McIlroy had a little bit of everything. A water ball off the tee on the fourth, his 13th, which led to a double-bogey; a couple of three-putts; but, mainly, his opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship at TPC Potomac on the outskirts of Washington DC contained many positive elements, among them seven birdies, as the Northern Irishman signed for an opening round of three-under-par 67.
Playing for the first time since his runner-up finish in the Masters last month, McIlroy – who trailed early clubhouse leaders Matthew Wolff, Denny McCarthy, Callum Tarren and Aaron Rai by two, after their opening 65s – has happy with his day’s work as he got into the business part of proceedings in a quest for a fourth Wells Fargo title.
McIlroy’s previous three wins came at Quail Hollow, including a third success last year, and the defending champion found the new course in Maryland, close to Congressional Country Club where he won the 2011 US Open, very much to his liking and attributed some of his loose play to a little bit of rust given his three weeks break since the Masters.
“I think, first week back after three weeks off, there’s maybe going to be a couple of mistakes in there. The three-putt on 17 was an unforced error. Eleven is a tough hole, I got a bit of a flyer from the semi-rough and made bogey but you accept that and deal with that. I’m still happy with 67. It could have been a 65 or a 64 but it’s still a good start. it was nice to bounce back (from the double-bogey on six) to birdie both of the holes coming back in (on five and six).
“I said to myself walking off the green, ‘if I could just get back to three-under for the day by the end of the day, I would be happy’ and obviously I did that within the next two holes. I had some chances coming in but I am happy with the day.
“And, over the course of a tournament, you’re going to think about shots that you could have held onto. I think at the end of the week it all sort of evens out. I can’t be too disappointed.”
McIlroy’s first outing since the Masters comes just over a fortnight before the season’s next Major, the USPGA Championship. But he insisted that his mind is only on this week and not on the challenge at Southern Hills later this month.
“I’ve always found it very difficult to think about anything but the tournament that you’re playing in and the week that you’re at, because that’s all I can do. All I’m in control of is what I am doing right now. I’ve never seen Southern Hills before, so I don’t really know what to expect there. So, this is its own week and its own tournament and I’m just focused on that,” said McIlroy.
Séamus Power – who is also in the field for the US PGA – also returned to tournament action, after a week’s break in his case, and signed for a level par round of 70 that had none of the rollercoaster ride that McIlroy encountered.
Power’s round featured one bogey (on the second) and one birdie (on the 12th) as he finished as he started.
Wolff, one of those who claimed a four-way share of the clubhouse lead, has had dismal form of late in a run of three missed cuts in five tournaments but showed much better form in a round of six birdies and one bogey: “
“I’m thrilled.I played my home course like four days ago and I lost every golf ball I had in my bag, so I really didn’t come here expecting to play well. I was just trying to work on my attitude and have a good time. I think sometimes I play courses better when I don’t see them just because it frees me up. When you know a course too much, you know where the trouble is... I had a good time out there, it was fun,” said Wolff, who hasn’t won since the 3M Open in 2019.