2025 PGA Championship predictions: Expert picks, predictions for 2025 PGA winner
2025 PGA Championship predictions: Expert picks, predictions for 2025 PGA winner
The second men's major championship of the year is here, as the 2025 PGA Championship kicks off Thursday morning at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Masters winner Rory McIlroy, who has made a good living in his career at Quail Hollow, is one of the favorites, but world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler still holds the outright favorite distinction. Bryson DeChambeau, fresh off his win at LIV Golf Korea, is also one expected to contend this week with his length.
There are 156 players in the field, including defending champion and world No. 3 Xander Schauffele, but only one can bring home the trophy.
Here's a look at Golfweek expert predictions for which golfer will finish atop the field and hoist the signature Wanamaker Trophy:
2025 PGA Championship predictions: Expert picks for 2025 winner
Adam Schupak, Golfweek Senior Writer: Bryson DeChambeau
Cameron Jourdan, Golfweek Assistant Editor: Rory McIlroy
Todd Kelly, Assistant Managing Editor: Tommy Fleetwood
2025 PGA Championship predictions: Longshot picks for 2025
Adam Schupak, Golfweek Senior Writer: Daniel Berger
Cameron Jourdan, Golfweek Assistant Editor: Viktor Hovland
Todd Kelly, Assistant Managing Editor: Keegan Bradley
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
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Concerning Rory McIlroy News Emerges Ahead of U.S. Open
Concerning Rory McIlroy News Emerges Ahead of U.S. Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The U.S. Open 2025 is one of the most anticipated majors of the year, set to begin on Thursday, June 12, at the iconic Oakmont Country Club. Known for its brutal, rough and fast greens, Oakmont promises a real test for the world's best golfers. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines the field, with other big names like Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy ready to compete for glory. Advertisement But just days before the tournament, worrying news has surfaced around McIlroy. According to sources Kira Dixon, McIlroy has been undergoing extensive driver testing following a missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open. He had switched to a shorter driver in Canada but hit only 46% of fairways. Now, he's moved back to the TaylorMade Qi10, the model he used before experimenting with the Qi35. Rory Mcilroy watches his tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images This isn't the first time McIlroy's driver setup has caused issues. A failed driver change also hurt his performance at the PGA Championship. With the U.S. Open around the corner, the five-time major winner is still searching for the right gear far from ideal with such a demanding course ahead. McIlroy, who recently completed his career Grand Slam, will be grouped with Shane Lowry and Justin Rose for the opening rounds two players currently in fine form. Meanwhile, DeChambeau returns as the defending champion, aiming to repeat his Oakmont magic from last year. The tournament will be broadcast across NBC platforms, including Peacock and USA Network, with coverage starting early each day. With the field stacked and conditions tough, every detail matters and for McIlroy, the uncertainty around his driver could be a critical setback in his chase for another major. Advertisement Related: Scottie Scheffler Can Make History Winning the U.S. Open This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
The U.S. Open at Oakmont is going to be really hard. Here's what the players think about the course.
