Top-ranked Rory McIlroy won for the second time in his last three starts, posting a 3-under-par 69 to finish off a seven-stroke victory over Webb Simpson and rookie Patrick Rodgers in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.
McIlroy, who won the WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks earlier in San Francisco, only needed to play solid in the final round after taking a four-shot lead with a course-record 61 in round three at Quail Hollow, where he also won in 2010.
“Everything is firing on all cylinders for me,” said McIlroy, who claimed his 11th PGA Tour victory, including five since last July. “The golf course just sets up really well for me. The way I played yesterday really set me up to go out there today. I was in control of the golf tournament and I just needed to shoot a solid round.
“I feel like as the best player in the world, I want to go at it every week and, not so much prove it, but just show that. I’ve learned how to handle these positions and I’m finishing the job off the way I should, which is very pleasing.”
Simpson, who lives in Charlotte and is a member at Quail Hollow, had a share of the 36-hole lead and finished 68-72 but simply was run over by the red-hot McIlroy.
Rodgers, the 2014 Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year in college golf for Stanford, closed with a 68 that included an eagle on the 11th hole and a double bogey-bogey finish to register his best finish on the PGA Tour.
“It has given me a lot of confidence moving forward,” said Rodgers, who earned a spot in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this week by finishing in the top 10.
Phil Mickelson closed with a 68 for his second top-10 result of the season and was nine strokes behind in a tie for fourth with Gary Woodland, who had a 67, and Robert Streb, who came in at 71.
Rookie Justin Thomas shot 70 and was another shot back in a tie for seventh with Geoff Ogilvy of Australia, who totaled 68.
