Five storylines to follow at this week's PGA Championship
May 11, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Justin Thomas plays his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of the Truist Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images REUTERS
May 10, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Xander Schauffele chips onto the green during the third round of the Truist Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images REUTERS
May 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the first tee during the first round of the Truist Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images REUTERS
May 10, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the tenth tee during the third round of the Truist Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images REUTERS
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Five storylines to follow as the best players in the world descend upon Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week for the May 15-18 PGA Championship.
MCILROY ENCORE?
Rory McIlroy arrives at Quail Hollow as a hot favourite after finally securing the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors with his playoff win at the Masters in April.
The Northern Irishman will now turn his attention to capturing the second leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam and will like his chances at Quail Hollow, where he has enjoyed more success than any other player.
McIlroy won a record fourth Wells Fargo Championship last year at Quail Hollow with a dominant performance that saw him earn a five-stroke victory.
- -
SPIETH'S GRAND SLAM BID
Just over a month after McIlroy became the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam, and first since Tiger Woods in 2000, Jordan Spieth will make his ninth attempt at joining golf's most exclusive club.
Seeking his first win on the PGA Tour since earning his 13th in April 2022, Spieth arrives at the year's second major with three top-10 finishes in 11 events this season, and a share of 14th at last month's Masters.
If Spieth can triumph at the PGA Championship, where his best result is a runner-up finish in 2015, he would join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy as the only men to win all four majors.
- -
DEFENDING CHAMPION SCHAUFFELE
Xander Schauffele birdied the final hole at last year's PGA Championship at Valhalla to secure his first major title and is aiming to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2019.
Schauffele, who went on to win the British Open three months later, lost about two months of competition this year due to a rib injury suffered during the offseason but has shown no ill effects since his return.
The 31-year-old American finished tied for eighth at the Masters and will be eager to get back to Quail Hollow where last year he led after each of the first three rounds but was unable to fend off McIlroy on the final day.
- -
JUST-IN TIME
Justin Thomas ended a three-year victory drought last month and finished tied for second in Philadelphia on Sunday, and the former world number one will be full of confidence ahead of his return to the site of his major breakthrough in 2017.
The PGA Championship was held at Quail Hollow for the first time that year and Thomas picked up the title with a closing three-under-par 68 that saw him chip in from 40 feet for birdie on the 13th hole to seize control.
Thomas won a second PGA Championship title in 2022 but his form bottomed out in 2023 and he went without a win until winning this year's RBC Heritage in a playoff.
- -
THE GREEN MILE
The last three holes at Quail Hollow -- the unforgiving 'Green Mile' == form one of the most difficult finishing stretches in golf.
The white-knuckle, water-lined stretch demands both precision and poise with a lake surrounding the par-four 16th and par-three 17th holes, while a creek winds all along the left side of the closing par-four 18th.
