Smylie Kaufman states the only question mark there is over Rory McIlroy ahead of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow

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There is absolutely no doubting Rory McIlroy is among the favourites to win the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this week but Smylie Kaufman has pinpointed one potential issue for the Northern Irishman.

McIlroy’s 2025 could not be going much better really. He’s won multiple events, finally won The Masters, and is playing with a freedom and confidence we’ve not seen since his early years.

For McIlroy, the key now is to kick on and win more majors. He’ll be looking at double figures and with four wins at Quail Hollow in his career already, he’ll view the PGA Championship this week as an ideal opportunity.

However, after McIlroy was warned about his wayward driving potentially being an issue, Smylie Kaufman has now pointed to another potential issue.

The one problem Rory McIlroy could have when it comes to winning the PGA Championship

Everyone playing at Quail Hollow this week knows that if Rory McIlroy plays well, he’ll be in contention.

In fact, it’s at a point where he is playing so well that people are having to dig deep to find reasons why McIlroy might not actually win.

Indeed, that’s what Smylie Kaufman has done, as he explained his only reason behind McIlroy potentially losing focus.

“We have some great stats here. Best cumulative score to par at Quail Hollow over the last 15 years, Rory is at -102. Rickie Fowler is next back at -47,” Kaufman explained on his podcast, The Smylie Show.

“He is just so good tee to green. He is first in total tee to green and approach. It’s a perfect golf course for Rory McIlroy. He has to be more accurate with the driver, clean up a bit of the ball striking and if Rory doesn’t play well this week it would be the biggest shocking thing we have seen this year, given the form he is in.

“The one thing I will say is what happens to the mindset of a player who all they have thought about is winning a major championship again? It has been a long, long drought and finally he wins The Masters and the Grand Slam and a month later he is at his next major championship. It is going to be interesting to see how he approaches this week. He is talking about being more relaxed and I am wondering if being more relaxed maybe does not have him quite as focused and on a mission, but that would be the only thing I could bring up.”

• READ MORE: Justin Thomas says which part of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy’s game he’d take for himself ahead of the PGA Championship

Why Bryson DeChambeau thinks Rory McIlroy is so good at Quail Hollow

If there’s one man who might be able to match McIlroy off the tee this week, it’s Bryson DeChambeau.

With wet conditions potentially at play, hitting it long and not relying on run out from the fairways could be a huge advantage.

And for DeChambeau himself has been explaining why he believes McIlroy is so good around Quail.

“I do believe you have to have a lot of distance out here,” DeChambeau said. “Rory is a great driver of the golf ball, and his iron play is great, too.

“I think it’s a golf course that sets up for his shot shapes pretty well, and I think it sets up well for mine, too. We’ll see.”

Having seen the two battle it out at Augusta National, the world of golf will be praying for a repeat come this weekend.