In the $20 million signature event, in which there is no cut, Indian Americans Sahit Thegala (73) were T-49 and Akshay Bhatia (74) were T-60.
Korean star Sungjae Im returned from illness last week with a strong 3-under 68 to move into tied fifth place. The two-time PGA Tour winner had five birdies against two bogeys at the sixth signature event of the season at Quail Hollow Club to finish behind first-round leader Xander Schauffele, who shot a stellar 6 that included a touch of good fortune on three. Stroke lead over Koli Morikawa, Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy. Quail Hollow is one of McIlroy's favorite courses.In 2010, McIlroy closed with a 62, including six straight 3s on his card, to win his first PGA Tour title two days before turning 21.
He followed that up with a seven-shot victory in 2015, breaking the tournament record of 21-under 267 after a course-record 61 in the third round. He added his third title in 2021. The only other player to win the Wells Fargo Championship multiple times is Homa, the 2019 and 2022 champion. Homa recovered from a poor start after bogeying two of his first three holes to post a score of 69.Korean pair Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An carded matching 70s while Tom Kim shot 73. Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama withdrew before the start of his round due to a back injury.
The 26-year-old Im was glad to be back at Quail Hollow, where he finished eighth last season and also played for the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup at the highly rated golf course.
He had to miss the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas last week after falling ill upon returning from Korea after a successful defense of the Korean PGA Tour tournament.
Starting his day off the 10th tee, seven-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele made eagles and birdies on his last three holes, the seventh and ninth, to take a three-shot lead, his largest through 18 holes.Tournament history.
He was lucky on the seventh hole when his teammate Windham Clarke found the high ball within the allotted three minutes of searching for the ball after an errant drive and was then able to take a drop thanks to the Shotlink tower.
After taking a 6-under lead with an eagle on the seventh, Schauffele sent his tee shot on No. 8 about 10 yards into some heavy woods and the ball stopped near a metal fence line. Schauffele was able to get relief from the rules officer and fell outside the woods due to a makeshift immovable object.
Schauffele was able to chip in from the edge of the green to two-putt for par.
McIlroy was within two shots of Schauffele, but his fairway wood caught sand outside a bunker on the par-5 15th and the ball went about 50 yards to the right.This led to one bogey on two of his last four holes.
Korean star Sungjae Im returned from illness last week with a strong 3-under 68 to move into tied fifth place. The two-time PGA Tour winner had five birdies against two bogeys at the sixth signature event of the season at Quail Hollow Club to finish behind first-round leader Xander Schauffele, who shot a stellar 6 that included a touch of good fortune on three. Stroke lead over Koli Morikawa, Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy. Quail Hollow is one of McIlroy's favorite courses.In 2010, McIlroy closed with a 62, including six straight 3s on his card, to win his first PGA Tour title two days before turning 21.
He followed that up with a seven-shot victory in 2015, breaking the tournament record of 21-under 267 after a course-record 61 in the third round. He added his third title in 2021. The only other player to win the Wells Fargo Championship multiple times is Homa, the 2019 and 2022 champion. Homa recovered from a poor start after bogeying two of his first three holes to post a score of 69.Korean pair Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An carded matching 70s while Tom Kim shot 73. Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama withdrew before the start of his round due to a back injury.
The 26-year-old Im was glad to be back at Quail Hollow, where he finished eighth last season and also played for the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup at the highly rated golf course.
He had to miss the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas last week after falling ill upon returning from Korea after a successful defense of the Korean PGA Tour tournament.
Starting his day off the 10th tee, seven-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele made eagles and birdies on his last three holes, the seventh and ninth, to take a three-shot lead, his largest through 18 holes.Tournament history.
He was lucky on the seventh hole when his teammate Windham Clarke found the high ball within the allotted three minutes of searching for the ball after an errant drive and was then able to take a drop thanks to the Shotlink tower.
After taking a 6-under lead with an eagle on the seventh, Schauffele sent his tee shot on No. 8 about 10 yards into some heavy woods and the ball stopped near a metal fence line. Schauffele was able to get relief from the rules officer and fell outside the woods due to a makeshift immovable object.
Schauffele was able to chip in from the edge of the green to two-putt for par.
McIlroy was within two shots of Schauffele, but his fairway wood caught sand outside a bunker on the par-5 15th and the ball went about 50 yards to the right.This led to one bogey on two of his last four holes.
