For Rory McIlroy the third event in his ongoing five-week stretch of tournament golf is one that will always bring back fond memories, having captured his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow five years ago.
Since then the North Carolina resort has become something of a favourite haunt for McIlroy, recording four top 10s in his past five appearances at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Thursday was more of a mixed bag for the world number one as he occasionally looked excellent and on other occasions distinctly average.
In the end it would lead to a two-under-par round of 70, leaving him five shots behind early leader Robert Streb.
Seven birdies and some excellent putting was enough to see the American post a seven-under-par 65 to lead by one from Patrick Reed.
A lack of aggression on the greens was what McIlroy put last week’s eighth-place finish down to and it was clear that he was trying to rectify that this week, making three birdies in his opening seven holes.
Unspectacular but rewarding
It was golf typical of McIlroy’s recent form – unspectacular but rewarding.
Three birdies and a bogey in the six-hole stretch from the 10th to the 15th gave the impression that the galleries were in for a big finish.
But even the best aren’t immune to a slip-up and that came in the shape of an 8-iron into the lake on the par-three 17th. It would lead to a double bogey.
But the 26-year-old showed good resolve on the final hole to get up and down from a greenside bunker to finish with a par.
A Sunday 67 at last week’s Players Championship was enough to show that Pádraig Harrington is moving in the right direction with his game, and that move doesn’t show any signs of stopping as he opened his Wells Fargo campaign with a two under par round of 70 to sit alongside McIlroy.
Never one to adopt a negative attitude, Harrington was adamant earlier this week that his chipping and bunker play was “getting back to the good old days”.
Scrambled superbly
And yesterday was like the Harrington of old as he scrambled superbly, going around in just 25 putts, including 11 one-putts.
Perhaps that impressive scrambling was best seen at the par-five 15th hole.
A booming 305-yard drive down the right-hand side of the fairway was followed by a second shot that found the front bunker. It was a test for the three-time major winner’s improving sand play and one that he took in his stride, splashing a beautifully controlled pitch to six feet before rolling in the birdie putt.
It was vintage Harrington – grinding to make the most out of the situation – a situation made even more impressive by the fact that it followed a bogey five at the 14th after a wayward approach to the green found a watery grave.
From there it was steady-going as the Dubliner parred his way home to leave himself nicely placed going into today’s play.
