McIlroy makes strong start to Wells Fargo with three-under 67

Rory McIlroy had a little bit of everything. A water ball off the tee on the fourth, his 13th, which led to a double-bogey; a couple of three-putts; but, mainly, his opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship at TPC Potomac on the outskirts of Washington DC contained many positive elements, among them seven birdies, as the Northern Irishman signed for an opening round of three-under-par 67.

Playing for the first time since his runner-up finish in the Masters last month, McIlroy – who trails first round leader Jason Day by four after his opening 63 –was happy with his day's work as he got into the business part of proceedings in a quest for a fourth Wells Fargo title.

McIlroy's previous three wins came at Quail Hollow, including a third success last year, and the defending champion found the new course in Maryland, close to Congressional Country Club where he won the 2011 US Open, very much to his liking and attributed some of his loose play to a little bit of rust given his three weeks break since the Masters.

“I think, first week back after three weeks off, there’s maybe going to be a couple of mistakes in there. The three-putt on 17 was an unforced error. Eleven is a tough hole, I got a bit of a flyer from the semi-rough and made bogey but you accept that and deal with that. I’m still happy with 67. It could have been a 65 or a 64 but it’s still a good start. it was nice to bounce back (from the double-bogey on six) to birdie both of the holes coming back in (on five and six).

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“I said to myself walking off the green, ‘if I could just get back to three-under for the day by the end of the day, I would be happy’ and obviously I did that within the next two holes. I had some chances coming in but I am happy with the day.

“And, over the course of a tournament, you’re going to think about shots that you could have held onto. I think at the end of the week it all sort of evens out. I can’t be too disappointed.”

McIlroy’s first outing since the Masters comes just over a fortnight before the season’s next Major, the USPGA Championship. But he insisted that his mind is only on this week and not on the challenge at Southern Hills later this month.

“I’ve always found it very difficult to think about anything but the tournament that you’re playing in and the week that you’re at, because that’s all I can do. All I’m in control of is what I am doing right now. I’ve never seen Southern Hills before, so I don’t really know what to expect there. So, this is its own week and its own tournament and I’m just focused on that,” said McIlroy.

Séamus Power – who is also in the field for the US PGA – also returned to tournament action, after a week’s break in his case, and signed for a level par round of 70 that had none of the rollercoaster ride that McIlroy encountered.

Power’s round featured one bogey (on the second) and one birdie (on the 12th) as he finished as he started.

Day rang up eight birdies, five of them on the back nine, to establish a one-shot lead over Joel Dahmen. Five players were tied for third at five-under 65: Matthew Wolff, Denny McCarthy, Aaron Rai and Callum Tarren and France's Paul Barjon.

Once the top-ranked player in the world, Day is down to No. 127 in the official world golf ranking due in part to lingering injuries. He has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2018 Wells Fargo, his 12th career title.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself because I know that it's easy in the position I am right now, after a good round, to get ahead of myself and start talking where it could potentially go," Day said.

"But I think I've just got to stay as present as possible because if I can swing it the way I'm swinging it and have the short game and the touch that I have on the greens, I mean, I played some really good golf today. I feel like I can get back to where I need to be, but that's a total decision up top in my head if I want to climb that mountain again."