Matt McCarty shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday at Quail Hollow to take the lead at the Truist Championship before rain stopped play, leaving him one shot ahead of Sungjae Im with 20 players still to finish the first round on Friday. Im was on his final hole when the round was halted, and play will resume at 10:30 a.m. ET.
McCarty built his round with nine birdies, including 59-foot and 52-foot putts that helped turn a wet, delayed day into the best score of the morning. He said he had been playing well for weeks, but admitted he was not striking it cleanly early and that the long putts got his day moving before his ball-striking improved on the back nine.
Rory McIlroy, playing his first tournament round since winning his second consecutive Masters more than three weeks earlier, took 17 straight pars before finally making a birdie on No. 9 and finished with a 1-under 70. That left him seven shots behind McCarty after a round that gave little sign of the low scoring he has made routine at Quail Hollow, where he has won four times and set several tournament records.
Five players were three shots back at 5 under, including defending champion Sepp Straka, Kristoffer Reitan, Nicolai Hojgaard, Harry Hall and Nick Taylor. Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood were four back, with Young on his final hole when the rain hit. Justin Rose shot 71, Matt Fitzpatrick had a 3-over 74 and Alex Fitzpatrick carded 67.
The weather shaped the day as much as the golf. A storm Wednesday night and Thursday morning dropped more than two inches of rain on the course and delayed the tournament for several hours before play was suspended again because of rain. The final three holes at Quail Hollow, known as the Green Mile, still await a field that will return Friday with the leaderboard already tilted toward McCarty and the players who managed to make the most of a soaked course.
McCarty came in with four straight top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour, but Thursday was different. He made enough putts to separate from a crowded field, then held the lead when the horn sounded, putting him in position to chase his first round-to-round answer under better conditions Friday.
