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Golf analyst: Rory McIlroy's Quail Hollow domination makes him PGA Championship favorite

Rory McIlroy finally got that gorilla off his back, winning his first Masters last month to complete golf's career grand slam. Now, with the PGA Championship taking place at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina this week, one top golf analyst believes McIlroy will take home back-to-back majors. In an interview with Sportsnaut's Evan Groat, managing editor Ryan Herrington predicts that McIlroy will capture his third PGA Championship. And it's all because of how he has performed at Quail Hollow. Advertisement 'He now comes to a Quail Hollow golf course that he's won four times on in PGA Tour events and dominated in those events. Three of the four were by four or more strokes,' notes Herrington. 'So you've got to think he has a great chance this week, just his familiarity with the golf course and his comfortability level with playing at this place.' Herrington believes McIlroy has a 'real advantage' over his competition this week, including Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, adding that the Masters champion set the course record at Quail Hollow in 2015 when he shot a 61. 'I just think McIlroy plays so well at this golf course. And I do think that's going to be a real advantage for him this week where he knows mentally that he can bounce back from a couple bad holes and still play well and pull off a good score,' said Herrington. He continued, 'So I just think that's a tremendous advantage for him. And if he wasn't playing so well this year, it might not be that big a deal. But when you combine the two factors, it just seems to me that he's a very logical chalk pick.' Advertisement Herrington also wouldn't be surprised if McIlroy is in contention for both the U.S. Open and British Open later this year. 'Oakmont, a very good golf course set up for him for the U.S. Open, and then Portrush at the Open Championship,' explains Herrington. 'Let's not get too carried away right yet, but at the same time, going into this week, you've got to think he's the favorite.' McIlroy tees off at 8:22 a.m. ET Thursday in the first round of the PGA Championship, alongside Scheffler and Schauffele.