Rory McIlroy wins PGA Tour’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —The celebrities confirmed up on the PGA Tour’s sixth big-money, no-cut signature occasion of the season, the place two top-five gamers on this planet separated from the pack to arrange a slugfest on Sunday.

In the long run it was Rory McIlroy who donned the crown and took the throne because the King of the Queen Metropolis. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman entered the ultimate spherical one shot again of Xander Schauffele however flipped the script across the flip to win the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship by a whopping 5 photographs at 17 below after a 6-under 65 at Quail Hole Membership, the place he’s now a four-time winner courting again to his maiden victory on Tour in 2010.

“I have to say, I do go on Zillow quite a bit and take a look at a number of the properties round right here,” McIlroy joked. “I really like coming again right here, I really like spending time right here. It’s a spot that I’m very snug at with Quail Hole, town of Charlotte typically and the individuals. For no matter purpose, I get a lot nice assist right here.”

“I stated it on the 18th inexperienced after I gained there that each one these individuals have kind of watched me develop up. I gained right here for the primary time as a 20-year-old and now at 35, so that they’ve kind of seen my development all through the years,” he continued. “I’ve kind of grown up in entrance of their eyes and I believe that’s one of many causes I get a number of assist right here, too.”

McIlroy gained his final begin on the 2024 Zurich Basic of New Orleans along with his associate and good buddy Shane Lowry and now has 26 PGA Tour wins to his identify. The four-time main champion hasn’t missed a minimize this season on Tour in 9 begins and has eight finishes inside the highest 25, together with a trio of prime 10s.

“I don’t know what’s extra unbelievable, successful a PGA Tour occasion for the fourth time or getting my (twenty sixth win),” stated McIlroy. “Every time I kind of hit a few of these milestones or do these items, I all the time suppose again to, for instance, like 20-year-old me taking part in on this match for the primary time. If I had identified again then that that is the way in which all the pieces was going to pan out, I in all probability wouldn’t have believed you.”

Schauffele, who completed solo second at 12 below after an even-par 71, hasn’t missed a minimize in 12 PGA Tour begins this season and has now bagged 11 top-25 finishes, with eight inside the highest 10, together with a T-2 on the Gamers Championship. Ben An (66) continued his strong season with a third-place end at 9 below, his fifth top-10 end in 13 begins this 12 months. Jason Day (70) and Sungjae Im (73) completed T-4 at 6 below.

“Blended bag, for certain,” Schauffele stated of his spherical. “I imply, (Rory) performed unbelievable. Appeared up on the board and I’m like, ‘Dang, he’s 6 below via 6 on the again 9.’ It’s one thing else. With that being stated, yeah, I imply, general I felt like I used to be doing fairly properly for a lot of the day after which had that pricey stretch and he capitalized like no different. Huge reversal there.”

“I felt like I managed the ball off the tee fairly properly, a few of these fairways are fairly daunting. Hit some unimaginable iron photographs that I haven’t been in a position to do in fairly a while, you already know, proper to left and left to proper,” Schauffele defined. “General, I simply want to scrub up my brief recreation, it’s all the time been a deciding issue whether or not I win a match or not, kind of a set off stat for me, and it positively damage me at the moment.”

McIlroy started the day with a birdie on the primary gap to briefly tie Schauffele however fell again with a nasty bogey on the par-3 4th gap after his tee shot was a membership brief and located the bunker.

On No. 6, Schauffele left a birdie putt, albeit a prolonged one, criminally brief, which might foreshadow what was to come back the remainder of the spherical. From off the inexperienced, McIlroy almost holed his chip and put the strain on Schauffele to make his knee-knocker for par from eight ft. The putt skated by and the pair have been as soon as once more tied.

On the par-5 seventh, McIlroy missed fairway then barely held the inexperienced to depart a prolonged effort for birdie that he didn’t give sufficient respect nor tempo. Schauffele, in the meantime, discovered the green and performed the contour of the inexperienced to perfection to arrange an eagle and bounce again from the bogey and take a two-shot lead after McIlroy three-jacked for par. Then the tide turned.

HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!

He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024

“You realize, that was a giant second on 7. I three-putted, Xander made an eagle. Then Xander was inside me on 8, I knew I actually wanted to gap that putt simply to attempt to keep or sustain with him,” McIlroy stated of the scenario. “Then he missed his, I birdied mine after which I simply went on a run that for no matter purpose I’m in a position to go on at this golf course.”

McIlroy made birdie on Nos. 8 and 9 from simply outdoors 10 ft whereas Schauffele missed his birdie efforts from 10 and 31 ft, respectively, to make the flip to the again 9 tied at 13 below. McIlroy curled in a 33-footer for eagle to one-up Schauffele’s birdie on No. 10 to take his first lead of the match and he by no means appeared again. McIlroy prolonged his lead with a birdie-birdie-eagle run on Nos. 13-15 – after his eagle he threw his ball into the group – whereas Schauffele stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 12, 13 and 16 and a lone back-nine birdie on No. 15.

Standing on the 18th tee field, McIlroy had a seven-shot lead, which got here in helpful as his strategy to the again pin on the par 4 skipped off the sting and located the creek that runs alongside the whole thing of the outlet. A double-bogey six put the cherry on prime of a five-shot win.