Wells Fargo Championship: Tommy Fleetwood leads as Rory McIlroy returns at Quail Hollow

Fleetwood is playing successful his 116th PGA Tour lawsuit but is yet to triumph one

Tommy Fleetwood leads the Wells Fargo Championship by 1 changeable aft carding a superb six-under-par 65 successful circular one.

Three-time victor Rory McIlroy, playing successful his archetypal lawsuit since missing the chopped astatine past month's Masters, deed a 68 astatine Quail Hollow connected his 34th birthday.

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is simply a changeable further backmost connected 2 under.

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I consciousness relaxed present - McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is simply a three-time victor of the Wells Fargo Championship - successful 2010, 2015 and 2021

The Northern Irishman said earlier successful the week that helium withdrew from April's RBC Heritage PGA Tour event, aft his disappointment astatine Augusta National, for his "mental and affectional wellbeing".

But aft a circular featuring 4 birdies and 1 bogey, the satellite fig 3 said: "I consciousness relaxed here. It's conscionable a level of comfortableness astatine this play people and astatine this nine that I astir apt don't person astatine immoderate different venue.

"I've played present truthful galore times I cognize wherever to miss it. I missed a fewer greens but I didn't consciousness similar I deed the shot that badly.

"It was conscionable truly bully to beryllium retired determination again - bully to consciousness similar I played well. I didn't privation to walk my day day grinding connected the range."

He started Thursday's circular connected the 10th spread and got up-and-down from a greenside bunker to birdie his archetypal spread of the day.

He picked up a further changeable astatine the 14th and past recovered to debar dropping a changeable astatine the 15th aft uncovering himself successful different greenside bunker.

The four-time large victor saved par from disconnected the greenish connected 16 and 17 and again connected the 2nd and the third.

McIlroy's lone bogey came aft helium drove retired of bounds connected the par-five seventh.

He thumped his provisional thrust 352 yards down the mediate of the fairway, deed his 170-yard attack to 24 feet and narrowly missed a putt that would person saved his par.

The European Ryder Cup subordinate got the changeable backmost connected his past spread of the day, the par-four ninth, sinking an 11-foot birdie putt to decorativeness 3 under.

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