PGA Championship storylines: Scottie vs. Rory, LIV contenders and who could surprise

The 2nd large of the 2025 season, the PGA Championship, gets underway Thursday astatine Quail Hollow Club successful Charlotte, North Carolina. Can Rory McIlroy marque it 2 majors successful a row? Will Scottie Scheffler adhd different large to his résumé? What tin we expect from Bryson DeChambeau and different LIV golfers?

From the favorites to under-the-radar players to ticker and more, present are six storylines to travel this week astatine the PGA Championship.

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Who's the favorite: satellite No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler oregon Masters champion Rory McIlroy?

Mark Schlabach: While Scottie Scheffler is the flimsy betting favourite and is coming disconnected his archetypal triumph of the 2025 season, I deliberation you could reason that Rory McIlroy is the champion golfer connected the satellite close now. He has already won 3 times connected circuit this year, and each of them was against a loaded tract astatine the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Players Championship and the Masters, wherever helium became the sixth golfer to implicit the vocation Grand Slam.

McIlroy's caller signifier and past astatine Quail Hollow Club, wherever helium has won 4 times and finished runner-up once, makes him the golfer to bushed this week. Scheffler hasn't played successful a azygous stroke-play lawsuit there, and his lone quality astatine Quail Hollow successful the 2022 Presidents Cup was hardly memorable. He went 0-3-1 and gained conscionable a half-point successful the U.S. team's 17½-12½ triumph implicit the International squad.

Paolo Uggetti: I hold with Mark -- Rory should beryllium favored this week and nary 1 is coming into this tourney successful amended signifier than him. It is remarkable, however, however rapidly the apical of the crippled tin shift. Scheffler has been remarkably accordant truthful acold this season, but due to the fact that helium has won lone erstwhile and not kept up his torrid gait from past year, helium has, successful essence, opened the doorway for McIlroy to erstwhile again measurement into the shoes of being thought of arsenic the champion subordinate successful the world. It would not astonishment maine if, travel Sunday, some are warring to adhd to their large full and find themselves successful each other's way.

Other than Scottie and Rory, who would you prime this week?

Schlabach: Justin Thomas is playing immoderate of the champion play of his vocation and captured the past PGA Championship played astatine Quail Hollow successful 2017. JT ended a astir three-year drought without a triumph connected circuit erstwhile helium won the RBC Heritage successful a playoff implicit Andrew Novak connected April 20. He was runner-up astatine the Valspar Championship (and astir apt should person won that one, but closed with bogeys connected 2 of the past 3 holes and mislaid to Viktor Hovland by 1 stroke) and tied for 2nd astatine past week's Truist Championship, 2 strokes down victor Sepp Straka.

Thomas has a coagulated past astatine Quail Hollow, finishing successful the apical 26 successful 5 of his six starts. He's 5th successful strokes gained: tee to greenish (1.227) and attack (.896) and 20th successful putting (.432).

Uggetti: You're telling maine this is 1 of the longest courses the nonrecreational crippled has ever faced, determination is steadfast unsmooth and plentifulness of pre-tournament rainfall to marque driving magnitude a requisite, and you're not picking Bryson DeChambeau? Quail Hollow volition beryllium a bombers' paradise this year, and nary 1 is bombing it amended than DeChambeau. According to Data Golf, DeChambeau is gaining implicit 2 strokes with his driver, a fig that is an full changeable up of the second-place subordinate successful that category. It's not conscionable the driver, though. DeChambeau has sharpened the remainder of his crippled implicit the past fewer years -- helium has 5 top-10 finishes successful the past 9 majors -- and if helium tin replicate his show astatine Valhalla past year, helium volition nary uncertainty beryllium successful the mix.

What bash you expect from Xander Schauffele (defending champ) this week?

Schlabach: After missing much than 2 months with a achy rib injury, Xander Schauffele's crippled is trending successful the close absorption again. He has 4 consecutive finishes, including a necktie for eighth astatine the Masters and for 11th astatine the Truist Championship.

While helium ranks seventh successful strokes gained: attack (.821), he's 157th disconnected the tee (-.320), 135th astir the greenish (-.155) and 140th successful putting (-.244). I'd property that to a deficiency of reps much than thing else. The bottommost line: Schauffele has won 2 of the past 4 majors and finished successful the apical 10 successful 7 of the past nine. Oh, and helium was besides runner-up the past 2 times helium teed it up astatine Quail Hollow.

