Rory Dominant in Wells Fargo Championship Victory


After distancing himself from the field with a record-setting 11-under 61 Saturday, Rory McIlroy strolled to a stress-free, 3-under 69 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte to win the $7.1 million Wells Fargo Championship by seven strokes.

McIlroy posted five birdies and two meaningless bogeys en route to winning the event for the second time - his first here and in America came in 2010 - and establishing a new tournament record, well in front of co-runner-ups Patrick Rodgers and local favorite Webb Simpson.

McIlroy's 21-under 267 total shattered the previous 72-mark of 272 set by Anthony Kim in 2008.

The 26-year-old Northern Irishman cemented his position as the top-ranked player in golf through his power off the tee - averaging 321 yards in driving distance this week; unerring iron play - hitting 78 percent of greens in regulation, and deft touch on the greens, averaging less than a putt per hole.

In four rounds McIlroy set a new tournament mark with 27 birdies in 72 holes, against only six dropped shots, four of which came in the first round Thursday when he shot a 70.

Afterward during a brief TV interview, McIlroy, who earned $1.278 million and 500 FedEx Cup points, said, "I think the golf course sets up perfectly for me. There was pretty much no chance that anyone could catch me."

When asked about falling into a trap of being overconfident, the Northern Irishman, with two victories in three weeks (he won the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship in early May), noted, "I've been in that position with that before but now I now know how to handle it.

"I'll just be the best I can be. I'm really happy with my game and everything is firing on all cylinders," said McIlroy, who has six top-10s in his last eight PGA Tour starts.

McIlroy will now return to Europe, missing the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial in Ohio in early June, and will return to the States for the 115th U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, which starts June 18. As for his position heading into the second major of the year, he added, "Still a long way away, but it's fantastic to be playing this way."

Finishing a distant second at 14-under 274 were Charlotte resident Simpson, who closed with a 72, and the 22-year-old Rodgers. Rodgers, a former Stanford All-American and now a PGA Tour rookie, played on a sponsor's exemption this week. With his high finish - thanks to three 68s and a 70 - Rodgers will be seen in more upcoming Tour events.

"(The week) has given me a lot of confidence moving forward," said Rodgers, who got within three strokes of McIlroy on the back nine by going 7-under through 15 holes before carding a double-bogey on the par-3 17th and a bogey at the last.

Nine strokes behind McIlroy in third were Gary Woodland (67), Phil Mickelson (68) and first-round leader Robert Streb (71), while Australia's Geoff Ogilvy (68) and Justin Thomas (70) shared seventh at 277.

Kevin Streelman (68), Shawn Stefani (69), Jason Bohn (69) and Brendan Steele (72) tied for ninth at 278.

With his latest victory McIlroy moves from 17th place to third on the season-long FedEx Cup points list.

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