Rory McIlroy shoots opening 67 in bid for fourth Wells Fargo Championship title

Rors for four? He’s off to a good start.

McIlroy has won the Wells Fargo Championship not once, not twice, but three times and is the defending champion this week. The venue may be different, but the result was very much the same.

The tournament is being played this week at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac, Maryland, not far from the nation’s capital rather than its usual home at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, which is hosting the Presidents Cup this fall. But McIlroy still has good vibes in this area, which isn’t far from the site of his first major victory at the 2011 U.S. Open.

“It’s nice to be back. I went over to Congressional yesterday and that rekindled some nice memories,” He said. “This style of golf just sort of suits me and seem to play well around here.”

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On Thursday, McIlroy made seven birdies and signed for a 3-under 67 in the first round.

One day after turning 33, the Northern Irishman got off to a flying start with birdies on five of his first six holes. Beginning on the back nine, McIlroy drained a 20-foot birdie putt at 10 and a 24-foot putt at 12 and his iron play was sharp, including stiffing a wedge at 13. He sprinkled in two bogeys – at 11 and 17 – and made the turn in 32.

He was cruising along until he tugged his tee shot into the water at the fourth hole and made double bogey, but he didn’t let it spoil his momentum and bounced back with consecutive birdies.

“I said to myself walking off the green, if I could just get back to 3 under for the day by the end of the day after that, I would be pretty happy, and obviously I did that within the next two holes,” McIlroy said. “I had some chances coming in, but yeah, happy with the day.”

Quail Hollow or TPC Potomac, it doesn’t seem to matter for McIlroy. This tournament has become his personal annuity, and if his start on Thursday is any indication, he’ll be in the trophy hunt on Sunday. McIlroy was pleased with his start.

“I think first week back after three weeks off, there’s maybe going to be a couple of mistakes in there,” McIlroy said. “The three-putt on 17 was an unforced error. I mean, 11’s a tough hole, I got a bit of a flyer from the semi-rough and made bogey, but you sort of accept that and deal with that. Then I should have made 5 on No. 6. I hit it in the water, but got a drop up there and so I probably left a couple out there. It could have been a 65 or a 64, but it’s still a good start.”