PGA Championship Preview: McIlroy looking to double up at favourable Quail Hollow
Although this week is set to be a heavyweight fight, McIlroy’s quest for another big win is what has everyone talking heading into the second major of the year. Adam Stanley tees up the PGA Championship from Quail Hollow
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Adam Hadwin laughs when he gets asked a question about Rory McIlroy because he admits they are just in different categories. Golfing contemporaries, sure, but McIlroy has more wins this year (three) than Hadwin has top-10s (one). Alas, Hadwin speaks for plenty on the PGA Tour about what McIlroy could do now that he’s completed the career grand slam — and the biggest weight of his life has been lifted.
“In fairness,” Hadwin said Tuesday, “I’m like, scared of what it could do for him moving forward.”
Although this week is set to be a heavyweight fight with all of golf’s biggest names playing well at the same time, McIlroy’s quest for another big win is what has everyone talking heading into the second major of the year.
Before the calendar turned to 2025, if there was going to be a major McIlroy was favoured to win, it would have been this one at Quail Hollow Club. The course is a usual stop on the PGA Tour schedule and McIlroy has previously won here four times — no other multi-time winner of the now Truist Championship has won more than twice. He also has the lowest scoring average at Quail Hollow of anyone in the field, plus holds the course record of 61.
The course underwent some recent changes — it’s now set to play as the third longest on the PGA Tour so far this season — but as Johnson Wagner said recently on the Fried Egg Podcast (Wagner is a PGA Tour winner turned Golf Channel broadcaster and is a member at the course), the changes may have made the course play into McIlroy’s favour even more.
“When Augusta National tried to ‘Tiger-proof’ their golf course, all they did was make it more of an advantage for that player. When you look at the changes we’ve made to Quail Hollow, it only benefits Rory,” he said.
Only five golfers over the last 70 years have managed to win the first two major championships of the year, and McIlroy looks to now join that group, just as he did with the career grand-slam crew after his win at the Masters. It was an emotional release Sunday at Augusta National, and finally, the biggest question of every golfing year was answered.
“It’s funny to me, when you see Rory’s game, every time I went down to Augusta National, I’m like, if there’s ever a golf course that is perfect for this man who can hit a high draw on command better than anybody else, has great hands and great touch, it’s him,” said Jon Rahm. “He’s had so many chances. It’s just, it’s never easy. It’s very difficult. I would not be one bit surprised if this lifted a weight off his shoulders that could get him going on another run, a bit like Xander (Schauffele) did last year. Wins one, gets another one, gets in contention many times, like Scottie (Scheffler) and many other players have done.
“A player of his calibre, you never know.”
It’s been a wet start to the week at the PGA Championship with rain (“soaking rain,” according to one weather network description) through the day Monday and again Tuesday, which caused a closure of the course. There’s set to be more wet weather Wednesday as we inch closer to Thursday’s opener (where McIlroy will be grouped with defending champion Xander Schauffele and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler for the first two days). A long course made even longer seems to play into McIlroy’s hands.
“I would argue he’s the best driver of the ball I’ve ever seen and that is extremely important here,” said Justin Thomas, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, including in 2017, the last time the major was hosted at Quail Hollow.
“That’s a tremendous advantage or threat at any golf course, but I feel like a place like this, where it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of thought or strategy off the tee, it’s generally pulling out driver and just, ‘I need to hit this as far and straight as possible,’ and he’s really, really good at that.”
McIlroy, who also won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship before his Masters victory, was tied for seventh last week at the Truist Championship, which moved from Quail Hollow to the Philadelphia Cricket Club just for this year. It was McIlroy’s fifth top-10 finish of the season.
To go along with Hadwin’s comment about how “scary” things may be for the rest of the field, McIlroy said last week was, well, basically just a warm-up.
“I didn’t feel like I played all that well this week, I still finished seventh,” McIlroy said Sunday. “Even […] what I feel is my bad golf, I’m still there or thereabouts. A couple little improvements and little tweaks, especially going to a place I love like Quail Hollow, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.”
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This week is, of course, not the first time McIlroy has been back in action since his Masters win, but it is the first major. It’s another chance to add to his legacy.
And, perhaps, start a completely new one.
“I wouldn’t be shocked to see him roll off two or three more Masters in the next five years. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see him go for a grand slam in one year,” Hadwin said. “Elated for him to get over that hump and put (winning the Masters) behind him, but a little scared for the rest of us playing major championships.”
CHIP SHOTS: Jordan Spieth is once again gunning for his own career grand slam. His best finish at the PGA Championship is a second in 2015. He comes into the week with four top-20 finishes in his last five starts… Starting in 2016, each of the last nine PGA Championships have been won by Americans… Ninety-nine of the world’s top 100 are in the field this week, with just No. 24 Billy Horschel (injury) not teeing it up… At last year’s Truist Championship, the three hardest holes were Nos. 16-18 (No. 18 was the hardest). It was the only tournament on the PGA Tour last year where the final three holes were the three hardest, in any order… Hideki Matsuyama has made the cut in his last 19 major championship appearances, by far the longest current streak of its kind… Quail Hollow’s ninth hole was lengthened by 25 yards for this year’s PGA Championship. The club also hosted the 2022 Presidents Cup and has been an annual stop on the PGA Tour since 2003 (save for 2017 when it hosted the PGA, 2022 when it hosted the Presidents Cup, and this year)… Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is the only resident member of Quail Hollow who is in the field at the PGA Championship (McIlroy and Phil Mickelson are honorary members). Hughes is hosting the Canadian guys at his home for dinner Tuesday night… Justin Rose is the only golfer who has finished in the top 15 the last five years at the PGA Championship.
BEST BETS:
Eliminating the trio of favourites in Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson DeChambeau, who else is worth a shout this week in Charlotte?
Xander Schauffele (+2000): Schauffele is looking to become the first golfer since Brooks Koepka in 2018-19 to win back-to-back PGA Championships. Schauffele has the second-lowest scoring average of anyone in the field (behind Rory McIlroy) at Quail Hollow and finished runner-up at the Truist Championship the last two seasons. He’s also finished in the top 20 in each of the last 12 majors since 2022, the longest such streak in 60 years.
Corey Conners (+5000): The Canadian was right there at Oak Hill in 2023 before struggling to a 5-over 75 on Sunday after sitting at T1 after 36 holes. He was in the penultimate pairing at the Masters on both Saturday (with McIlroy) and Sunday and has five top-10s so far this season, the second most on the PGA Tour. He’s finished T13-T8 in his last two trips to Quail Hollow.
Patrick Reed (+6000): Reed finished runner-up in 2017 to Justin Thomas at Quail Hollow. He has two top-10s in his last three starts on LIV and finished third at the Masters. Reed is also 23rd on the Ryder Cup points list and you have to think — since he can’t earn points anywhere else — he’s as motivated as ever to try to make that team via another good major finish.
Max Homa (+12500): A bit of a flyer on Homa, but he has won twice at Quail Hollow and finished tied for 12th at the Masters. He also boasts the fifth-best scoring average of anyone in the field in his career at Quail Hollow. Homa has struggled mightily this year, but another lift at a big-time championship could be just the thing he needs.