Uggetti: Schauffele is the sport's enigma antheral close now. His floor, arsenic always, is truthful precocious that adjacent though he's intelligibly not successful midseason signifier yet, helium is inactive stumbling into top-20 finishes. Over his past 4 tournaments, Schauffele's worst decorativeness is simply a necktie for 18th astatine the RBC Heritage, and past week astatine Philly Cricket, helium finished successful a necktie for 11th. To beryllium honest, I person nary thought what to expect from Schauffele astatine Quail Hollow this week, but the information that the defending champion (and two-time large winner) is somewhat flying nether the radar close present is telling.

Which LIV golfers are you going to beryllium watching the closest this week?

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Who's the favourite astatine this year's PGA Championship?

Take a look astatine who is favored to instrumentality location the PGA Championship crown astatine Quail Hollow successful Charlotte.

Schlabach: Distance disconnected the tee is going to beryllium paramount astatine Quail Hollow Club, truthful however tin you not expect Bryson DeChambeau to beryllium successful the mix? He was runner-up astatine past year's PGA Championship astatine Valhalla Golf Club successful Louisville, Kentucky, losing to Schauffele by 1 shot. He had the pb aboriginal successful the last circular of the Masters earlier carding a 3-over 75 and fading to a necktie for fifth. No 1 hits it arsenic acold arsenic DeChambeau disconnected the tee, and if his robust play is amended than it was astatine Augusta National Golf Club, I wouldn't beryllium amazed to spot him lifting the Wanamaker Trophy connected Sunday.

Patrick Reed finished solo 3rd astatine the Masters, and helium has a bully way grounds astatine Quail Hollow, too.

Uggetti: Until helium finishes wrong the apical 10 astatine a major, this reply volition stay Joaquín Niemann. It's starting to go a tell-tale motion that the subordinate who continues to rack up wins connected the LIV Tour can't look to look erstwhile helium arrives astatine a large venue against the champion players successful the world. Niemann has the crippled to triumph aggregate majors, and Data Golf considers him a top-10 subordinate successful the satellite close now. So wherefore can't it construe to the 4 biggest weeks of the year? It's the question that continues to loom implicit Niemann's career, and this week volition beryllium different accidental for him to subordinate that trend.

An under-the-radar subordinate oregon 2 to ticker this week?

Schlabach: With Sepp Straka winning for a 2nd clip this play astatine the Truist Championship, erstwhile University of Georgia golfers person already won 5 times successful 22 PGA Tour events this season.

Another erstwhile Bulldog, Keith Mitchell, has been trending successful the close absorption aft struggling mightily astatine the extremity of 2024. Mitchell has 5 consecutive top-25 finishes, including a necktie for 2nd successful the Corales Puntacana and for seventh astatine the Truist Championship. Mitchell ranks 11th connected circuit successful driving region (313.3 yards) and 21st successful strokes gained: tee to greenish (.868). He has 2 vocation top-10s astatine Quail Hollow.

Canada's Taylor Pendrith hasn't played large the past fewer weeks, but helium had 3 top-10s earlier this season. He's different golfer who hits it acold disconnected the tee (307.9 yards) and hits a batch of greens successful regularisation (70.6%). He hasn't been large astir oregon connected the greens, but if his putter gets blistery this week, helium could beryllium successful the mix.

Uggetti: A two-for-one special: ticker retired for the Højgaard twins (Nicolai and Rasmus). Both person the magnitude to support up with this people and could sneakily marque immoderate sound this week. As acold arsenic different young players to support an oculus on, I'd besides propulsion Michael Thorbjornsen into the mix; helium has 2 top-5 finishes this play and has been playing immoderate truly coagulated play of late.

Finally, aft watching Akshay Bhatia astatine the Players, it's wide helium has the crippled to triumph a major, and maybe, astatine this signifier of his vocation wherever his crippled is bully but not rather perfect, a venue similar Quail Hollow could beryllium the cleanable spot for a breakthrough.

How is Quail Hollow going to play this week?

Schlabach: Quail Hollow is 1 of the longest courses connected circuit astatine 7,626 yards, which is 4th longest successful PGA Championship past and the longest for a par-71 course. It figures to play adjacent longer aft the people was soaked by rainfall Monday. More precipitation is forecast done Wednesday. If that's the case, determination doesn't fig to beryllium overmuch rotation connected the fairways, putting an adjacent bigger premium connected region disconnected the tee and agelong robust play.

Contenders are going to person to play good astir the greens arsenic good due to the fact that they're astir apt going to miss rather a few. According to ESPN Research, 8 greens were deed little than 50% of the clip during the 2017 PGA Championship; the opening spread was deed lone 33% of the time.

Golfers are going to person to past the par 3s (three of the 4 are longer than 200 yards), people good connected the par 5s and past the three-hole closing agelong known arsenic the "Green Mile." There were much double-bogeys oregon worse (99) than birdies oregon amended (88) successful 2017, according to ESPN Research.