Rory McIlroy bounces back from neck injury to end 18-month trophy drought with Wells Fargo win

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Rory McIlroy recorded his first victory since 2019 after surviving a late scare to win the Wells Fargo Championship for the third time.

A penalty stroke on his final hole could not derail his charge as McIlroy, who had not won in 554 days and not made a cut since March, won at Quail Hollow, aptly the course where he had picked up his first breakthrough win on the PGA Tour 11 years ago.

McIlroy had done well to even make the first tee, he revealed after his victory on what was Mother’s Day in the United States with his wife Erica and daughter Poppy in attendance.

A neck injury picked up the day before had required heavy treatment and he later admitted he would not have taken to the opening tee on Thursday had he been an early starter.

As it was, his opening-round 72 – play we taping on his neck – hardly indicated a change in fortunes but a second round of 66 and two 68s were enough to give him a one-stroke victory.

Afterwards, he said: “There’s relief that I’ve won again, relief that my season is sort of back on track, and more just satisfaction at the journey that I’m on and the process that I’ve been going through to try to get back to this point.”

Prior to the tournament, he had dropped to No15 in the world, his lowest since 2009. But in recent weeks, he has added renowned swing coach Pete Cowen to an entourage, a move which has clearly paid off.

And the former world No1 said he hoped it would be the start of a winning run with Cowen at his side and just days away from the second Major of the season, the PGA Championship.

Wells Fargo Championship - Final Round
McIlroy celebrated with wife Erica and daughter Poppy on Mother’s Day in the US
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“There’s so much more I want to achieve and so much more I want to do in the game,” he said. “But this is nice validation that I’m on the right track.”

Of that neck injury, he said he came within a whisker of pulling out on the Wednesday night.

“If I had had a morning tee time on Thursday, I probably would have pulled out because I hurt my neck on Wednesday afternoon and couldn’t make a backswing.

“But I got enough treatment so that I could play and then progressively got a little bit better as the week went on. So, it’s just amazing how these little things, they all add up.”

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