The U.S. Open is going to be extremely difficult this week -- and there's been no shortage of discussion about the conditions at Oakmont Country Club from some of the best golfers in the world. Oakmont is hosting the U.S. Open, often regarded as golf's toughest test, for a record 10th time. The historic cathedral of the game is known for being extremely challenging with firm fairways, deep and penal bunkers, and extremely fast and undulating greens. A little bit challenging isn't good enough for the USGA, however, so for the U.S. Open, things are ramped up a little more with the rough at Oakmont grown up to a solid five inches. "It's a great test of golf." Defending U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau said he thinks everybody knows that Oakmont is probably the toughest golf course in the world right now. "You have to hit the fairways, you have to hit greens, and you have to two-putt, worst-case scenario," DeChambeau said. "When you've got those putts inside 10 feet, you've got to make them. It's a great test of golf." With a great test in front of him like Oakmont, DeChambeau said there are times you can play fearless golf, but there are also times to be more reserved, citing wind conditions, green softness, and pin locations. Bryson DeChambeau fields questions from members of the media on June 10th, 2025 at Oakmont Country Club ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA "I think with this golf course, you have to be just a fraction more strategic, especially with the rough being so long," DeChambeau said. "I'm going to be as fearless as I can possibly be out there, I know that." DeChambeau said he's looking forward to the test Oakmont is going to bring this week and thinks the person that wins the tournament is going to hit a lot of fairways and make a lot of putts. "This one's hard no matter what -- soft, firm, windy, no wind." Dustin Johnson, who won the U.S. Open last time it was at Oakmont in 2016, said it's probably the hardest golf course he's ever played. "The course is just as hard as I remember, if not harder," Johnson said. Dustin Johnson looks on during a practice round on Monday, June 9th, 2025 ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club. Johnson won his first major championship when Oakmont last hosted the U.S. Open in 2016. Mike Darnay / KDKA Early this week, the course was playing a bit less fiery than usual as the Pittsburgh area had been inundated with rain in recent days, but even under softer than normal conditions, Johnson says it's going to be difficult whether things firm up or not. "This one's hard no matter what -- soft, firm, windy, no wind," Johnson said. "I've played it. I know it's difficult." Justin Thomas shared the same sentiment, saying that even under softer conditions, Oakmont is still extremely challenging. "I understand this place is hard, Thomas said. "I don't need to read articles or need to hear horror stories. I've played it. I know it's difficult." Thomas, the No. 5 ranked player in the world, said one of the special things about Oakmont is that the USGA doesn't need to do much to take the course from how it's played on a daily basis to how it plays for the U.S. Open -- and that the course is plenty challenging for both the physical and mental parts of the game. Justin Thomas addresses members of the media on June 9th, 2025 at Oakmont Country Club ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA "I just think it requires patience and discipline," Thomas said. "If you just get lazy, like on any drive, any wedge shot, any chip, any putt, you can kind of look stupid pretty fast, especially at a place like this. "Maybe I'm just sick and enjoy the challenge." While some may not love being dropped into intense conditions like Oakmont where lightning-fast greens and incredibly thick rough will be the talk of the town, don't lump Xander Schauffele into that bunch. "Maybe I'm just sick and enjoy the challenge," Schauffele said. "Something about it playing really hard." Xander Schauffele fields questions during a press conference on June 9th, 2025 at Oakmont Country Club ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA Schauffele, the No. 3 ranked player in the world, said he knows Oakmont is going to be hard this week, but says he thinks that's what the fans want to see. "I think they turn on the U.S. Open to see a guy shooting 8-over and suffer," Schauffele said. "That's part of the enjoyment of playing in the U.S. Open for viewers." "I think they're a lot of fun," Schauffele said of the difficult test, adding that part of the fun itself comes from the chance to take some risks when you have a decent lie in spite of the challenging conditions. "It's very penal if you miss." Missing fairways was a big topic of discussion among players, including Rory McIlroy, who spoke at length about the difficulties Oakmont brings when you find yourself in the high grass. "It's very penal if you miss," McIlroy said. "Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win." McIlroy, the No. 2 ranked player in the world and runner up at the U.S. Open the past two years, revealed that he was at Oakmont last week to play in a member's outing and despite feeling like he didn't play that bad, he shot 81 with birdies on his last two holes. Rory McIlroy hits a tee shot at Oakmont Country Club on June 10th, 2025 during a practice round ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA "You miss a fairway here, you can't really do anything with it unless you're in the middle of a fairway bunker and you can get something over the lip," McIlroy said. "Much more penal if you do miss