The Live Report: Quail Hollow Championship, Round 4

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Rory McIlroy had plenty to celebrate after setting a course record on his way to his first PGA TOUR win.

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PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report has all the news and notes from the Quail Hollow Championship, and we'll be providing updates all day long for each round, so check back often. FOR COMPLETE QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE, click here. LIVE SCORING: Leaderboard | LISTEN: PGA TOUR Network | RESPOND: Facebook | Twitter | FanZone

FANTASTIC FINISH (5:40 p.m.): After making the cut on the number, Rory McIlroy played his final 36 holes in 16 under, breaking the previous record of the best 36-hole finish by a ridiculous seven strokes.

In that stretch, McIlroy made 17 birdies and an eagle. Time will tell if McIlroy's eagle on No. 7 in Friday's round will indeed be the turning point in his season, but it certainly was for this week because without it, he wouldn't even be here. -- Brian Wacker

Below is a look at McIlroy's scorecard. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.

MICKELSON FINISHES SECOND (5:31 p.m.): Phil Mickelson never got the putter going Sunday -- or much of the week -- but he still shot a solid 68, making a birdie on the final hole to finish second, four shots back of Rory McIlroy. -- Brian Wacker

BEHIND THE SCENES (5:21 p.m.): The Irish eyes were smiling behind the Quail Hollow clubhouse, where Padraig Harrington waited in a shorts and a t-shirt to congratulate his countryman, Rory McIlroy, on his win. The two slapped hands and exchanged a few words before McIlroy signed his scorecard to make official a course record and the lowest final round ever by a winner here.

Anthony Kim, who shot 71 and finished in a tie for seventh, had a front-row seat for it all.

"When you have rounds like that the hole looks like a bucket," said Kim, who knows a little something about being in that zone here and elsewhere. "You don't worry about anything. You don't see the trouble, you just see where you're trying to hit it. When you hit a putt you just know it's going in before it does.

"I'm sure it will give him confidence. He's been having a tough year out here, a win will definitely help. To do it on a Sunday is pretty impressive." -- Brian Wacker

SPINE-TINGLING (5:08 p.m.): The cheers were deafening at the 18th hole as Rory McIlroy punctuated what will be his first PGA TOUR win with a 43-foot birdie putt. The huge crowd leapt to its feet as the Northern Irishman pumped his fist and beamed.

McIlroy closed with a course-record 62 that included six straight 3s at the end. Three-time major champion and fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington was waiting in the scoring area to congratulate the youngster. -- Helen Ross

TELLING STAT OF THE DAY (5:02 p.m.): Maybe Rory McIlroy would have won anyway, but Angel Cabrera has now missed five putts inside 8 feet on his last eight holes. Cabrera isn't exactly known as a great putter, but it doesn't get much worse than that. -- Brian Wacker

MCILROY KEEPS ON MAKING THEM (4:44 p.m.): Rory McIlroy isn't just making birdies, he's about to make history by becoming the youngest winner on the PGA TOUR since Tiger Woods in 1996. The 20-year-old has played his last three holes in 4 under. He's also closing in on the a course record (64) and the lowest final round by a winner here, which is currently a 66 by Vijay Singh in 2005. McIlroy has seven birdies and an eagle and if he can par his way in he'd shoot 63. -- Brian Wacker

MCILROY CLOSING IN (4:30 p.m.): It looks like Rory McIlroy is going to get his first career win on the PGA TOUR. The soon-to-be 21-year-old just hit the shot of the tournament, absolutely sticking it on the par-5 15th to set up a 4-foot eagle putt, which he made to extend his lead to three.

Angel Cabrera is doing his best to keep pace, birdieing No. 14 to get to 10 under, but he and Phil Mickelson are still three back with only a handful of holes left. It especially hurt that Cabrera could only manage a par on No. 15 after missing a short birdie putt. -- Brian Wacker

ALERT LEVEL ORANGE (4:20 p.m.): Rickie Fowler just finished off a final round of 67, which moves him into a tie for seventh at the moment. It also gives him some pretty good momentum going into his first PLAYERS Championship.

