Rory McIlroy Finishes With a Thud at Wells Fargo, His First Start Since the Masters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quail Hollow is typically Rory McIlroy’s happy place, but the venue where he has three PGA Tour victories was not so kind to him this time.

McIlroy, who was making his first appearance since missing the cut at the Masters and then his controversial withdrawal from the RBC Heritage, found water on three of his last five holes Sunday to shoot a final-round 72 at the Wells Fargo Championship.

At that point, McIlroy appeared to be taking on the penalty areas aggressively as he was well out of contention and finished his round prior to the leaders even teeing off. He won the 2021 tournament here and also captured his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow in 2010.

After an opening-round 68, McIlroy had to fight to make the 36-hole cut on the number Friday, and then got nothing going over the weekend. His rounds of 68-73-71-72 put him at 284, even par and in a tie for 47th.

McIlroy was not available to speak after the round.

Earlier in the week, McIlroy spoke of his frustration over missing the cut at the Masters, where he seemed poised to make a run at completing the career grand slam and winning his fifth major championship, only to struggle.

He decided to skip the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C., a designated event—like the Wells Fargo—which this year requires participation for those who earned Player Impact Program bonus money.

Each player was allowed one opt-out and McIlroy was missing a second designated event this year, putting 25 percent of his $12 million bonus in jeopardy. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier this week that McIlroy would not receive that part of the bonus.

"My mind wouldn’t be there," McIlroy said of the Hilton Head tournament. "It was more important for me to be home."

McIlroy, who has taken on a big leadership role with the PGA Tour as part of a member of the Policy Board which sought to make significant changes, including the designated events structure, said he felt the strain recently.

"I think putting golf in perspective a little more," he said before the tournament. "I feel like it’s totally consumed my life for the last 12 months. It’s been a pretty tumultuous time and being in the position I’m in it’s taken up a lot of my time. Just putting some perspective on where it sits in my life and all the things I’ve got going on in my life. I sort of needed to reassess everything. That’s what I’m looking forward to going forward."

McIlroy now has a week to sort things out prior to the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. McIlroy is a member at the Rochester, N.Y., club but says he has played it very little since significant changes were made to the course. He said earlier in the week he might visit for a day if the weather is decent.

One thing he will need to work on: his driving. McIlroy hit just 20 of 54 fairways for the week at Quail Hollow, including just four on Sunday. He ranked T67 out of 69 players in driving accuracy. His strokes-gained approach was also poor, ranking 61st in the field.