it." McIlroy said that when it comes to making calculated decisions about how to play shots out of Oakmont's thick rough, everything comes down to the lie. "Just whatever club you think you can get on it," McIlroy said. "If you have a half-decent lie in the rough, it gives you a chance to at least run the ball up to the front of the green if you've got a decent lie. "This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever." While a majority of the discussion among top players was about Oakmont's thick rough, for Scottie Scheffler, he seemed to focus more on Oakmont's penal bunkers. Scheffler, the world's No.1 ranked player, said that given Oakmont's nearly 200 bunkers scattered throughout the property, he's not sure it's a type of course where you can try and overpower things with a "bomb and gouge type strategy." "This golf course is so well bunkered, especially for a golf course without trees, I think this is a place that can get away with it really well because there's so many bunkers everywhere and they're deep and it's a real penalty when you hit the ball in the bunkers here," Scheffler said. Scottie Scheffler looks on from the 9th green during a practice round on June 10th, 2025 at Oakmont Country Club ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA Scheffler said Oakmont is probably the hardest golf course that the players will play and when stacked up against other difficult challenges, it's just a different type of test and one that won't afford a lot of "green light places. 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USA Today
an hour ago
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Bryson DeChambeau returns to defend U.S. Open title as golf's YouTube king
Bryson DeChambeau returns to defend U.S. Open title as golf's YouTube king OAKMONT, Pa. — Bryson DeChambeau returns to the 2025 U.S. Open as the defending champion and golf's YouTube king, at least among the pro ranks. From his 2 million YouTube fans watching him try to "Break 50" with the likes of Donald Trump, various influencers and athletes to joining Johnson Wagner as he tried to reproduce his remarkable bunker shot at 18 at Pinehurst No. 2 during Golf Channel's "Live From," people love DeChambeau's content creation. The latest example was on display at Oakmont, site of this week's 125th U.S. Open, when DeChambeau showed up for a practice round on May 31 and filmed every shot. It was riveting stuff that no other player had done before. 'He's done a heck of a job using social media channels to connect with viewers, connect with golfers, and show his true personality because I think he probably didn't do a great job of that early on in his career,' NBC's Kevin Kisner said. ESPN's Scott Van Pelt took his analysis of DeChambeau's reboot as a YouTube star – he's got nearly 3 million Instagram followers and another 2 million on TikTok, too – one step further. 'I think he's now kind of figured out where he wants to be. He's almost reinvented himself in some ways,' he said. 'He's grown as a human, it seems to me. Last year he came and sat down in the Butler Cabin with me on Thursday and Friday, and he's been sort of this — he's played very different characters in a movie. It's almost like he's been many different versions of himself. 'And when he sat and visited with me last year, I just remarked to a number of people, he just seems like a different guy. He seems more at ease with himself. I don't know if it's the tour he plays, I don't know if it's just part of growing up, which is part of all of our lives, but he seemed comfortable, entirely comfortable with himself.' DeChambeau, 31, finally is becoming comfortable in his own skin, and YouTube has helped him let his guard down, he said, 'showing the fans a side of me that was locked up for so long.' 'What's funny is as much as my guard has been let down, I feel like I'm more strategic in how I deliver things and how I give perspective on things. Before, I was pretty up front and would just say things the way I wanted to whenever I wanted to,' he explained. 'Now it's more strategic in the way I do it and deliver it because I think there's a lot of good that can come from that.' DeChambeau has said he's taken a page out of the playbook of MrBeast, whose viral content are the most-watched videos on YouTube. Asked whether any of his peers have turned to him for advice on how to launch a YouTube channel, DeChambeau highlighted Phil Mickelson. Lefty said he'd always seen what he called the playful, fun, intelligent and interesting side of DeChambeau. 'He's able to showcase that and not have who he is be filtered by a middle person,' Mickelson said. 'He controls what content he puts out there and what he wants to shoot and so forth. So his personality comes out. It's been remarkable to see the evolution of it and the way the public has responded to him because he's always been like that. It just hasn't been able to be noticed, I guess, properly.' In discussing the tips he has passed along to Mickelson, DeChambeau said he reads the comments section and tries to give the people what they want. 'We've grown our channel to over 2 million followers now and couldn't be more thankful, and it's literally by listening to the comments section, by looking at the comments and seeing what they want,' he said. Major champion. Long driver. YouTube star. A case could be made that the latter has become what drives DeChambeau. 'It's a new space. I'm learning how to become a little bit more entertaining,' he said. 'It's not just golf, golf, golf, trying to win every really what gets me up in the morning and gives me a lot of passion for this game."
