Horses for Courses: Rory McIlroy primed for more major, Quail Hollow success at PGA Championship

The PGA Championship returns this week to Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, the site of an annual PGA TOUR event, the Truist Championship. The familiarity of the routing and greens complexes provides some clues about which stars will shine brightest at the second major championship of the season. The first major of the season, the Masters, was won by the second choice in the betting markets this week, Rory McIlroy (+450). Golfers and bettors amplify the importance of course history at Augusta National Golf Club, and those factors return to prominence this week as McIlroy headlines the field at Quail Hollow.

Nobody has had more success on the 7,626-yard par 71 than the Ulsterman. He won twice when it was par 72 before the 2017 PGA Championship and twice, including the 2024 edition, on the newer par-71 layout. He owns nine top-10 paydays, plus the course record (61) and tournament scoring (to par) records (21 under). The five-time major champion has won the Wanamaker Trophy twice (2012 and 2014).

2017 PGA Championship Quail Hollow Club

Players listed below are competing this week.

The 2017 edition shifted to a par 71 from the par 72 used during its regular spot on the schedule and played 7,600 yards. The event, played in August in firm and fast conditions, featured new greens installed in 2016. This year, for only the second time in major championship history (including the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island), the course, from tee to green, including the rough, will be overseeded. The extra yards for the 2025 edition come from a new tee box on hole No. 9.

Justin Thomas (+2000), the winner of the first PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club at age 24 and champion at Southern Hills in a playoff in 2022, is one of four multiple champions in the field. Highlighted by his win, he earned T7 on debut in 2015 and owns five paydays of T26 or better from six career starts. Thomas owns four top-10 paydays from the eight weekends he has advanced to the weekend in the PGA Championship.

The tournament's defending champion, Xander Schauffele (+2200), won his first major championship at Valhalla by setting the major championship record to par at 21 under, which included matching the best 18-hole score in major championship history: an opening-round 62. The Californian finished second to McIlroy at the 2024 Truist Championship and behind Wyndham Clark (+11000) at the 2023 edition. Never missing out on the weekend festivities in Charlotte in five attempts, he’s cashed T24 or better four times. Since the PGA Championship moved to May, he’s earned T18 or better money in five of six visits.

Strokes Gained: Putting

Players listed below are competing this week; 2025 ranking

While Quail Hollow is one of the longest, most demanding tracks tee-to-green used on TOUR and in major championships, including the “Green Mile” finishing holes, do not forget the overseeded Poa trivialis greens require mastery. The putting surfaces, 6,500 square feet on average, will be found from the fairway and the rough, but the proximity numbers suggest that getting it close is not easy. The SubAir System humming below the surface will keep moisture out of the greens, causing balls to bound and bounce on approach. Without the ability to spin balls from rough, the trajectory will be to safety, not the flag. Approach putts from 40-plus feet are subjected to championship speeds on the Stimpmeter and require proper weight and line. Remember, major championship golf tests every club in the bag, not only the big stick and long irons. There will be more bogeys than birdies this week! Saving shots on the greens is paramount.

A champion at Quail Hollow in 2019, Max Homa (+17000) added a T8 in both 2023 and 2024. A winner at Torrey Pines and The Riviera Country Club, the Californian has demonstrated his qualities on demanding layouts. If Augusta is a comparison, I’ll note he cashed T12-T3 in his last two visits to the Masters.

Although never a winner at Quail Hollow, Brooks Koepka (+4000) is the only three-time PGA champion in the field of 156 professionals. Koepka joined Woods as the only players to repeat as winners this century after hoisting the title in the final August event in 2018 and then in the first May event of 2019.

The 107th PGA Championship tournament notables

• The field of 156 includes 99 of the top 100 from the Official World Golf Rankings. Billy Horschel (hip surgery) is the only player missing.
• The field is the only major championship that does not feature amateur players; 20 PGA of America Professionals are entered.
• At age 50 in 2021, Phil Mickelson won his second PGA Championship and became the oldest major champion ever.
• The youngest champion was Gene Sarazen (20 years old) in 1922.
• This century, three players have won on debut: Shaun Micheel (2003, Oak Hill), Keegan Bradley (2011, Atlanta Athletic Club) and Collin Morikawa (2020 TPC Harding Park). Micheel is the only player in recent memory to earn his first PGA TOUR victory at this event.
• There are 13 former champions in the field this week. The number was 14 before Vijay Singh withdrew on Monday.
• In 2012, McIlroy won by eight, the largest margin of victory in stroke play.
• McIlroy is the last player to win the week before winning the PGA Championship (2014).
• In 2019, Koepka became the first wire-to-wire winner since 1983.
• Jason Day, the 2015 champion, is the last international winner.
• There have been five playoffs this century. Thomas won the last one in 2022.
• After two rounds, the field will be cut to the top 70 plus ties
• The winner this week will take home 750 FedExCup points.

Oddsmaker’s extras

• Scottie Scheffler (+400): The No. 1 player in the OWGR was 0-3-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup here. It’s his only official visit.
• Bryson DeChambeau (+700): Making his first appearance since T9 in 2021, he ran solo fourth with rounds of 65 and 66 in 2018. Like Scheffler, he was 0-3-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup. He settled for T33 at the 2017 PGA Championship.
• Jon Rahm (+1800): Posting rounds of 76-70 in 2021, the Spaniard did not qualify for the weekend in his only visit. His last top 10 at the PGA Championship was T8 in 2021.
• Ludvig Åberg (+2500): The Swede, making his debut this week at Quail Hollow, is playing in his sixth major championship.
• Collin Morikawa (+2500): The two-time major winner missed qualifying for the weekend in 2023. Returning for the 2024 edition, he opened 67-70 before fading to T16.
• Tommy Fleetwood (+4500): After missing the cut on his maiden voyage in 2018, the Englishman returned with T14 in 2021, T5 in 2023 and T13 in 2024.
• Jason Day (+8000): The 2015 winner at Whistling Straits finished second in 2016 at Baltusrol and shared ninth at Quail Hollow in 2017. The following year, he won the Truist Championship and cashed T4 in the 2024 event.
• Sungjae Im (+10000): Not known as a power player off the tee, the Korean earned T4 in 2024 after T8 in 2023 and has made the cut in three of four attempts.
• Keith Mitchell (+12000): Highlighted by T3 in 2021 and T8 in 2019, he is a perfect four-for-four here in his career.
• Denny McCarthy (+17000): All eight rounds at Quail Hollow are 71 or better, earning T6 2024 and T8 2023.

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