Rory McIlroy goes for back-to-back majors at the PGA Championship

Jesse Campigotto · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 13, 2025 4:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

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It whitethorn beryllium the slightest prestigious of the 4 men's play majors, but determination are plentifulness of bully storylines to travel erstwhile the 107th PGA Championship tees disconnected Thursday astatine beauteous Quail Hollow successful Charlotte, N.C. Such as:

The unit is disconnected Rory McIlroy.

The world's second-ranked subordinate ended his decade-long large rubric drought successful melodramatic manner past month, recovering from different precocious meltdown to triumph the Masters successful a playoff against Justin Rose. McIlroy's archetypal greenish overgarment made him conscionable the sixth subordinate successful past to implicit the vocation Grand Slam.

With his spot among the top of the all-time greats yet secure, the Northern Irishman tin halt worrying astir his bequest and conscionable absorption connected winning tournaments. He's been precise bully astatine that this year, racking up a PGA Tour-best 3 victories — each successful premium events. Along with the Masters, McIlroy won the big-money Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship, the Tour's richest non-playoff event.

WATCH | CBC Sports recaps 2025 Masters, McIlroy's historical win:

This week, McIlroy has a bully accidental to nab his sixth vocation major. His big-hitting crippled is well-suited to Quail Hollow, wherever he's won 4 Tour events and changeable a course-record 61 during his triumph successful the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship. However, McIlroy is not the sole favourite this week because…

The aged Scottie Scheffler is back.

The satellite No. 1 joins McIlroy arsenic the co-favourites successful the betting markets aft Scheffler won his past tourney by 8 shots to seizure his archetypal rubric of the year. A nine-time victor successful 2024, Scheffler missed the archetypal period of this play aft gashing his close thenar portion trying to marque ravioli for Christmas. The large Texan was dilatory retired of the gates by his standards, but helium placed 4th astatine the Masters and has present finished successful the apical 8 astatine 4 consecutive tournaments.

Considering he's won 3 consecutive PGA Tour Player of the Year awards, it's a spot weird that Scheffler is inactive looking for his archetypal large rubric extracurricular of the Masters, which helium won successful 2022 and '24. But helium did triumph Olympic golden past twelvemonth successful Paris and has been a runner-up astatine the U.S. and the PGA Championship.

At past year's PGA, Scheffler changeable an unthinkable 5-under 66 successful the 2nd circular aft being released from jailhouse pursuing his apprehension by a postulation bull astatine Valhalla Golf Club successful Louisville, Ky., but helium faded to a necktie for eighth spot arsenic Xander Schauffele captured his archetypal major.

Can Jordan Spieth implicit the vocation Slam?

This seemed astir inevitable backmost successful 2015 erstwhile Spieth, lone 21 years aged astatine the commencement of the season, won the Masters and the U.S. Open, tied for 4th astatine the British Open and placed 2nd astatine the PGA Championship. Spieth added the Claret Jug 2 years later, but the Wanamaker Trophy seems further from his grasp than ever. He hasn't finished amended than 29th successful the PGA Championship implicit the past 5 years, and he's won lone 2 Tour events since 2017. As a result, the American is down to 48th successful the satellite rankings.

Spieth's buddy Justin Thomas is the opposite — his lone 2 large titles person travel astatine the PGA Championship, which helium won successful 2017 (at Quail Hollow) and 2022. After a mates of years successful the wilderness, Thomas looks similar a beardown contender again aft winning the RBC Heritage and placing 2nd astatine past week's Truist Championship (two big-money events) to emergence to 5th successful the satellite rankings.

Other players to ticker this week see satellite No. 4 Collin Morikawa of the United States, whose 2 large titles see the 2020 PGA, and big-hitting LIV Golf prima Bryson DeChambeau, who's rated No. 3 by Data Golf behind Scheffler and McIlroy. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open successful 2024 and has been successful the hunt successful the past 4 American-based majors, including a second-place decorativeness astatine past year's PGA (just a changeable down Schauffele) and a necktie for 5th astatine past month's Masters. 

Five Canadians are successful the field.

Corey Conners, ranked 21st successful the world, is Canada's apical contender aft tying for eighth astatine the Masters and 11th astatine the Truist past week. His champion decorativeness astatine the PGA Championship was a necktie for 12th 2 years agone astatine Oak Hill.

Conners is joined by Nick Taylor (ranked 36th), Mackenzie Hughes (44th), Taylor Pendrith (49th) and Adam Hadwin (92nd). All of them are trying to go the archetypal Canadian to triumph a men's large since Mike Weir's Masters triumph successful 2003.