WATCH: Rory McIlroy's 50-foot eagle putt in Wells Fargo opening round to trail Xander Schauffele
![Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy after making an eagle on the seventh hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)](https://www.newsletter.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjEyODA1OTJhLTk1NzQtNDkwZi05NDE1LTZiYTAxOTNmZGE0NTpjNmUwZTMyNC1jZjE2LTQ0OGEtYjFiYi1kN2RmYjRjNjA0YjQ=.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy after making an eagle on the seventh hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)](/img/placeholder.png)
Xander Schauffele’s 64 secured the largest 18-hole lead in the tournament’s history – with Collin Morikawa, Alex Noren and McIlroy next in line.
McIlroy’s highlight arrived on the par-five seventh with his eagle putt from 50 feet.
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Hide AdHe banked three successive birdies in the middle of the first nine.
Having opened with back-to-back pars, McIlroy hit the turn having suffered a bogey on nine.
He started the second leg with a birdie before bogey trouble – a sequence he matched over 13 and 15 to sit joint second with Noren and Collin Morikawa having returned to the clubhouse to join Schauffele.
A birdie on the 16th arrived between bogey blues over the 15th and 18th in Charlotte.
It marked a positive start overall by McIlroy in the bid for a record fourth Wells Fargo Championship crown.
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