Rory McIlroy returns to Quail Hollow, the scene of his first US PGA Tour victory

Rory McIlroy does not usually play five successive weeks of tournament golf, but the Northern Irishman could not resist returning to the site of his first PGA Tour victory for this week's Wells Fargo Championship.

McIlroy announced his arrival to an admiring American audience when he shot a final round 62 at Quail Hollow in 2010, a year after his first professional win at the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic.

He has played the PGA Tour event every year since, finishing outside the top 10 only once with a missed cut in 2011.

"It doesn't seem that long ago [2010], but great to be back," McIlroy said after playing in the pro-am with Grace Vaughan (pictured), a 16-year-old with a blood disorder who won an essay contest to play with any professional of her choosing.

McIlroy opted to compete this week, but his busy schedule means he will reluctantly miss the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial tournament in early June, two weeks before the US Open.

The Northern Irish world number one loves the event at Muirfield Village in Ohio so much that he wrote Nicklaus a letter to apologise for his absence.

By coincidence, he then met Nicklaus on Monday at the Bears Club in Florida, where they both have their primary residence.