Will Rory McIlroy make more history at the PGA Championship by winning his second major of 2025? Ahead of the action at Quail Hollow – a course McIlroy has won at four times – our Sky Sports pundits say who they are backing, plus we hear from the Northern Irishman’s main competitors for the title…
Nick Dougherty
“It’s so easy to pick Rory McIlroy for every reason, but I’m going to give you someone different and go for Justin Thomas.
“One, because he won the PGA Championship here, but also because his form has been incredible coming in. He already has a win and six top 10s this year, including a runner-up finish last week.
“My outside tip is Shane Lowry. I think the disappointment of last week can be put behind him and his form is excellent. He has played some pretty good golf and looked pretty strong at times this year.
“He has had a couple of near misses in PGA Tour events and I feel like he could be a great guy as an outsider.”
Dame Laura Davies
“Rory McIlroy didn’t play particularly well last week and still finished seventh. He has less pressure now and is an obvious pick.
“A really good player at a form price would be Andrew Novak.”
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Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, McIlroy suggests he feels ‘lighter’ heading into a major following his win at The Masters
Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley
“Rory McIlroy has won around here four times and the golf course isn’t set up that differently to how it usually has been at the Wells Fargo Championship, now the Truist Championship.
“How can you bet against him? At 5/1, he’s the standout favourite and should be much shorter than that. He should be back to Tiger Woods’ odds of back in the day.
“My outside tip? Bob MacIntyre.”
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Paul McGinley said McIlroy had some dark times in his chase for The Masters, but is now in great form heading into the PGA Championship on a course that he absolutely loves
What did the players say? | ‘McIlroy with weight off shoulders’
While the 156 players in the PGA Championship field at Quail Hollow will be going all out to lift the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday evening, there was one name on everybody’s lips coming into the second men’s major of the year.
McIlroy’s stunning Masters triumph last month clinched a career Grand Slam and ended an 11-year major trophy drought and he now arrives at a golf course he has enjoyed four career PGA Tour wins at.
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The moment Scottie Scheffler placed the Green Jacket on McIlroy as he was crowned the 2025 Masters champion
Such is McIlroy’s dominance around Quail Hollow that Jordan Spieth has even jokingly labelled the venue ‘Rory McIlroy Country Club’. What else have the Northern Irishman’s biggest competitors had to say about his game leading into this week?
Two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau: “I believe you have to have a lot of distance out here. Rory is a great driver of the golf ball, and his iron play is great too.
“I think it’s a golf course that sets up for his shot shape pretty well, and I think it sets up well for mine too.
“We’ll see. Maybe I’ll do well, maybe I won’t, but I’m certainly going to give it my all, and I know Rory is, and hopefully we can have another go at it again, like at The Masters.”
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Justin Thomas says McIlroy is the best driver of the ball he has ever seen and Bryson DeChambeau says Quail Hollow is set up perfectly for the pair of them to go at it again like they did at The Masters
Two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas: “First and foremost, he [McIlroy] is really, really good at golf, so that definitely helps.
“I would argue he’s the best driver of the ball I’ve ever seen, and that is extremely important here.
“When he’s on, he has such control of that driver, it seems like he can hit it in a window and an area that some guys are trying to hit short irons. That’s a tremendous advantage or threat at any golf course.”
Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald: “It’s a big golf course. It’s not overly tight off the tee, but it demands length. And I think his [McIlroy’s] high shot that he can hit right to left, there’s quite a few holes that demand that sort of shot shape.
“Coupled with this being a place that he’s had success… every time he has success here, you just feel more and more comfortable – you understand the greens, how they roll, the breaks.
“The greens have some slope, and having shorter irons into some of these greens, you can control it a little bit. It’s a little bit like Augusta in that regard. It’s a golf course that certainly fits his game.”
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler: “Rory has been off to a great start this year, and he’s definitely improved and made some changes in his game from last year.
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Scottie Scheffler is excited about being paired with Xander Schauffele and McIlroy at the PGA Championship
“There’s always little things I’m trying to do to get better, and I think that’s why we keep coming back. Golf is kind of an endless pursuit of getting the best out of yourself, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do that as the year goes on.
“But Rory has been playing some great golf this year.”
Two-time major champion Jon Rahm: “I would not be one bit surprised if this lifted a weight off his shoulders that could get him going on another run, a bit like Xander [Schauffele] did last year.
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Jon Rahm says he is more concerned about the quantity of major titles he can win rather than achieving the Grand Slam success McIlroy reached last month
“Wins one, gets another one, gets in contention many times, like Scottie and many other players have done. A player of his calibre, you never know.”
Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth, chasing the career Grand Slam: “Watching Rory win [at The Masters] – after giving it a try for a number of years – was inspiring.
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Jordan Spieth hopes he can become the seventh member of the ‘Grand Slam club’ at the PGA Championship this week and admitted he was inspired by McIlroy’s achievement at The Masters
“You could tell it was a harder win than – most of the time he makes it look a lot easier. That [Grand Slam] obviously was on the forefront of his mind. Something like that has not been done by many people, and there’s a reason why.”
Who will win the PGA Championship? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
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