An emotional Rory McIlroy hailed an "awesome" return to the winner's arena after winning at Quail Hollow for the third time.
McIlroy launched his career on the PGA Tour by claiming his first victory at the venue in 2010 and a final round 68 was enough to clinch the triumph, his first success since winning the China Open in 2019.
Clutch bunker shots on 14 and 15 set the Holywood star up for crucial birdies to move two shots clear of the chasing pack.
Teeing up on the last, McIlroy had a two-shot lead over Abraham Ancer only to hook his drive left, but his ball struck the steep bank and just missed the creek running parallel to the fairway.
After consulting with caddy Harry Diamond, McIlroy took a drop rather than risk a chip over the creek or up the bank, and the decision paid off as he made the green with his third shot.
That left him with two putts to win the tournament and he left himself a bogey putt from two feet, which he sank to land the $1,458,000 winner's cheque and the win will return him to the world's top 10.
It's also his first victory with new coach Pete Cowen and his first as a day, with wife Erica and daughter Poppy with him to celebrate his win on Mother's Day in the States.
Two weeks out from the PGA championship, McIlroy has announced a serious return to form.
Afterwards he said: "It's never easy to win here.
"It's felt like a long time since that victory in China back in 2019. The world is a different place since then," an emotional McIlroy said.
"To break the drought, it's awesome."
McIlroy also said that the big crowds at the event played a part in his revival.
"It's just awesome to play in front of these people again," he remarked.
"When we came back from the pandemic, I thought I'd enjoy the peace and quiet a little bit and I soon realised to bring the best out of myself, I need this and I feed off the energy so much and maybe here more so than anywhere else just because I think it's the first place I've won three times.
"The crowd has been awesome all week and has really carried me through today."
