The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
McIlroy ends long drought
Rory McIlroy finally won when he least expected it, and it was as sweet as he could have imagined.
Only after he hung on for a one-shot victory in the Wells Fargo Championship, his first title in 18 months, did he reveal his neck locked up during his final practice session and if not for a late tee time Thursday, he would have had to withdraw.
And when he seized control Sunday afternoon with back-to-back birdies from the bunker down the stretch, he started to get ahead of himself thinking how cool it would be to see his wife and 8-month-old daughter waiting to celebrate with him on their first Mother’s Day.
The finishing stretch at Quail Hollow snapped him back to reality.
He hit a 7-iron safely over the water on the 17th, and caddie Harry Diamond
wisely talked him into taking a penalty drop from a dangerous lie in a hazard on the closing hole. He twoputted from 45 feet for bogey, a 3-under 68 and a oneshot victory.
The moment with Erica and little Poppy was what he imagined. So was that trophy.
“It’s tough to get over the line, especially if you haven’t done it in a while,” McIlroy said, a winner at Quail Hollow for the third
time. “It’s such a funny week, knowing my game was pretty good and then having my neck lock up on the range and sitting here Sunday night with the trophy.
“Just glad I got through it.”
Abraham Ancer finished runner-up for the fourth time in his career as he seeks his first title.
Ancer wasn’t part of the picture until he ran off three straight birdies late that briefly gave him a share of the lead, and nearly closed with a fourth birdie when his 35-foot putt on No. 18 grazed the lip. He shot 66.
But this was about McIlroy and the second-longest winless drought of his career, who until this week had not played on the weekend in two months.
It was like he never was gone. McIlroy was bogeyfree until the final hole, and even when he brought more pressure on himself with a poor tee shot, he delivered an 8-iron from just inside 200 yards to the fat of the green for his two-putt bogey to finish on 10-under 274.
His last victory was the HSBC Champions in Shanghai on Nov. 3, 2019.
His next start is in two weeks at Kiawah Island for the PGA Championship, where he set the record in 2012 with an eight-shot victory.
How’s that for timing? “I’m excited going forward now,” McIlroy said.