Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay both agree over whether the PGA Tour should be playing a signature event the week before a major

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There was plenty of intrigue surrounding Rory McIlroy heading into the Truist Championship, with the Northern Irishman making his first appearance in a 72-hole strokeplay event since winning The Masters.

Rory McIlroy will be fairly pleased with his defence of the Truist Championship. Of course, he was in unfamiliar surroundings at Philadelphia Cricket Club, with Quail Hollow hosting the PGA Championship next week.

McIlroy looked understandably rusty at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. And he never quite managed to get it going at the latest signature event on the PGA Tour. McIlroy was poor off the tee on Saturday, while other parts of his game were not quite at their best over the rest of the week.

It is perhaps a reminder that winning The Masters will not matter a great deal by the time he gets to the PGA Championship in the coming days. And with that, some will wonder how his performance this week will impact him heading to Quail Hollow.

Rory McIlroy issues his verdict on playing a signature event before the PGA Championship

Scottie Scheffler took the week off, while those on LIV Golf were also not in action leading into the second major of the year.

But when asked about playing signature events the week before and after a major, McIlroy insisted that he is more than happy to tee it up as part of his preparation for the biggest events on the calendar.

“Before, I’m all for. After, I wouldn’t — I’m not a huge fan of it, but there’s only so many weeks in the year,” he said.

“I really like playing the week before if it makes sense. I think, again, this week was a great indication of where my game is and what I need to think about and what I need to work on going into next week. But the weeks after majors are tough.”

Patrick Cantlay agrees with McIlroy after the Truist Championship

Patrick Cantlay finished three places and two shots better off than McIlroy. There was a period where it appeared as though the American was making a charge, before he just ran out of time to put pressure on Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry.

And like McIlroy, he insisted that he was more than happy to play a signature event before the PGA Championship.

“I think it’s fine. I like playing the week before a major, get some rhythm, get some reps in. I think it’s great,” he said.

“I don’t think so. I think it’s good prep. We’re very used to playing two, three weeks in a row out here. So nothing out of the ordinary,” he added when asked about whether he is likely to be more fatigued in the coming days.

It will be interesting to see which strategy pays off at Quail Hollow. The likes of McIlroy and Justin Thomas will be amongst the favourites, but they will have to contend with the likes of Scheffler and DeChambeau, who have been able to rest up.