Golfbet Recap: Betting favorite Rory McIlroy rallies past Xander Schauffele for fourth Wells Fargo title

By the time we got to the final round and the final pairing of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club, this was a two-person race for the title. It felt like a Sunday Singles match at a Ryder Cup for all the marbles. They had the stage all to themselves. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy vs. American Xander Schauffele.

If it had been a fight, they would have stopped it – after about four or five rounds. Coming off the low round of the day on Saturday, a four-under par 67, McIlroy blistered the golf course on Sunday with a 6-under round of 65 to beat Schauffele by five shots and win this event for the fourth time in his career, finishing with a winning score of 17-under.

At 12-under, Schauffele had led the championship from Day 1 and entered Sunday as a -110 favorite to close it out, beginning the final round one shot better than McIlroy. But it wasn’t to be.

Round-by-round odds on Rory McIlroy to win Wells Fargo Championship (via BetMGM Sportsbook):

• Pre-tournament: +750
• After Round 1 (T2, trailed by 3): +360
• After Round 2 (T2, trailed by 4): +400
• After Round 3 (second, trailed by 1): +105

The early rounds of the bout were back-and-forth, and it felt like we were in for a dandy of a duel on a Sunday in Charlotte. After six holes, both players were tied again for the lead at 11-under. McIlroy then three-putted for par on the par-5 seventh hole, while Schauffle poured in an eagle to take a two-shot advantage and assumed the role of a -225 favorite.

It was then that the championship run began for McIlroy. Through hole Nos. 8-15, McIlroy went 8-under while Schauffele played the eight-hole stretch in Even. McIlroy made his first and second eagles of the day at Nos. 10 and 15, the latter a hole-out from a greenside bunker, and this duel was now only a one-man show.

McIlroy came into Sunday's final round ranking 30th in the field for Strokes Gained: Putting. He and Schauffele were basically 1-2 in every other key category, but the putter had been stuck in neutral for the three-time Wells Fargo champ. McIlroy gained nearly four strokes putting on the field on Sunday, moving him up in the rankings 22 spots to finish eighth overall. Schauffle lost nearly two strokes to the field putting on Sunday and ranked 60th for SG: Putting in the final round alone.

Results from outright picks for Golfbet Experts:

• Will Gray: Cameron Young (+2500) T34
• Ben Everill: Wyndham Clark (+1400) T47
• Chris Breece: Xander Schauffele (+900) 2nd
• Matt DelVecchio: Stephan Jaeger (+5500) T21
• Rob Bolton: Rory McIlroy (+750) WIN
• Mike Glasscott: Rory McIlroy (+750) WIN

I invite you to now take a stroll down "Narrative Street" with me for a moment as we head to Louisville, Kentucky, for the season's second major championship. It was 2014 when McIlroy last. won a major, capturing the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, the same site as this year's championship. He came into that week in 2014 off two straight victories. Fast-forward 10 years to 2024 and McIlroy arrives at Valhalla, once again, off two straight victories. Are the stars aligning? Will McIlroy be golf's version of Mystik Dan, winning by a nose in the state of Kentucky?

At BetMGM, McIlroy was +1200 to win the PGA Championship prior to teeing off at the Wells Fargo Championship. After taming Quail Hollow Club for the fourth time, McIlroy is now +900 to win at Valhalla next week. I imagine BetMGM will book quite a bit of action on McIlroy to make it three wins in a row after being beaten up pretty badly with his win this week in North Carolina. As we reported earlier this week inside the "Prop Farm," McIlroy was No. 1 at BetMGM for the Wells Fargo Championship in the outright market for ticket count, handle, and liability.

The second major of the season just took on a whole new level of excitement after the show McIlroy put on this Sunday – for golf fans, bettors, and oddsmakers.

Rob Bolton Sleeper Picks and Golfbet Insider results:

• Harris English to win (+5000) T34
• Sahith Theegala Top 5 Finish (+450) T52
• Brendon Todd Top 10 Finish (+600) T60
• Kevin Tway Top 20 Finish (+500) T43
• Emiliano Grillo Top 30 Finish (+210) T64
• Viktor Hovland Top 20 Finish (+110) T24
• Adam Scott Top Australian (+138) T29
• Matthieu Pavon Top 30 Finish (+120) 67th
• Chris Kirk Top 20 Finish (+160) T43
• Corey Conners Top Canadian (+250) T13
• Tony Finau Top 10 Finish (+275) T52
• Rickie Fowler Top 20 Finish (+175) T43
• Stephan Jaeger Top Continental European (+400) T21
• Rory McIlroy Top European (+200) WIN
• Andrew Putnam Top 30 Finish (+120) T29

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