Rory McIlroy sets string of records at Wells Fargo Championship

In his hay day, Tiger Woods, 40, drew public attention due to the question of by how many pars he will defeat the rival, rather than whether he would win a title at all. He dominated the rivals so overwhelmingly that he would hear the expression that he "rules the field."

Rory McIlroy, 26, from Northern Island appears to have now taken over the post. He displayed this at the Wells Fargo Championship of the PGA tour that ended at Quail Hollow Club (par 72) in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday. McIlroy, No. 1 player in global rankings, reduced three pars on the day and posted 21-under 267 overall, breaking the record of fewest pars (16 under pars) that Korean American golfer Anthony Kim set when he won the title in 2008, by five pars. He thus beat over Patrick Rogers and Webb Simpson of the U.S., who tied for second, by a gap of seven pars, and thus broke the record of winning the championship by the largest gap in number of pars. He also garnered 27 birdies for four days, a record ever in the history of the tournament. He is also the first golfer to win the championship twice in total. McIlroy, who had his first career championship of the PGA tour at the championship in 2010, collected two trophies in the three recent championships. Woods is the only active pro golfer under age 40 that has secured more wins than McIlroy (11 titles in total).

McIlroy’s most powerful weapon is his explosive long-range shots. His driving distance amounted to 321.1 yards on average for the four days of the championship, as he ranked first in this category. Notably, he had a 364-yard drive shot at 514-yard, par-four Hole 16 that is famous for its high difficulty level, and played his second shot with the gap wedge (interim between pitching wedge and sand wedge) with 141 yards to go, to secure a birdie. When he played impressive 11 under 61 the previous day, he aimed his shot at the green with clubs below Iron 9 at the 15 holes except three par-three holes in the golf course that extends the 7,562 yards in total. McIlroy said, “I feel great to see my name at the top of the rankings. It was a championship where I realized that I am the world’s best. It was victory that will serve a turning point as I play during the remaining period of this season.”

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