Blake Davis
CHARLOTTE, NC – Day one of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship ended with Xander Schauffele at the top of the leaderboard holding a three-stroke lead at 7 under, but with Rory McIlroy on his mind. The three-time tournament champion was among the last on the golf course on Thursday and, despite a bumpy back nine, managed to post a 4-under 67 to sit firmly in the leader’s rear-view mirror. McIlroy is among a group of pursuers that includes the likes of Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Max Homa.
“I’m hitting the ball really well again, with some of the shots I hit today with the driver, some of the iron shots were a lot better, I feel like the shot is good,” McIlroy said. “And I felt like things were starting to change for me in New Orleans, I played a good weekend there. Sort of – I had some really good feelings in my swing that week, and I’ve kind of tried to ingrain that in the last, whatever, 10 days. Yeah, it was good to play a good round of golf today. I left some out there, I’m sorry, but at the same time, I have. three more days to try to develop what I did today.”
McIlroy’s day started emphatically, scoring a turkey of birdies from holes 3-5. He immediately climbed to the first page of the leaderboard, and his name would jump to the top a few holes later when a 55-foot eagle shot hit the bottom of the cup. With a short par 4 and another par 5 between the next holes, McIlroy had the looks and the runway to fly.
His ball did just that on the drivable par-4 8th, as the world No. 2’s tee shot ended beyond the green. The momentum gained through the first seven holes was determined the rest of the way as McIlroy finished par-bogey on his front nine to turn 4-under 31.
The recently turned 35-year-old rocked the back half with birdies at Nos. 10, 13 and 16 offset by bogeys at Nos. 11, 15 and 18. McIlroy missed a chance to close in on Schauffele when he holed out on the par 5 15 and missed a short birdie on the hole before firing a devilish bunker from just 50 yards, but it remains within reach. And whenever McIlroy is within reach at Quail Hollow, good things tend to happen.
The leader
1.Xander Schauffele (-7)
Schauffele’s good form began this week with a near-flawless 7-under 64 in the first round. Last year’s runner-up will now try to do better against a chasing group full of great champions. The Olympic gold medalist impressed during Thursday’s early action – a period in which many were left confused. With Quail Hollow soaked by rain, competitors assumed the resurfaced greens would soften. This assumption never came to fruition, however.
Distance control with the irons became fundamental and there was no one better than Schauffele. Consistently hitting his approach shots high, he was in complete control until the drivable par-4 8th, where a generous decision came to his aid. Receiving a free fall due to a cable from the Shotlink tower being in his line of sight, Schauffele saved par and made birdie on the par-4 finisher for good measure. These are exactly the opportunities Schauffele must seize if he plans to win for the first time since the 2022 Scottish Open.
“I hit it into the trees. My ball was probably a foot, two feet from the fence… If I went toward the green, the fence worked like that, so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and simply analyze,” Schauffele said. “If I get stuck, I’ll just hit the next one. But I brought the official rules with me because I thought, ‘You have to be okay with this because this is literally the only chance I can beat. So Austin and I moved two huge rocks that weren’t embedded, and then I got relief from the junk, and from there I hit a good shot on the green. What was a very stressful time turned into a pretty stressful couple.
Other contenders
T2. Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Alex Noren (-4)
T5. Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Sepp Straka, Lee Hodges, Russell Henley, Taylor Moore (-3)
There’s a quiet confidence in Morikawa now that seems to grow louder and louder every day. Speaking with CBS Sports earlier in the week, the two-time main champion insisted He is very close to the player he was just a few years ago and putting together four quality rounds is just around the corner. Despite not having traveled to Charlotte very often in his career (this is only his second start at Quail Hollow), Morikawa looked right at home en route to his 4-under 67. He didn’t miss a remaining iron shot, taking advantage of the holes who should and did play the style of golf that will be successful not just this week but, more importantly, next. He can put his four rounds together this week and win, but he can also put four months together and do some major damage in the process.
“I have seen outbreaks here and there over the last few years,” Morikawa said. “I want to race essentially, right? You want to play golf. So it was nice obviously to finish at the Masters, even though it didn’t go the way I wanted, but knowing that this week is going to be great preparation, especially next week, we just have to do everything as much as we can and be ready.”
2024 Wells Fargo Championship odd updated, picks
- Xander Schauffele: 2-1
- Rory McIlroy: 3-1
- Colin Morikawa: 9-1
- Justin Thomas: 14-1
- Max Homa: 16-1
- Alex Noren: 18-1
Schauffele was my pick at the start of the week and he’s my pick after Thursday. If you’re entering the tournament now, there may be a better journey to take, as 2-1 looks short despite your three-stroke lead. Max Homa was impressive in the first round with a 2-under 69. After a sloppy start, the 2019 champion has bounced back and looks primed to battle at Quail Hollow once again.
