Justin Thomas suggests what Rory McIlroy does better than anyone he’s ever seen and it’s ‘extremely important’ at the PGA Championship

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Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are the two players who stand out as favourites for the PGA Championship when you look solely at course history at Quail Hollow.

It is hard to look past Rory McIlroy for the PGA Championship. Many expect the Northern Irishman to play with so much freedom now that he has won The Masters. He has that fifth major and has completed the career grand slam.

Some would even be tempted to back McIlroy to win all four majors this year, particularly with Oakmont and Royal Portrush still to come in 2025.

Certainly, he could have hardly asked for a better venue for the second major of the year. The PGA Championship is set to take place at Quail Hollow this week.

Justin Thomas discusses the advantage Rory McIlroy has at Quail Hollow ahead of the PGA Championship

McIlroy has won four times at that course during his career, with the venue often hosting the event now known as the Truist Championship.

It was Justin Thomas who won the PGA Championship the last time it was held at Quail Hollow in 2017. And ahead of this week’s tournament, the RBC Heritage champion was asked what it is about Quail Hollow that often brings the best out of McIlroy.

“First and foremost, he’s really, really good at golf, so that definitely helps. I would argue he’s the best driver of the ball I’ve ever seen, and that is extremely important here,” he said.

“But I think his shot shape, I think this golf course fits a high draw really, really well. There’s a lot of tee shots, whether it’s holding fairways or fitting doglegs, taking bunkers out of play, whatever it is. He just has — when he’s on, he has such control of that driver, it seems like he can hit it in a window and an area that some guys are trying to hit short irons.

“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.

“That’s something, like I said, that is an advantage at any golf course, but I think just the shot shape and that is a good combination.”

How Rory McIlroy has performed off the tee throughout his PGA Tour career

McIlroy’s consistency with the longest club in the bag is about as impressive as it gets. The last time he was outside of the top 10 on the PGA Tour for driving distance was all the way back in 2010.

He is first for strokes gained off the tee at the start of the 2025 season, according to the PGA Tour website. And that could be particularly advantageous at Quail Hollow given some of the weather they have had in the build-up to the event.

McIlroy will be carrying the ball a lot further than almost anyone else in the field. And given that he is also supremely good with his long irons, there really is the potential for him to leave the rest of the field behind.