"I'm pumped," Fowler said. "I've always watched THE PLAYERS and it's one of my favorite tournaments. If I play well, I think I'll have a very good chance."

Pretty bold words for a 21-year-old making his first appearance in that tournament. But Fowler is right. His ball-striking should play well there. And confidence is not something Fowler lacks. That's obvious just by his Sunday-orange outfit.

"I was waiting for the orange shirts to come out from Puma," Fowler said. "Orange is the color of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. That' where I came from. Got to support my boys back there." -- Brian Wacker

MCILROY MAKES ANOTHER BIRDIE (4:10 p.m.): The lead is now two for Rory McIlroy, who is seeking his first career win on the PGA TOUR. McIlroy just birdied the par-4 14th, giving him 15 birdies over his last 32 holes -- and just two bogeys.

There are, however, four players two shots back, including Phil Mickelson, who just bombed in a 43-footer for birdie on the par-3 13th. -- Brian Wacker

ROR-ING BACK (3:52 p.m.): Rory McIlroy just took the lead thanks to a bogey by Angel Cabrera on No. 12. There's obviously a long way to go, but should McIlroy go on to win, he'd become the first player since Chris Couch in 2006 to make the cut on the number then go on to victory. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON GOES RIGHTY (3:35 p.m.): Except for golf, Phil Mickelson does everything right-handed. That came in handy just a moment ago when his ball was nearly up against a tree on the 10th hole. Unable to get the club on it with his normal swing, Mickelson flipped his iron over and punched out right-handed. He got the ball back into play, but he fanned his next shot left of the green. -- Brian Wacker

MCILROY NOW TIED (3:30 p.m.): Back and forth they go. Rory McIlroy continues to have a very good ball-striking day and just made his fifth birdie of the day, rolling in a short one on No. 11 to get to 10 under and into a tie for the lead with Angel Cabrera. -- Brian Wacker

CABRERA BACK ON TOP (3:28 p.m.): Angel Cabrera just reclaimed the solo lead with his fourth birdie in his last six holes. That moves Cabrera to 10 under and one shot clear of Brendon de Jonge and Rory McIlroy. Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, is another shot back of that. -- Brian Wacker

EAGLE LANDS (3:15 p.m.): Brendon de Jonge is now within one after driving the green on the 346-yard par-4 14th, where he hit it to 17 feet and made the eagle putt to get to 8 under. Eighteen players have driven that hole this week, but de Jonge is the first to make eagle.

De Jonge, who lives here in Charlotte, is already in the field for next week's PLAYERS Championship -- for now. He is the last guy in the field as of right now, but if Billy Mayfair should win, that would knock de Jonge out. -- Brian Wacker

MCILROY GRABS SHARE OF LEAD (3:05 p.m.): How good are Rory McIlroy and Angel Cabrera playing right now? They have a collective seven birdies between them -- and no bogeys. They also share the lead at 9 under right now after McIlroy, who turns just 21 on Tuesday, closed out the front nine with his third straight birdie. Cabrera, meanwhile, has made birdies on three of his last four holes. -- Brian Wacker

MAJOR MOVERS (2:50 p.m.): Scoring conditions are about as tough as they've been all week with the wind blowing in the 20-plus mph range, but it doesn't seem to be bothering Angel Cabrera. The 2009 Masters champ is now in the lead after three straight birdies on Nos. 5-7. He has company, though, in the form of another major champion in Padraig Harrington, who is 5 under through 16 holes and just two back. Harrington's ball-striking has been phenomenal, hitting 13 of 16 greens in regulation, though he did just bogey the 16th hole.

Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson are right there, too. They are just one shot back and 3 and 1 under, respectively, on their rounds. -- Brian Wacker

TOUGH FINISH (2:25 p.m.): As important as it is for players to make birdies on the easier front nine at Quail Hollow, its final three holes (nicknamed the Green Mile) are what could determine the winner. Either way, that stretch boasts some pretty intimidating numbers through the years as you can see below. -- Brian Wacker

WILSON BOGEY-FREE (2:06 p.m.): The best round of the day so far is Mark Wilson's. The former University of North Carolina standout is 5 under through 14 holes with zero bogeys and five birdies -- the latest of which just came at No. 14. That's moved Wilson all the way up to a tie for fourth at the moment after he started his day in 36th place. -- Brian Wacker

GOOD START FOR MAYFAIR (1:50 p.m.): So far, so good for Billy Mayfair. Even though he pushed his opening drive to the right, he still made par on the first hole to maintain his two-shot lead. One thing about Mayfair is when he's been in this position before, leading after 54 holes, he has a pretty good track record of closing the deal (see below). Of course, we should probably mention the last time came a dozen years ago. -- Brian Wacker

BIRDIE ALERT (1:43 p.m.): With a baker's dozen of players within four shots of Billy Mayfair's lead, the final round here should be mostly wide open. And now you can add Brendon de Jonge's name to the mix -- he has three birdies over his first seven holes and is now just three back. That's not a huge surprise, though. Most of the damage here this week has been done on the front nine (see chart below). -- Brian Wacker

THEY'RE OFF (1:35 p.m.): The final group of the day, leader Billy Mayfair and Davis Love III, just teed off. Mayfair had the body lean going right away and sure enough his ball landed in the right rough. Love, who was born in Charlotte and lived here for all of eight months, is dressed in his North Carolina blue and found the fairway. You can follow them live all day with Shot Tracker, by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON TEES OFF (1:25 p.m.): Phil Mickelson just teed off with most of the sellout crowd here seemingly following him. Mickelson's ball-striking has been very good this week and he just gave himself a birdie opportunity on the first hole, hitting it to 17 feet. Of course, putting has been a different story. Mickelson has made just one putt outside of 10 feet all week. -- Brian Wacker

EARLY MOVERS (1 p.m.): The humidity is up and so is the wind, but there are some good scores being shot in the morning wave. Mark Wilson, who went to college at University of North Carolina, is 4 under through his first 10 holes, while a number of others, including Padraig Harrington and Rickie Fowler are 3 under.

Lee Westwood had gotten off to a good start with four birdies in his first six holes, but he's since plummeted, making three bogeys and a double bogey over his last seven holes. -- Brian Wacker

PHIL'S PUTTING PROBLEMS (12:31 p.m.): Phil Mickelson, who is just two off the lead and will tee off in about an hour, has had his share of struggles with the putter this week. That was evident by his post-round comments from Saturday when he was critical of the designs of the greens here.

Mickelson isn't the only player to have been critical this week, but looking at his numbers it's easy to understand why he has been. Through three rounds, he ranks 54th in the field on putts inside 10 feet (he's missed 10 putts inside 10 feet) and he is in putts made over 10 feet (just one all week). -- Brian Wacker

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (12:10 p.m.): How good has Billy Mayfair been this week compared to the rest of this season? The numbers below speak for themselves. -- Brian Wacker

MAYFAIR MAGIC (12 p.m.): The biggest reason Billy Mayfair will begin today's final round with a two-stroke lead is, well, a number of reasons actually. He's second in the field in driving accuracy, second in putting average, 18th in greens in regulation, third on putts inside 10 feet and first, of course, in total birdies with 17.

For Mayfair, it all started in New Orleans, where he strung together a couple of good rounds and has been riding the wave of momentum ever since. It may sound insignificant, but as Mayfair pointed out, winning is winning and he's done a lot of that lately with the Monday qualifier to get in here, a match at his home course Whisper Rock and even a game against his wife, who he had to give a bunch of shots to.

Now Mayfair will try to end a victory drought that stretches all the way back to the middle of the Clinton administration. -- Brian Wacker

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   1:05 p.m. ET No. 1 Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy Two of the best young players in the world could feed off each other's momentum, looking for come-from-behind wins. 1:25 p.m. ET, No. 1 J.J. Henry, Phil Mickelson If Mickelson can make up a two-shot deficit and win, he'll be one PLAYERS victory away from becoming No. 1 in the world. 1:35 p.m. ET, No. 1 Davis Love III, Billy Mayfair Love would, well, love to lift another trophy in his home state. Mayfair seeks to end a 12-year PGA TOUR winless drought.

MORE ROUND 4: Tee times | Inside the field | Inside the course