The second major golf tournament of 2025, the PGA Championship, begins Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Major questions surround the event: Can Rory McIlroy achieve a second consecutive major victory? Will Scottie Scheffler add another major title to his collection? What level of performance can be expected from Bryson DeChambeau and other players from LIV Golf?
From the top favorites to potential surprise contenders and more, here are six significant storylines to track this week at the PGA Championship.
Who is the favorite: world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler or Masters champion Rory McIlroy?
Although Scottie Scheffler is the slight betting favorite and recently secured his first win of the 2025 season, there`s a strong case to be made that Rory McIlroy is currently the best golfer worldwide. This year alone, he has already claimed three victories on tour, all against highly competitive fields, including the Masters, where he completed his career Grand Slam.
McIlroy`s exceptional recent form, combined with his impressive history at Quail Hollow Club, where he has won four times and finished as a runner-up once, makes him the player to beat this week. In contrast, Scheffler has no prior experience playing stroke-play events here, and his only appearance at Quail Hollow during the 2022 Presidents Cup was largely forgettable, resulting in a 0-3-1 record.
I agree with Mark – Rory should be considered the favorite this week, and no one is entering the tournament in better form. It`s remarkable how quickly the landscape at the top of the game can shift. Scheffler has been remarkably consistent throughout this season, but by winning only once and not replicating his dominant pace from last year, he has essentially created an opening for McIlroy to reclaim the perception of being the world`s top player. It wouldn`t be surprising at all if, by Sunday, both players are contending for the major title and facing each other in the final stretch.
Other than Scottie and Rory, who would you pick this week?
Justin Thomas is currently playing some of the best golf of his career and previously won the last PGA Championship held at Quail Hollow in 2017. JT broke a nearly three-year winless streak on tour by winning the RBC Heritage. He also finished second at the Valspar Championship (a tournament he arguably could have won) and tied for second at last week`s Truist Championship.
Thomas has a solid record at Quail Hollow, finishing within the top 26 in five out of his six starts. His statistics are strong, ranking fifth in strokes gained: tee to green and approach, and 20th in putting.
Are you telling me this is one of the longest courses in professional golf history, featuring thick rough and pre-tournament rain likely making driving distance essential, and you`re not selecting Bryson DeChambeau? Quail Hollow is expected to be a paradise for long hitters this year, and no one is hitting it longer or better than DeChambeau. According to Data Golf, he is gaining over two strokes with his driver, a figure significantly ahead of the next best player. It`s not just his driving, however; DeChambeau has refined other aspects of his game over the past few years, achieving five top-10 finishes in the last nine major championships. If he can perform at the level he did at Valhalla last year, he will undoubtedly be a factor.
What do you expect from Xander Schauffele (defending champ) this week?
Following a painful rib injury that kept him out for over two months, Xander Schauffele`s game appears to be heading back in the right direction. He has secured four consecutive strong finishes, including a tie for eighth at the Masters and a tie for 11th at the Truist Championship.
While he ranks seventh in strokes gained: approach, his statistics off the tee, around the green, and putting are lower, which can likely be attributed to his recent time away from competition. The key point is Schauffele has won two of the last four majors and finished in the top 10 in seven of the last nine. Additionally, he finished as the runner-up in his two most recent appearances at Quail Hollow.
Schauffele is currently one of golf`s most enigmatic players. His baseline is consistently high, meaning even when he`s clearly not in peak form, he still manages to achieve top-20 results. In his last four tournaments, his lowest finish was a tie for 18th. To be honest, I have no clear expectation for Schauffele at Quail Hollow this week, but the fact that the defending champion (and a two-time major winner) is somewhat flying under the radar is quite telling about the field and narratives this week.
Which LIV golfers are you going to be watching the closest this week?
Given the critical importance of driving distance at Quail Hollow Club, how can you not keep a close eye on Bryson DeChambeau? He finished as the runner-up at last year`s PGA Championship and tied for fifth at the Masters earlier this season. If his iron play is sharper than it was at Augusta, I wouldn`t be surprised to see him lifting the Wanamaker Trophy. Patrick Reed is another LIV player who performed well at the Masters, finishing solo third, and he also has a positive track record at Quail Hollow.
Until he achieves a top-10 finish in a major, my answer will remain Joaquín Niemann. It`s becoming a noticeable pattern that the player who consistently wins on the LIV Tour struggles to break through when competing against the world`s elite players at a major venue. Niemann clearly has the talent to win multiple majors, and Data Golf rates him as a top-10 player globally right now. The question that continues to hover over his career is why this talent doesn`t consistently translate during the four most important weeks of the year. This week offers another chance for him to alter that narrative.
An under-the-radar player or two to watch this week?
Following Sepp Straka`s second victory this season, former University of Georgia golfers have now won five times in 22 PGA Tour events this year. Another former Bulldog, Keith Mitchell, has shown significant improvement after struggling at the end of 2024. Mitchell has recorded five consecutive top-25 finishes, including a tie for second and a tie for seventh recently. He possesses notable driving distance and ranks well in strokes gained: tee to green. He also has two career top-10 finishes at Quail Hollow. Canada`s Taylor Pendrith hasn`t had the strongest few weeks recently but posted three top-10 finishes earlier this season. He is another player known for hitting the ball a long way and hitting greens consistently. If his putting sharpens this week, he could potentially be in contention.
Here`s a two-for-one suggestion: keep an eye on the Højgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus. Both have the length required for this course and could potentially make some unexpected noise this week. Regarding other young players to watch, I would also include Michael Thorbjornsen, who has two top-5 finishes this season and has been playing very solid golf lately. Finally, having seen Akshay Bhatia compete at the Players Championship, it`s evident he has the game capable of winning a major. Perhaps at this stage of his career, where his game is strong but still developing, a venue like Quail Hollow could be the ideal place for his breakthrough performance.
How is Quail Hollow going to play this week?
Quail Hollow is recognized as one of the longest courses on the tour, measuring 7,626 yards. This makes it the fourth longest in PGA Championship history and the longest course for a par-71 setup. It is likely to play even longer due to recent rain, which will reduce fairway roll. This places an even greater emphasis on driving distance and the ability to play long irons effectively.
Players will also need to excel around the greens, as missing them will be frequent. Statistics from the 2017 PGA Championship showed that eight greens were hit less than 50% of the time. Successfully navigating the challenging par 3s (three of which are over 200 yards) and capitalizing on the par 5s will be vital. The demanding three-hole finishing stretch, known as the `Green Mile,` proved particularly difficult in 2017, with more scores of double-bogey or worse recorded than birdies.
