Rory for Roaring

History and Tournament Info

The Wells Fargo Golf Championship first took place back in 2003, when US golf legend David Toms won the inaugural tournament. Since then, a host of golfing stars have lifted the coveted trophy. These include Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day. The defending champion is Max Homa, who won the 2019 edition, fending off Joel Dahmen and winning the tournament by three shots. Unfortunately, the championship was canceled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, like many other golf and sporting events around the world, but you can check the odds for all this year’s action.

In 2021, the tournament was held between May 6 to 9 at the Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte. The field was jam-packed with golfing stars who wanted to get their hands on the trophy and use the tournament as a tune-up for the upcoming PGA Championship.

Reviewing The Action

This year’s tournament followed the trend of years gone by, and we saw plenty of drama, not least in the final round with everything on the line. The final round saw a tight race to the finish line between Rory McIlroy, who was looking to rediscover his happiness and return to his winning ways; Keith Mitchell, Gary Woodland, and Abraham Ancer, who eventually entered the picture later on. 

Mitchell led the field, heading into the final round by two shots, and quickly extended that to three. However, the pressure got to him early, and he dropped shots on the fifth and sixth holes, which meant conceding the lead. Gary Woodland had a share of the lead down the home straight. Still, he hit a sticky patch and bogeyed the 12th and 13th holes, and his bid fell away tamely as he eventually finished fifth. 

Abraham Ancer was never in the frame of title contenders, but a late flurry when he ran off three birdies in a row briefly gave him a share of the lead. He eventually came up short and finished runner up, but it could have been a very different story if his 35-foot putt, which clipped the cup, had dropped on the final hole. This was Ancer’s fourth second-place finish on tour as he looks to win his first-ever career tournament.

This paved the way for Irishman Rory McIlroy to return to winning and claim his first victory in 18 months. However, it was far from plain sailing, as Rory revealed after the tournament. He has a problem with his neck which almost forced him to withdraw from the Wells Fargo Golf Championship. But this did not deter him, as he looked set to cruise to victory, coming down the back nine, posting back-to-back birdies, but this was not to be the case. Instead, he hit a shot into the water on 17, dropped a shot on the last, and picked up the win by a narrow margin. 

The win ended Rory’s second-longest winless run. His last victory was back in 2019 when he lifted the HSBC Champions trophy in Shanghai. This win couldn’t have come at a better time for McIlroy with the upcoming PGA Championship on the horizon. He will be heading into the tournament full of confidence, not only for his win here, but the PGA Championship returns to Kiawah Island, where McIlroy last won the major in 2012, breaking the course record in the process.

This victory was Rory’s 19th on the PGA tour, and it brought back great memories as the place where it all started, and he won his first-ever tournament. 

The people of Charlotte have taken to McIlroy, making their feelings known when he sunk his final putt on the 18th. It was by far the loudest cheer since the return of fans to golf tournaments following the easing of global pandemic restrictions, and it was clear the fans were undoubtedly roaring for Rory.

McIlroy confirmed he had missed the crowd’s energy, and he said they definitely helped lift him over the line. So when he raised his club and turned to the public after sinking the winning putt, it felt a bit like an acknowledgment of gratitude from the Irishman. 

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