RORY MCILROY IS in a tie for second place after round one of the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour. 

McIlroy sank a 50-foot eagle putt on the par-five seventh to sign for a four-under round of 67, which leaves him three behind solo leader Xander Schauffele. 

Fourth-ranked Schauffele, last year’s Wells Fargo runner-up, started on the back nine and closed with an eagle at the par-5 seventh, a fortunate par at eight and a birdie at nine to fire a seven-under par 64 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.

McIlroy shares second with Sweden’s Alex Noren and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa of the United States on 67.

McIlroy is a three-time champion at Quail Hollow, having taken his first PGA title on the layout in 2010 and added crowns in 2015 and 2021.

Schauffele seeks his eighth career PGA Tour triumph but the first for the 30-year-old American since the 2022 Scottish Open.

Heavy rain delayed the start by an hour for the field of 69 in the last major tuneup for next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The saturated course made things odd for Schauffele from the start.

“It was a weird day as a whole,” Schauffele said. “We had a delay. The course was soaking wet. I was able to sort of get into some rhythm kind of quickly which was really nice.”

Reigning Olympic champion Schauffele began on the back nine and birdied five of the first eight holes.

The run included putts from just over 17 feet at the 12th and 16 feet at the par-3 eighth plus three others under six feet, although he made his lone bogey off a tee shot way right into dirt at 18.

Schauffele dropped in a five-foot eagle putt at the par-5 seventh to grab the lead and closed with a six-foot birdie putt at the ninth, but it was the par between them at eight that felt most special.

Schauffele smacked his tee shot well right, deep into trees and rocks, but after finding the ball got relief from a Shotlink tower and two club lengths allowed him to drop into rough.

“The tower was just in the luckiest spot possible,” Schauffele. “The club length got me on the very edge of the pine straw. Hit what I thought was an unbelievable pitch to get it up onto the green. Then it was a no-sweat two-putt.

“A really bad drive after two super shots. I was really lucky one that they found it and two to get that kind of relief out of the absolute dead zone.”

“A pretty stressful moment turned into a pretty stress-less par,” he said, calling the closing birdie “just a cherry on top.”

McIlroy, coming off a Zurich Classic victory alongside Shane Lowry two weeks ago at New Orleans, was pleased at his start.

“It was good to play a solid round,” he said. “Left a couple out there, but at the same time I’ve got three more days to try to build on what I’ve done.

“I’m hitting the ball really well again, with some of the shots that I hit out there today with the driver, some of the iron shots were much better. I feel like putting is good.”

McIlroy reeled off three consecutive birdies from the third to fifth holes, the last a hole-out from just inside 29 feet, before his eagle at seven to seize the solo lead.

But the 35-year-old stumbled with a lip-out on a six-foot par putt at the ninth and a birdie-bogey start to the back nine.

McIlroy sank a six-foot birdie putt at the par-3 13th, but made bogey at the par-5 15th after finding two bunkers and the right rough.

He responded with a birdie putt at 16 from just outside eight feet but went left off the 18th tee and missed a seven-foot par putt.

Lowry, meanwhile, struggled to a four-over round of 75, leaving him in tie for 64th place. Lowry’s only birdie of the day came on the par four second hole – the 11th hole of his round – and he struggled otherwise, doubling the par-three 17th when he put his tee shot int0 the water. As this is a limited-field, signature event, there is no cut.

Seamus Power, meanwhile, threw away an impressive start by going double-bogey-double across his final three holes, signing for a one-over 72. Power birdied his opening two holes and bogeyed six before instantly birdieing seven, and then went back to back with birdies on 14 and 15, before his difficult closing trio of holes. He is in a tie for 43rd place. 

Away from the course, McIlroy has revealed he has been involved in conversations about a merger with the backers of LIV golf, the Saudi Arabian wealth fund PIF. 

McIlroy told reporters after his round that he has had conversations with the newly set up Transaction Committee, that the PGA Tour announced in a press release on Thursday.

“I’ve already had calls with that group, I had a really good hour and a half Zoom with those guys on Sunday, we went through a 150-page doc about the future product model and everything,” McIlroy said.

“Yeah, I’m not on the board, but I’m in some way involved in that Transaction Committee. I don’t have a vote so I don’t, you know, I don’t have I guess a meaningful say in what happens in the future.

“But at least I can, I feel like I can be helpful on that committee, and that was sort of a compromise for I guess not getting a board seat.”

The PGA Tour announced that Joe Gorder, the chair and chief executive of Valero, an energy company in the United States, had been elected as the inaugural chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises, while Australian Adam Scott and Tiger Woods are on the board.

A statement said: “The board has established specialised committees dedicated to the organisation’s strategic priorities. This includes the formation of a Transaction Subcommittee, which has been engaging directly in negotiations with the Public Investment Fund (PIF).”

They said the Strategic Sports Group had made an investment of $1.5 billion. 

It comes after McIlroy said he would not replace Webb Simpson on the PGA Tour policy board after the prospect of his return reopened “old wounds”.

Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington has made a fast start to The Tradition, a major on on the PGA seniors tour. The first round was not completed by end of play on Thursday, but Harrington fired seven-under through the 13 holes he completed, leaving him in a tie for the lead with Chris DiMarco. 

Finally, Leona Maguire has also made a strong start to the Cognizant Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour, shooting a 66 to leave her in a tie for third place, three shots off leader Rose Zhang. 

Nelly Korda, seeking a sixth-straight victory, signed for 69, and is in a tie for 18th place. 

– © AFP 2024, with reporting by PA and Gavin Cooney