Ahead of the PGA Championship at the Valhalla course this week, four-time major champion Rory McIlroy seems to have found his winning form again. The North Irish golfer claimed his fourth victory at the Wells Fargo Championship following a dominating performance.

The 35-year-old entered the competition after claiming a win in his previous start at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In the fifth signature event of the PGA Tour this year, he found himself battling against Xander Schauffele, who was aiming for his first win of the year.

As the two golfers went head-to-head against each other, Schauffele soon found himself falling behind his rival. As the American struggled to keep pace with him, McIlroy continued to run away. A hole-out eagle on the 15th hole saw McIlroy extend his lead to the top by seven shots.

In the end, Rory McIlroy fired a score of 65 and finished 6-under 71 in the final round. He thus finished the event 17-under 267, five shots ahead of Schauffele. Speaking on his win, McIlroy expressed confidence in his chances of getting a positive result at the PGA Championship while claiming that the “stars are aligning a little“.

Going to a venue next week where I’ve won, it feels like the stars are aligning a little, but I’ve got a lot golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat next week. Going into the next Major of the year feeling really good about myself.

Rory McIlroy said as per CBS Sports.

Wells Fargo Championship prize money payout

Rory McIlroy‘s fortune has increased again after another win. His 26th PGA Tour sees him continue to climb the charts of the most PGA Tour wins. The triumph at the Wells Fargo Championship saw him pocket another huge winning cheque.

The win saw McIlroy claim $3.6 million from the $20 million prize purse. This along with the $1.28 million which he earned from the victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Shane Lowry, takes his total earnings from his previous two starts up to $4.8 million.

As for Xander Schauffele, it was another case of “so close yet so far“. Despite being in the lead for the majority of the event, a series of poor shots, derailed his train. This runner-up finish was his eighth top-10 finish of the year. For his valiant efforts, he bagged a cheque of $2.1 million.

Due to this being a signature event, there were no cuts meaning each player earned something. Eric Cole, who finished bottom of the leaderboard at 68th spot, collected a cheque of $41,400.

Up next for the golfers is the PGA Championship. While McIlroy’s win has made him one of the favorites for the second major of the year, the challenge to claim a third successive win will not be an easy one for him. It will be interesting to see who will conquer Valhalla on the upcoming Sunday.