Rory McIlroy’s winning streak ended on Mother’s Day, which was a fitting way to celebrate with his family.
McIlroy made a beeline for daughter Poppy and wife Erica after claiming his first victory since 2019 at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday.
The Northern Irishman had to endure some nerves on the 18th hole to save a bogey, leaving him 10-under-par for the tournament and one ahead of Abraham Ancer, claiming his third Quail Hollow title and 19th PGA Tour title.
“This place has been good to me,” McIlroy told the media afterwards.
“Ever since I first set eyes on this golf course, I loved it from the first time I played it, and that love has sort of been reciprocated back. I’ve played so well here over the years.”
McIlroy, who became a father for the first time last August, has struggled with form and injury since winning the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2019.
In fact, the 32-year-old said he almost didn’t play this weekend after injuring his neck on the practice range on Wednesday, an injury that “progressively got a little bit better as the week went on.”
His 553-day dry spell has dropped him to 15th in the world rankings, his lowest position since late 2009. He has begun working with coach Pete Cowen in an attempt to re-calibrate. After missing the cut at both the Players Championship and the Masters, he was able to regain his winning form.
“I felt good about my game coming in here,” the four-time major winner said, “but I wasn’t expecting to come and win the first week straight out again.
“It’s satisfying to see the work is paying off, but it’s just the start. There’s so much more I want to achieve and so much more I want to do in the game.”
Bryson DeChambeau may have learned this weekend that you should always wait until after the final whistle before leaving a sporting event.
The American superstar shot a three-over-par 74 on Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship, dropping him to two-over for the tournament.
DeChambeau flew home from Charlotte, thinking he’d missed the cut, only to find out in the middle of the flight that he’d made it after all. The world No. 4 returned home and slept for about five hours before boarding a flight back to Charlotte at 2.45 a.m. He landed at 5:45 a.m. after catching some more shuteye on the flight and drove to Quail Hollow in time for his 8:10 a.m. tee time Saturday. Despite his tiredness, he still shot 68.
He made up for it by sleeping 11 hours before the round on Sunday.
Despite being tired from his travels, DeChambeau played well on his return to Charlotte, eventually finishing tied for ninth and retaking the FedExCup lead.
“I wanted to make it worth it,” he told the media afterwards. “I didn’t want to come out here and finish 60-whatever, close to last.
“Even at that, it’s still FedExCup points, it’s still world ranking points. I was pleased to have come back and finished — hopefully, I can get inside the top 10 and be there and keep moving up the world rankings. The goal is obviously to be No. 1 and I want to be at the Olympics, so we’ll keep moving forward in the right direction.”
