It is hard to remember a PGA Championship which has had a better build-up than this year, with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau all vying for the trophy at Quail Hollow.
It appears highly likely that the 2025 PGA Championship will be treated to a star-studded leaderboard. Both Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau go into the second major of the year off the back of a victory in their latest appearance.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has already won on three occasions this year. And with that most recent win coming at The Masters, many will be expecting the 36-year-old to play with a freedom which he has not had in the majors for 11 years now.
McIlroy also has a fantastic record at Quail Hollow, having won four times at the course previously.
Smylie Kaufman suggests whether he makes Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler the favourite to win the PGA Championship
But the Northern Irishman has not yet found that top gear since winning at Augusta National. He looked rusty at the Zurich Classic and did not have his best stuff at the Truist Championship this past week.
And with Scheffler winning by eight at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson the previous week, Smylie Kaufman has told The Smylie Show that he would tentatively give the world number one the edge heading into Quail Hollow.
“It’s right even odds for me. I would probably lean Scottie right now. History shows it’s very difficult to win back to back majors. That’s why I lean Scottie a little bit, he’s a little bit more rested,” he said.
“But I think this week was a good week for him, talking about Rory at Philly, in the fact that he knows he’s got to go work on his ball-striking a little bit. I was out there with him all week pretty much, saw him play just about every hole it felt like, and he was a little bit off at times. And I think he’s talked a little bit about how Houston, for instance this year, wide open golf course, that he kind of struggled with picking certain lines off of tees, and struggled to hit fairways. He struggled to hit fairways this week, and Quail, of course, is a little bit more tree-lined, it’s shaped a little bit better and he drives it better, hits more fairways there than a place that maybe you can’t really pick targets quite as well. So I look for him to try and improve a little bit on his driving at Quail.
“But then at times when he had to hit the mid-to-long iron shot, which was not a ton this week, I felt like he didn’t quite have that hold shot. He was hitting really, really nice knockdown iron shots, which was something he struggled with for years, with his ball-striking, but that side of his game was really good. So when he does have wedges next week, I don’t feel bad about that. He just seemed like his mid-to-long iron game kind of had the lefts going a little bit, was maybe a little bit underneath it. I think he’ll probably work a little bit on his ball-striking on Tuesday and Wednesday in the lead-up before this knowing it was a little bit off, and at Quail, you’ve got to be really on with those mid-to-long irons.”
The one big question mark over Scottie Scheffler heading into the PGA Championship
While you could easily make the case for Scheffler, it appears that there are numerous avenues you could head down which put McIlroy as the front-runner, too.
Scheffler’s consistency has been so impressive this year, and he has been trending in the right direction throughout the season. And it definitely felt as though he was making a statement to his rivals at TPC Craig Ranch.
However, Scheffler has next to no experience at Quail Hollow – apart from the 2022 Presidents Cup. And the 28-year-old did not have the best week on that occasion.
But he has reached another level now. It would be a real shock if he really struggled in the coming days.
Scheffler has more momentum than McIlroy when you consider their most recent appearance on the PGA Tour. But McIlroy’s record at Quail Hollow over the years simply cannot be ignored either.
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