CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rory McIlroy was more methodical than electrifying Sunday.

It was still effective.

Always in control, the world’s top-ranked player became the first two-time winner in the Wells Fargo Championship with a seven-shot victory over Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers.

McIlroy closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 21-under 267, shattering the tournament record by five strokes. He entered the day with a four-stroke lead over Simpson after a course-record 61 on Saturday.

“Everything is firing on all cylinders for me,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy also won the Match Play Championship two weeks ago in San Francisco and now has 11 PGA Tour titles. He has six top-10 finishes in his last eight PGA Tour starts.

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McIlroy won at Quail Hollow in 2010 for his first PGA Tour title, shooting 15 under. Anthony Kim set the previous tournament record of 16 under in 2008.

“The golf course just sets up really well for me,” McIlroy said.

Phil Mickelson called McIlroy’s performance this week “impressive.”

McIlroy had another word to describe his play on the back nine.

“Boring,” he said with a laugh.

Unlike his win in 2010, McIlroy didn’t finish in a flurry by carding 3s on the last six holes. He played the last half-dozen holes in 1-under.

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Then again, he didn’t need to shoot a low round.

“It was a more controlled run,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I’m a more controlled player these days. I’ve learned how to finish things off.”

Rodgers, playing on a sponsor exemption, was the only player to mount a challenge, getting within three shots after a birdie at No. 15. But there was too much ground to make up, and he played the final two holes in 3-over and finished with a 68. Simpson shot a 72.

McIlroy almost didn’t play at Quail Hollow, but decided he needed to play more to climb up in the FedEx Cup standings. The win moved him into third place.

McIlroy got off to a shaky start with a three-putt bogey on No. 2 – his first in 167 holes – but quickly pulled it together. He didn’t have another bogey until the 17th hole.

Simpson failed to capitalize on McIlroy’s early mistake, shooting 37 on the front nine that included a double bogey on the par-3 sixth when he three-putted from 8 feet. That dropped the Charlotte resident six shots back, and he was never in contention again.

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“He’s our best player right now and I wish more than anything I could have shot a couple under on the front to make it more exciting,” Simpson said. “Just didn’t have it today.”

LPGA: Minjee Lee played a five-hole stretch in 5 under to open a four-stroke lead when final-round play was suspended because of darkness in the Kingsmill Championship at Williamsburg, Virginia.

After making an eagle on the par-5 15th, the 18-year-old Australian was on the par-4 16th when the horn sounded. She hit her approach to the green but opted to mark the ball and finish the hole when play resumes at 7 a.m. Monday.

Lee was 7 under in a 10-hole stretch after a 2-hour rain delay to reach 16 under.

Alison Lee was alone in second with four holes to play.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Jeff Maggert won the Regions Tradition at Birmingham, Alabama, for his first major victory on the Champions Tour, beating Kevin Sutherland with a 3-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff.

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Maggert closed with an even-par 72 to match Sutherland at 14-under 274. Sutherland had a 71.

Maggert’s only previous Champions Tour win came in Mississippi last year in his first start on the 50-and-over tour.

Jeff Hart and Gene Sauers shot 69 to tie for third at 11 under. Michael Allen (68), Bernhard Langer (70), two-time winner Tom Lehman (69) and 2014 champion Kenny Perry (70) were 9 under.

EUROPEAN TOUR: England’s James Morrison won the Spanish Open for his second European Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a four-stroke victory.

Morrison finished at 10-under 278. Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, the defending champion, closed with a 67 to tie for second with England’s David Howell (73), Italy’s Francesco Molinari (71) and France’s Edouard Espana (69).


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