STAR GOLF PREVIEW: PGA Championship with LARA KUIPERS

Can Rory McIlroy keep up the momentum to grab a sixth major? writes LARA KUIPERS.

The Northern Irishman has followed up his exciting Masters victory last month with two formidable finishes since at the Zurich Classic (with partner Shane Lowry) and last week’s Truist Championship.

With two career PGA Championship wins already and four PGA Tour victories at this year’s championship course (Quail Hollow), McIlroy’s potential to take the first two majors of the year is undoubtedly one of the biggest storylines heading into this year’s second major.

Though, it’s certainly not the only one.

With Justin Thomas finally clinching a win for the first time in nearly three years, he appears to be in good form as he returns to the scene of his 2017 PGA Championship victory.

Or will Jordan Spieth finally complete his own career Grand Slam with a win this Sunday?

Below is an analysis of the top five players in this year’s outright market as we head into the season’s second major.

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Rory McIlroy

It took over a decade, but McIlroy finally broke through the drought to win his fifth career major last month at The Masters. Now, with the weight of 10 years lifted off his shoulders, the 36-year-old looks confident as ever heading into the PGA Championship.

In eight starts this year, he’s yet to finish outside the top 20, with three wins and two additional top 10s. Just last week at the Truist Championship, he finished in a solid T7.

He also has an incredible track record at this year’s PGA Championship course, having won at Quail Hollow Club on four separate occasions. He’s also a two-time PGA Championship winner.

Scottie Scheffler

Though he’s been one of the most dominate players over the past few years, and has two Masters wins already, Scottie Scheffler is still seeking a major championship victory that’s not at Augusta National. Could this be the tournament that marks the 28-year-old’s third career major?

With his first win of the season just a couple of weeks ago, Scheffler’s in solid form heading into Quail Hollow. He also has five additional top 10 finishes this season, his worst finish being only a T25 back in February.

Bryson DeChambeau

Like many of the other favourites, Bryson DeChambeau enters the week of the PGA Championship fresh off a recent win at the LIV Golf Korea event in early May. It marked his third-straight top five finish in the league, and fifth top 10.

Though both his major victories have come from the US Open, the American has had solid performances at the PGA Championship, including a runner-up finish just last year – his third top five finish at the major.

Justin Thomas

After a few seasons without a win on the PGA Tour, Justin Thomas finally grabbed his 16th career victory a few weeks ago. It was a deserving result after a solid start to 2025 – with five other top 10s, including three runner-up finishes – one of which came last week.

The 32-year-old’s two major championship victories both came at the PGA Championship, and the first one was back in 2017 when it was hosted at Quail Hollow.

Xander Schauffele

Like both McIlroy and Thomas, Xander Schauffele is another player with proven success at this year’s PGA Championship course. The 31-year-old has finished runner-up at Quail

Hollow twice (both times during the Wells Fargo Championship). He’s also this year’s defending champion of the major, having won it last year by one stroke over DeChambeau.

Though he hasn’t had the flashiest season to date, he has finished inside the top 15 in three of his last four starts heading into this week in North Carolina.