Rory McIlroy ended the second longest drought of his career on Sunday with a third triumph at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.
Two shots behind third round leader Keith Mitchell at start of play, the Ulsterman carded a final round 68 to finish one shot clear of the chasing pack.
Mexican Abraham Ancer shot a final round 66 to finish second at nine-under, while Mitchell and Norwegian Viktor Hovland were tied for third at eight-under.
This was a timely - and special - triumph for McIlroy who had gone almost 18 months and 27 events without a win following his last success at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai in 2019.
It also recorded his 19th victory on the PGA Tour and delivered a third career win at the Wells Fargo, following on from memorable successes there in 2010 and 2015.
“It has felt like a long time since that win out in China in 2019,” said McIlroy, who name checked wife Erica and mum Rosie on Mother’s Day in the States.
“The world is a completely different place than it used to be, everyone has been getting through a pandemic and life has also changed a lot for me being a dad,” he said.
“Winning on Mother’s Day.. I’m thinking of Erica and my mum back home, so it just feels awesome.”
McIlroy put the squeeze on down the straight and recorded two crucial birdies at the 14th and 15th to carve out a two shot lead with three holes to play.
Worryingly, the leader missed the fairway at the 18th to land on an incline beside a brook, but took a one shot penalty drop and produced a superb recovery shot to the green.
Two putts later and he was fist pumping and celebrating his first win in 553 days in front of large crowds at Quail Hollow.
“This is one of my favourite places to play and it’s awesome to play in front of these people again,” he said.
“When we came back from the pandemic (without crowds), I thought I’d enjoy the peace and quiet a little bit.
“But I soon realised to bring the best out myself, I need this because I feed off the energy so much and maybe here more so than anywhere else.
“This is the first place I’ve won three times, so the crowd really carried me through.”
Sunday’s win at Quail Hollow will propel McIlroy back up the world rankings after he recently slipped to 15th, his lowest ranking in more than a decade.
It is also a welcome return to the winner’s enclosure six weeks after teaming up with new swing coach Pete Cowen before the Masters where he missed the cut.
