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Rory McIlroy returned to action at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship after a mini break of three weeks after his early exit at the 2023 Masters last month.
McIlroy started well at the tournament, posting 3-under 68 on Thursday and finishing at T16 after the first day. He faltered in the second round, carding 2-over 73 on Friday to aggregate at 2-under, just one stroke above the cut line.
The three times winner at Quail Hollow had a bad start on Friday with three straight bogeys on holes 5-7 and went on to hole one more bogey on the par 5 10th hole. He managed to make just two birdies on the second day.
The Northern Irishman was on the verge of missing a second straight cut when he made a significant par on the 18th to survive. He is still trailing behind the trio of Tyler Hatton, Nate Lashley, and Wyndham Clark by 7 strokes, which will not be an easy task to overcome.
McIlroy began the year in style with his win at DP World Tour's Hero Dubai Desert Classic but things haven't really gone his way since. He finished runner-up at Genesis Invitational and third at WGC-Dell Technologies but missed cuts in the Players Championship and the Masters.
Augusta National remains the only major that Rory is yet to win and a triumph there would complete his quest for a career grand slam. However, a shock exit from the event resulted in his withdrawal from the 2023 RBC Heritage, which is one of the designated events. McIlroy had already skipped the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this year.
Ahead of the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship, Rory told Todd Lewis of Golf Channel that he needed a break for himself. He said:
"Obviously, after the disappointment of Augusta, and it’s been a pretty taxing 12 months mentally, so it was nice to just try to disconnect and get away from it. But it’s nice to come back and feel refreshed. More for my mental and emotional well-being I needed to be at home for those few weeks"
He added:
"That run-up to Augusta is always a stressful enough couple of weeks trying to make sure everything’s in the right order and making sure your game’s in good shape. I think for me it was a nice reset because I still had to realize that there’s three more majors this year, there’s a ton left to play for."
How many times has Rory McIlroy won at the Wells Fargo Championship?
McIlroy has some happy memories at Quail Hollow Club. He won his first PGA Tour title here back in 2010. In 2015 he shot a low 61 on Saturday and went on to triumph in the Wells Fargo Championship for the second time.
His third victory here came in 2021 when he beat Abraham Ancer by one shot. It will be interesting to see if the four-times major champion will succeed here once again or if his wait for a PGA Tour win this season will continue.
