Rory McIlroy bounced back from a disappointing Masters to shoot a 5-under-par 66 and take a share of the lead alongside Joel Dahmen in the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow CC in North Carolina.
McIlroy entered the week one of the favourites as a two-time past champion (2010, 2015) and four additional top ten finishes and he made a solid start, going out in level par before making five birdies on the back nine. Three of those birdies came from putts inside six feet and his longest birdie putt of the day was a 20-footer on the second hole.
In his career, McIlroy now has signed for eight rounds of 66 or better at the course.
“Every time I step onto this Quail Hollow golf course, I feel like I have chance to shoot a good score,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t play my best today. I sort of managed my game well, scrambled well, but it added up to a good number at the end of the day.”
Dahmen, who is ranked 125th in the world and is yet to win on Tour, has made a decent start to the season with a top ten at Torrey Pines and a 12th place finish at The Players and finds himself in elite company after a bogey free first round.
“Golf is awesome because on any given week or given day, anybody can beat anybody. I played as well as Rory today and I beat everybody else in the field. That’s great and there’s no reason I can’t do that for three more days.”
Defending champion Jason Day opened with a 3-under-68 while five players carded a 4-under 67 including Scotland’s Martin Laird, former Masters winner Patrick Reed and South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli.
Meanwhile at the European Tour’s Volvo China Open, home favourite Ashun Wu currently leads after he followed an opening 66 with a 65 at Genzon Golf Club.
