Rory acknowledges the crowd after tapping in for the win at Quail Hollow
Charlotte, North Carolina – Starting the day two shots behind 54 leader Keith Mitchell, McIlroy had played a nearly mistake free final round thru 17 holes when he walked to the eighteenth tee with a two-stroke lead at 11 under par. He proceeded to hook his tee shot left of the creek that runs the entire length of the finale to the “green mile”. After taking a drop on the advice of his caddie Harry Diamond, the 32 year old Ulsterman hit his approach on the green – leaving a two-putt 43 ft to end his 18 month long winless drought. He properly executed the lag putt and tapped in for his 19th PGA Tour victory. McIlroy finished with a final round 68 (-10 total) for a one stroke victory.
Rory said it was a long time since his last win in 2019. “Life has changed a lot for me, as a dad, winning on Mother’s Day thinking of Erica, thinking of my mum back home. It just feels awesome,” an emotional McIlroy said. “This is one of my favorite places in the world, and to break the drought and to win . . . yeah, it’s awesome.”
With the wind McIlroy moved to 17th in the Fedex Cup Standings. Abraham Ancer finished second at 10 under par after a final round 66. Viktor Hovland and Keith Mitchell finshed tied for third at -8.
