It’s fair to say Quail Hollow isn’t the most-loved course on the PGA Tour. Just once before has it hosted a major championship, and some professionals aren’t too pleased it’s been selected as the venue for the 2025 PGA Championship.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Hunter Mahan claimed the course was “like a Kardashian”, in the sense it is “very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character.” Hardly a glowing endorsement of the North Carolina base for this year’s Championship.
While Rory McIlroy’s opinion on the Kardashian family remains an unknown, one thing is for sure: he’s a big fan of Quail Hollow. The Irishman has won four times at the course in the last 15 years, including his first-ever PGA Tour title back in 2010.
Understandably, the recently-crowned Masters winner, fresh from breaking his major hoodoo, is being talked up as a likely champion for the second big title of the year. Xander Schauffele dubbed McIlroy heading to one of his favourite courses without anything to lose as a “scary” prospect during the tournament’s build-up, with the 35-year-old’s fear factor having definitely returned.
But, despite his love affair with Quail Hollow, it’s Justin Thomas who remains the only player to have won a PGA Championship on the course, triumphing during the competition’s only previous visit in 2017. McIlroy finished T22 eight years ago, and while he’s among the favourites to top the leaderboard after 72 holes this time around, it’s Thomas with whom the best value for money can be found.
The Americans’ form has somewhat gone under the radar in 2025. He hit a consistent 66-67-66-67 across his four rounds at last week’s Truist Championship in Philadelphia – a tournament he eventually finished T2 in. While at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina a couple of weeks before, Thomas hit a birdie in the playoff against Andrew Novak to take the title and the £2.7million ($3.6m) prize.
With some bookmakers, Thomas can be found hovering around the 20/1 mark, as McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson DeChambeau are all priced at shorter odds. But with six top 10 finishes on the Tour already this year, Thomas might be coming into form at exactly the right time.
Other outsiders include Shane Lowry, who, if not for misfortune and the odd mistake on the back nine at the Truist Championship, might’ve taken the title himself. The Irishman has looked in good nick so far this year, as has Tommy Fleetwood, who is yet to win a PGA Tour title of any kind but has been knocking on the door more and more lately.
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