With this year's PGA Championship being played at Quail Hollow Club, which is the typical venue for the event now formerly known as the Wells Fargo Championship, the newly-renamed Truist Championship will be contested on the Wissahickon Course at the famed Philadelphia Cricket Club, which is the oldest country club in the United States.
The A.W. Tillinghast design is brand new to the PGA Tour, so all ideas of using course history and past performance can be thrown out the window for this week's Signature Event.
Tillinghast courses do not come up all that often on Tour, as some of his most famous designs (Winged Foot, Bethpage Black) are used almost exclusively for major championships.
The look of the course sets up like a genuinely old-fashioned design, which leads my analysis to connect it to another old-school course that was played recently, that being Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the RBC Heritage.
Distance will not be at a premium this week, as the course plays just over 7,100 yards. There will, however, be a significant emphasis on approach play, as the greens are tight. And the plateaus built up during the recent renovation will allow for some very hit-or-miss pins. It's not every year we get to witness a new course on the PGA Tour, so I am going to savor this week as much as I can.
Scottie Scheffler, who is not in the field this week, predictably dominated TPC Craig Ranch this past week in a historic victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which gives us four winners in a row in the rankings.
We're red-hot, but this week may be quite tricky because of the unknown factors surrounding this new venue. Of course, there is also an opposite-field event this week, the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, so here are my five for that tourney as well: Ryo Hisatsune, Henrik Norlander, Aldrich Potgieter, Davis Riley, and Alejandro Tosti.
Now, let's get to our picks for the Truist.
Honorable Mentions: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Ryan Gerard, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy
9. Viktor Hovland
Hovland's win at the Valspar earlier this year seems to have gotten something going, as he's had two solid finishes since then, tying for 21st at The Masters and tying for 13th at the RBC Heritage.
The best part of Hovland's game thus far has been his approach play, and a course that seems like it will call for solid iron play should fit his game well. If the putter stays hot, Hovland should finish strong.
8. Sepp Straka
Another player who performed well at Harbour Town, Sepp Straka is having the best season of his career, minus his missed cut at Augusta.
Straka's driving accuracy and approach play set up perfectly for a small park like Philly Cricket Club. Sepp's short game is a little worrisome at the moment, but I like him overall for this course.
7. Shane Lowry
Very similar to Straka, I think a lot of people saw Shane Lowry's showing at Augusta and have forgotten about him since.
While the Irishman hasn't broken through for a win this year, he has finished in the top 20 in six of his nine individual starts, adding another in the Zurich Classic with teammate Rory McIlroy. Lowry gets the edge over Straka in the rankings, as I think his floor is slightly higher.
6. Russell Henley
Coming off of a T8 at the RBC Heritage, Henley has been one of my favorite picks this season. His high skill level in all facets makes up for his lack of driving distance, and he showed that skill with his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year.
If the world's eighth-ranked player can put things together at a bigger park like Bay Hill for a win, then he can absolutely put things together at the Truist this week.
5. Ludvig Åberg
Ludvig Åberg's game can work anywhere, but he has been very inconsistent this year.
Like my musings on him before Hilton Head, I never know when or where to get the spot right for Ludvig.
He should be much more consistent than he has been, and I'm in a frustrated spot with the Swedish superstar. Hopefully, Åberg can show some signs of life this week going into the PGA Championship; he just needs a good week with the irons.
4. Collin Morikawa
The biggest news surrounding Collin Morikawa right now is his caddie switch, as he's hired Max Homa's former bagman, Joe Greiner, who just recently helped Justin Thomas to victory at Harbour Town as a fill-in.
Sometimes, when guys make caddie changes, you see a bump those first couple weeks just from getting a new voice on the bag.
After his close call at Bay Hill and a couple of top-15 finishes since, Morikawa may just need that new voice to put everything together. His irons are plenty good enough to play anywhere, and Greiner on the bag should help the world No. 4 this week.
3. Xander Schauffele
Currently on a run of three straight top-20s, it seems like Schauffele has gotten past his injury issues that benched him for two months earlier this year.
The two-time major champ's distance might be enough to blow by any trouble on the course this week, and this is honestly the first time I've felt comfortable with Schauffele in 2025.
2. Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas finally snapped his nearly three-year winless streak at RBC a couple of weeks ago, and this stretch of golf is setting up well for him to go on a strong run.
If he plays the same playbook this week that he did at Harbour Town, I think JT should be right up at the top of the leaderboard this weekend, especially with the putter being a weapon in his bag in a way that we haven't seen in years.
1. Rory McIlroy
As well as this next stretch of golf sets up well for JT, it sets up even better for Rory McIlroy.
His mind may already be thinking ahead to next week at Quail Hollow, where he's already won four times, but McIlroy is by far the best player in the field at the Truist.
We could see a 2024 Scheffler-level season out of Rory this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he continues his form this week in Philly.