The last time the PGA Championship was last held at Quail Hollow in 2017 the treacherous Green Mile accounted for 12 triple-bogeys or worse, matching the same amount that was made on holes 1-15. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Canada's teen sensation Summer McIntosh looking ahead to worlds after record week
Gold medallist Summer McIntosh of Canada celebrates as shes poses with her medal after winning the women's 200m individual medley. PHOTO: REUTERS TORONTO – A day after Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh completed one of the greatest weeks in swimming history with a hat-trick of world records, the Toronto teenager was already looking ahead to what comes next. McIntosh became the first swimmer to break three different individual long-course world records in one meet since American Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when she achieved the feat at this week's Canadian swimming trials. The 18-year-old, who headlines Canada's 28-member team named on June 12 for the World Championships in Singapore in July, believes she can go even faster. 'I can go over with my coach and see where to make improvements and really just use this as motivation and validation for my training so far,' McIntosh said. 'Just keep pushing and moving forward and work even harder.' In a stunning statement ahead of the worlds, the triple Olympic champion continued her record-breaking over a glorious five days in Victoria, shattering world marks in the 400 metres freestyle plus the 200m and 400m individual medleys. In addition to her three world records, she set five Canadian marks, came within two seconds of Katie Ledecky's 800m freestyle world record set in May and clocked the fastest 200m butterfly time since super suits were banned in 2010. Moments after completing her hat-trick with the 400m IM on June 11, she made a beeline for fellow Canadian swimming great Penny Oleksiak, who once described McIntosh as 'all gas, no brakes'. Oleksiak, Canada's most decorated Olympian with seven medals, lifted McIntosh off her feet in a huge embrace. Then, as she had done all week, McIntosh gave her gold medal away to an awestruck young fan in the stands. She did not compete on the last day of the meet on June 12, withdrawing from the 200m freestyle. Instead, she posed for photos and chatted with the large gathering of fans outside Saanich Commonwealth Place. 'What a week Victoria! Had so much fun in the pool this week,' McIntosh wrote on Instagram. The swimmer, who raced at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as a 14-year-old, credited coach Fred Vergnoux – with whom she has been training in Antibes, France since January – for 'the best meet of my career'. '(Vergnoux) has been absolutely amazing throughout this whole journey these past few months,' McIntosh told the CBC. 'He's really taken me to the next level in the sport and pushed me farther. I've gone way faster than I ever could have imagined. 'So props to him, he's done absolutely amazing with me. And we've only known each other for so long, so I feel that connection so quickly.' McIntosh's mother Jill Horstead swam for Canada at the 1984 Olympics while her 20-year-old sister Brooke competed for Canada in pairs figure skating before switching allegiance to Spain, winning the Spanish national championships with partner Marco Zandron. They recently split. McIntosh is expected to compete in five individual events at the World Championships, which begin on July 14 with open water events before shifting to the pool on July 26. She could continue her assault on the record books, as Phelps is the only swimmer to win five gold medals in a single worlds (2007). McIntosh then plans to move to Austin, Texas to work with Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach for his entire career. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Raducanu not satisfied with level at Queen's after quarter-final exit
Emma Raducanu said she was not too pleased with the level she displayed in her 6-2 6-4 defeat to Zheng Qinwen at the Queen's Club Championships on Friday, but the Briton dismissed any fears of a serious back injury. In an entertaining battle, Raducanu had a few bright moments and secured a double break to go 3-0 up in the second set after taking a medical timeout for a back issue, but she was eventually overpowered by the Chinese world number five. "I've played five matches in a pretty short amount of time. I'm probably feeling that, so I need to let the back rest and see how it goes from there," Raducanu, who also competed in the doubles alongside Katie Boulter, told the BBC after her defeat in London. "I'm not overly concerned that (the back issue) is something serious, but I know it's something that's very annoying and needs proper and careful management. "I've improved a lot and done a lot of good work behind the scenes, but there's a lot to go to get to the next level. They are stronger than me and have had more time training - I need to do the same. I need to raise my level." Raducanu is next scheduled to compete at the German Open in Berlin as she continues her preparations for Wimbledon. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
DeChambeau, Mickelson among notables to miss U.S. Open cut
Jun 13, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Bryson DeChambeau plays his shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images REUTERS OAKMONT, Pennsylvania - Defending U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and record six-times runner-up Phil Mickelson were the high-profile players to miss the halfway cut at Oakmont Country Club on Friday. DeChambeau, who was bidding to become the first repeat U.S. Open champion since Brooks Koepka in 2018, carded a seven-over-par 77 in the second round that left him at 10 over on the week and three shots outside the projected seven over cut line. The big-hitting DeChambeau, a fan favorite who went close at the year's first two majors, looked to be in a decent spot after the opening round but made three consecutive bogeys late in his front nine on Friday and could not recover. Mickelson, in the last year of a five-year exemption into the U.S. Open for winning the 2021 PGA Championship, finished eight over on the week in his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors. Four of the top 10 players in the world ranking missed the cut, a group that in addition to DeChambeau included Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka. Other notables to miss the cut included 2019 British Open winner Shane Lowry and former U.S. Open champions Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick and LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
