Rory McIlroy produced a stunning late charge to win the Wells Fargo Championship for the fourth time in his career.
McIlroy was two shots behind overnight leader Xander Schauffele with just 11 holes left of his final round before carding two eagles and four birdies to win by five shots on Sunday.
His final-round 65 sealed a second successive tournament victory, having won the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry, and was timely ahead of the US PGA Championship, which gets under way on Thursday. Pertinently, it will take place at Valhalla, the scene of his last Major triumph 10 years ago.
Following his late surge, the world No2 said: “I really got some confidence winning in New Orleans with Shane. Coming into this week, at a golf course I am comfortable with, my swing feels more comfortable than it has done.
“Going to a venue next week where I have won, it feels like the stars are aligning a little bit. But I have a lot of golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat. I am going into the next Major of the year feeling really good about myself.”
McIlroy started his run with back-to-back birdies to finish his front nine and raised the bar with an eagle at the 10th, followed by another birdie at the 13th.
The pressure mounted on Schauffele, who missed putts on both the 12th and 13th for par to leave him four strokes adrift going into the final five holes, a deficit he was never able to close.
McIlroy added another birdie on the 14th and an eagle on 15, and should have won by even more, such was his dominance, only to find the water on the 18th and record a double-bogey. By that point, a fourth win at Quail Hollow was already his.
“I just went on a run that, for whatever reason, I am able to go on here,” he said. “Quail Hollow has been really good to me and this is just another great day to add to them.
“I feel like these people have watched me grow up, from winning here as a 20-year-old to the ripe old age of 35 now.”
