There's a clear line of separation in men's golf's four majors in terms of history and prestige: It's the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and then the PGA Championship, languishing well behind.
However, Quail Hollow takes a backseat to no other event this year, with plenty of reasons to be excited about the season's second major.
Recent wins by Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy, who's playing in his first major since securing the Masters, have only heightened the anticipation in Charlotte.
Masters champ at Rory McIlroy Country Club
Speaking of McIlroy, there's nobody in golf riding a bigger high right now than the Northern Irishman. The 36-year-old has three wins on the season, including the elusive green jacket, and now heads into a major at a place Jordan Spieth deemed the "Rory McIlroy Country Club." Spieth wasn't far off, as McIlroy might as well be the owner of Quail Hollow for how he's thrived at the course.
McIlroy has won here four times, including twice in his last four visits. He's an absurd 102-under par at Quail Hollow on the PGA TOUR since 2010, according to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group. That's more than 50 shots better than the next-best player. Adding to the anticipation is seeing how McIlroy performs in his first major since ending his 11-year drought and completing the career grand slam.
"I'm obviously going to feel more comfortable and a lot less pressure, and I'm also going back to a venue that I love," McIlroy said last week in Philadelphia, according to ASAP Sports. "It's nothing but positive vibes going in there next week with what happened a few weeks ago, and then with my history there and how well I've played at Quail."
McIlroy grabbed a top-10 finish at last week's event in Philadelphia, so he comes in still flashing the form from Augusta National. Given his course history here, it'd be a stunner if he weren't in the mix for a second straight major win.
Scottie just finished 31-under
Sure, the field wasn't exactly brimming with top-50 talent, but Scheffler reminded everyone in his last start just what he's capable of at full capacity. The World No. 1 torched TPC Craig Ranch to reach an astonishing 31-under and claim the CJ Cup Byron Nelson by an absurd eight strokes. The victory was Scheffler's first since returning from the freak hand injury he suffered at Christmas and cranked up the hype meter entering the PGA Championship.
Any talk of Scottie dropping off has probably been exaggerated as he still leads the world in strokes gained over the last six months. There's nobody that can slow him down when he's firing on all cylinders - unless the local police department intervenes like last year.
Bryson crushed LIV Korea
You won't get far down the list of best major players in the past two years before you find DeChambeau's name. In his last five majors, the LIV golf superstar has won the 2024 U.S. Open and posted second-, fifth-, and sixth-place showings. Now he enters a dream scenario, as Quail Hollow heavily favors a right-hander that pounds the driver and hits a draw off the tee. Add the fact he just won LIV Korea in his last start, and it's easy to see why he falls just behind Scheffler and McIlroy on the oddsboard.
DeChambeau has also reeled off three top-five finishes in his last four starts at this major. Could we be primed for a third Bryson-Rory showdown in the last four majors? The course couldn't be set up any better. Hopefully, for DeChambeau's sake, McIlroy will actually talk to him this time.
Xander's somehow being overlooked
A clear big three has emerged in men's golf with Scheffler, McIlroy, and DeChambeau ripping off recent wins heading to Quail Hollow. That's somehow allowed a man who won two of four majors last year to fly under the radar. Xander Schauffele quietly comes to Quail Hollow holding the Wanamaker Trophy while possessing a very strong course history at this venue. He's also the defending champion.
Schauffele's 2025 season has been slowed significantly by a rib injury, but he's clearly turning a corner with four straight top-18 finishes entering the PGA Championship.
Spieth trending ahead of grand-slam shot
With McIlroy completing the career grand slam last month, the onus is now on Spieth to finish off the task. That'll be significantly harder for Spieth, who's historically struggled at the season's second major.
His skill set doesn't exactly come to mind when you think PGA Championship winner. Spieth has zero top-25 finishes in the last five PGA Championships, and his ball-striking simply hasn't been good enough. However, he comes to Quail Hollow sitting 21st in the world in Data Golf's strokes-gained rankings over the past 30 days.
The odds aren't in Spieth's favor, but he could repeat the massive ratings generated by McIlroy's Masters triumph if he can be in the mix Sunday afternoon.
JT 'defending' at Quail Hollow
Thomas is the only man in the field who's already won a PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. He took home the 2017 trophy for his first career major, firing a final-round 68 to claim a two-stroke victory. Thomas added the 2022 PGA Championship to his trophy case as well, but then his form dropped off a cliff as he missed the playoffs entirely just two years ago. He's since risen in a big way, cashing in some strong play with his first win in three years last month at the RBC Heritage.
Thomas continued that trend last week in Philadelphia and should be considered a serious threat for a third PGA Championship this week. Should he deliver, he'd join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Brooks Koepka as the only men with three Wanamaker trophies in the last 74 years.
Rahm's chance to silence critics
Jon Rahm the LIV golfer is undoubtedly one of the world's top players. However, his standing among the best when they play together in the majors is up for debate. Rahm broke 70 seven times in the last four majors before he joined LIV Golf. He's only bettered that number twice in the four majors since he made the move. If you're looking for positives, Rahm's had a T-7th and T-14th showing in his last two majors. However, both of those finishes resulted from strong final rounds when he was already out of the tournament.
Simply put, Rahm has to get out of the gates significantly better than he has since joining LIV Golf. The Spaniard's first-round scoring average at his last four majors is almost two full shots higher than the year before he made the switch. If Rahm can click early, he'll be a problem for the rest of the field at Quail Hollow. If he can't, expect a terse press conference as the media once again presses him on his major form since becoming a LIV golfer.
