Major number two of the year is upon us, as Charlotte's famed Quail Hollow Club is set to host the 2025 PGA Championship.
Last year's PGA gave us a birdie fest at Valhalla, with Xander Schauffele finally breaking through to capture his first major. And let's not forget about the arrest of Scottie Scheffler. But we won't get into all of that again.
Because Quail Hollow is seen every year at the event now known as the Truist Championship (minus this past week, of course), we have a lot of experience and data on this course. A good all-around game helps in Charlotte, with a large emphasis on driving distance above the other skills. With it being a par-71, strong par-4 scoring is at a premium, especially with how difficult hitting these greens in a major setup can be.
For five straight weeks, we've hit the winner. For five straight weeks, the tea leaves have been read properly. So, we can't fail now. The picks may be a bit chalky, but this course and current form lend themselves to keeping the picks simple. Let's stay hot.
Honorable Mentions: Eugenio Chacarra, Sungjae Im, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Patrick Reed, Sepp Straka
9. Collin Morikawa
I have a lot of questions for Collin Morikawa right now.
I don't love his current form, but his iron play is just too strong to resign him to the honorable mentions for this week. He played well at Quail Hollow last year, and his track record in the majors has been strong throughout his career.
It's possible the course plays too long and forces the two-time major winner to be perfect off the tee to keep up, but don't be surprised if there's another strong finish in a major.
8. Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay had his best week of the year in strokes gained approach at the Truist, a trend that will help at Quail Hollow.
He doesn't have the best track record in Charlotte, but the 2021 FedEx Cup champion seems to have his game trending in the right direction again. Maybe we can unlock some TGL form from Cantlay this week, and he can make another run at his maiden major.
7. Hideki Matsuyama
His third-round 63 at Philly Cricket Club proves that when Hideki Matsuyama is on, he's easily one of the best in the world.
His form this year has cooled somewhat since his record-setting win in Hawaii at The Sentry, but Matsuyama still deserves our respect at each major. He tied for fifth the last time Quail Hollow hosted the PGA in 2017, and it seems like the major championship setup of the course fits his eye a little better than the normal one does.
6. Jason Day
A lot of this pick is riding on the hopes that Jason Day is actually healthy enough to play this week, as he withdrew from the Truist with neck issues.
The 2015 PGA champion has seen a fair amount of success at Quail Hollow, including a T9 at the 2017 PGA, a win in 2018 at the Wells Fargo, and a T4 finish last year.
Day's not the same as he was in 2017, but getting onto a course he likes and a major in which he's performed well at should set the Aussie up for success this week.
5. Justin Thomas
There's a clear jump up in the rankings from the bottom half to the top half this week, and that jump starts now.
The winner last time the PGA came to Quail Hollow, Justin Thomas has consistently put up strong finishes this year, and truly feels like he is back to the JT of 2022.
Missing out on last year's President's Cup team has lit a fire in the two-time PGA champion, and his strong putting has been the catalyst for his turnaround this year. I would be shocked if Thomas doesn't play well this week.
4. Scottie Scheffler
Part of me feels wrong for putting Scheffler so low in the rankings, but I just need to see more out of him.
Yes, he dominated the field at Byron Nelson, but that was not a strong field at all. Maybe my expectations are too high, and Scottie can definitely win this week at Quail Hollow.
His floor is so high that you can't count him out right now. He does everything well, but is it all locked in enough for this major? I think so, but I'm not 100% certain.
3. Xander Schauffele
Our reigning PGA Champion, Schauffele set the scoring record for the event last year at Valhalla.
While Schauffele's 2025 got off to a rocky start, he is on a run of four straight top-20 finishes. On top of that, he plays very well at Quail Hollow, recording back-to-back second-place finishes in 2023 and 2024.
He's on the precipice of getting everything together again, and this week sets up well for Xander.
2. Bryson DeChambeau
Does it feel a little forgotten that Bryson DeChambeau finished runner-up at last year's PGA Championship behind Xander?
Bryson's play in the majors and his recent LIV Golf victory make him an obvious pick for Quail Hollow. He can bring this course to its knees with his length, but can Bryson make the finesse shots necessary to get his third major?
All that really matters is that there will probably be a bunch of YouTube content from him this week.
1. Rory McIlroy
Arguably the biggest storyline this year—the only other real option being Jordan Spieth taking his next crack at the career Grand Slam—is Rory McIlroy playing as a reigning major champion for the first time in a decade.
And you could not have picked a better course for this moment for McIlroy than Quail Hollow.
Hogan at Colonial. Jack at Augusta. Tiger at Torrey Pines...and Bay Hill...and Firestone. Rory at Quail Hollow.
McIlroy has four career wins at Quail Hollow, including last year's Wells Fargo, and has finished in the top 10 an additional five times.
His mix of booming drives, strong iron play, and solid short game just works perfectly for this course, especially if the early-week rain softens and lengthens the course for the rest of the field.
McIlroy is playing like a man possessed this season, and we could be in the throes of a Rory Slam summer after this week. One could argue he's feeling more pressure this week, that he needs to follow up his Masters win with a strong performance.
But I think Rory is coming in completely relaxed, and that should scare everyone.