The second of golf’s four Major championships, the US PGA Championship, takes place at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina this weekend, and Masters champion Rory McIlroy is fighting it out for favouritism with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy secured a career-defining win at Augusta National last month, completing the career Grand Slam and snapping a 10-year Major victory drought in the process, and now he returns to a venue where he has won four times on the PGA Tour.
Quail Hollow, a 7,600-yard par-71, is best known for hosting the Wells Fargo Championship, while it also staged the 2017 US PGA Championship – won by Justin Thomas – and the 2022 Presidents Cup in which the USA dominated the International team.
A long, punishing course, Quail Hollow has been softened up by thunderstorms in the days leading up to the PGA, so length off the tee, coupled with the temperament to compete on a Major stage, looks essential this week.
McIlroy, bidding for his third US PGA title having lifted the Wanamaker Trophy in 2012 and 2014, is 9/2 joint-favourite alongside Scheffler, who was an eight-shot winner of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on his latest start.
US PGA Championship Golf Betting Tips
- Outright winner – Justin Thomas at 16/1 with Sky Bet
- Outright winner – Xander Schauffele at 18/1 with bet365
- Outright winner – Tommy Fleetwood at 33/1 with BetMGM
Thomas has the tools to claim PGA hat-trick
The top two in the betting will be difficult to beat and McIlroy, in particular, is a force to be reckoned with at Quail Hollow, but others have title claims, too, including the man who won the 2017 US PGA at this venue.
Conditions will be different this time around – the US PGA switched from an August slot to May in 2019 – but Justin Thomas has all the tools to claim a third Wanamaker Trophy this week.
The Kentucky man is supremely comfortable in this part of the world, and he returns to the scene of his first Major victory in excellent form, winning the Heritage in neighbouring South Carolina before finishing runner-up at the Truist Championship last week.
While Harbour Town Golf Links is drastically different to Quail Hollow, Thomas’s victory in the Heritage – his first since he claimed his second PGA title at Southern Hills in 2022 – could prove to be a springboard towards Major success.
The 32-year-old is doing everything well at present. His iron-play is back to its best and he’s putting better than ever.
USPGA Championship Tip 1: Outright winner – Justin Thomas at 16/1 with Sky Bet
Defending champion finding form again
Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka have both successfully defended the US PGA Championship over the last two decades, and Xander Schauffele could add his name to that list this week.
Schauffele’s 2025 season has been a slow-burner due to a rib injury which sidelined him for two months, but last year’s Valhalla hero is steadily finding top gear again, finishing 12th at the Valspar, eighth at the Masters, 18th at the Heritage and 11th at the Truist.
He found something with the driver last week and, despite being the reigning champion, he is going under the radar at a venue where he has finished runner-up over the last two years on the PGA Tour.
USPGA Championship Tip 2: Outright winner – Xander Schauffele at 18/1 with bet365
Rock-solid Fleetwood holds each-way appeal
Tommy Fleetwood continues to frustrate his backers but the Englishman is one of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour and his Stateside breakthrough could come in one of the biggest events of the year.
The Southport ace has finished in the top 25 in 18 of his last 19 tournaments, including last week when he produced a season’s-best fourth-placed finish in Philadelphia, and he has form figures of 14-5-13 in the last three editions of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
USPGA Championship Tip 3: Outright winner – Tommy Fleetwood at 33/1 with BetMGM
