Rory McIlroy will go in search of more major success as the Northern Irishman chases PGA Championship glory at Quail Hollow.
It is barely a month since McIlroy finally secured the green jacket that has eluded him for so long at the Masters, completing the career grand slam with a breakthrough win after more than a decade of pain in the majors.
But he is far from the only story in town, with a strong crop of contenders are gathering ahead of what could be a captivating weekend. Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau looked in ominous form after recent wins while defending champion Xander Schauffele appears to be over his injury troubles.
McIlroy, meanwhile, reopened his rivalry with DeChambeau after revealing his confusion to the American’s response to their lack of interaction during the final round of the Masters. As ever at an unpredictable tournament, plenty of thrills are sure to be in store...
Follow all of the latest from round one at Quail Hollow with our live blog below:
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PGA Championship LIVE
- The 2025 PGA Championship gets underway with round one at Quail Hollow in North Carolina
- Rory McIlroy is chasing more major success after completing his career grand slam at the Masters
- Defending champion Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau are among the other leading contenders
- -3 Fox
- -2 Donald, Fishburn, Gresyserman
Scottie Scheffler chips in!
14:16
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Harry Latham-Coyle
In it goes! Scottie Scheffler rather needed that, you’d say, his chip disappearing to get the shot back he’d lost.
Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, is now just one back from our Kiwi leader after birdies at 13 and 14. A par five to come - though the 15th can be tricky.
PGA Championship
14:11
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Nearly perfect from Rory McIlroy, flying to within about 15 feet of the flag on his third hole of the day, the 12th, before the ball bites, screwing back to the fringe down the hill. Xander Schauffele has left himself in a similar position off the tee but flies a little further, his approach nestling in the thicker stuff beyond the green.
It’ll be a bogey for Phil Mick, who nearly holes out from the sand having bashed out onto the beach after finding the water off the tee.
PGA Championship
14:11
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Nearly perfect from Rory McIlroy, flying to within about 15 feet of the flag on his third hole of the day, the 12th, before the ball bites, screwing back to the fringe down the hill. Xander Schauffele has left himself in a similar position off the tee but flies a little further, his approach nestling in the thicker stuff beyond the green.
It’ll be a bogey for Phil Mick, who nearly holes out from the sand having bashed out onto the beach after finding the water off the tee.
PGA Championship
14:06
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Trouble for Phil Mickelson - after passing up an excellent chance at birdie on the 13th, he’s in the drink on 14, a nasty slice leaving his drive sleeping with the fishes.
PGA Championship
14:02
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Harry Latham-Coyle
“Luuuke”, the patrons cry at eight as captain Donald moves to within of Ryan Fox’s lead. Good work from the skipper.
PGA Championship
13:59
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Scottie Scheffler has got the burnt orange colours of his college on today, the Texas alum hoping for a rather smoother PGA Championship than last year. He comes up shy with his little pitch, his game not quite getting going this morning.
Can he salvage a par? Nope, sliding by to leave a little nibbler back the other way. Scheffler makes it.
And a dropped shot for Rory McIlroy, too! A pacey putt pootles past.
PGA Championship
13:50
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Harry Latham-Coyle
A bit of bother for Scottie Scheffler, having to bend it out from behind a tree. He contorts the club around effectively but can’t get the distance to make it to the green.
Rory McIlroy has found the sandy stuff. He’s a little short with his approach, too, spinning back to leave himself with work to do - though on the green nonetheless.
PGA Championship
13:48
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Harry Latham-Coyle
A first chance of the day not taken by Ryan Fox, not getting the weight at all right. Still, a two-shot lead at this stage is not to be sniffed at - though there is a gathering group of goliaths at -1 including McIlroy, Schauffele and Jon Rahm.
Rory McIlroy birdies the 10th!
13:41
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Harry Latham-Coyle
In she goes! A wonderful start for Rory McIlroy, a slight hiccup off the tee but then good thereafter. Xander Schauffele also rolls his home, but Scottie Scheffler can’t join them on -1.
PGA Championship
13:37
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Scottie Scheffler finds the sand adjacent to the 10th green, though safely escapes his predicament. Rory McIlroy is down below the flag, though makes an excellent fist of his chip, leaving himself a kind birdie putt. Xander Schauffele goes even closer, lovely control as he flips up over a little hump on to the dancefloor.
PGA Championship
13:31
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Harry Latham-Coyle
McIlroy’s playing partners Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler smoke their opening tee shots on to the pleasant stuff.
Up ahead, it’s back-to-back birdies for Ryan Fox! He gains a shot at the friendly 344-yard 14th and takes the solo lead again.
Rory McIlroy in the rough
13:27
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Harry Latham-Coyle
A booming drive to start from Rory McIlroy, though it leaks away to the right into the first cut of rough. Not the worst. The Northern Irishman was apparently gripping and ripping them nearly 350 yards on the range this morning. It really is a different sport at the elite level.
Alex Noren joins Ryan Fox
13:25
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Ryan Fox, meanwhile, has company at -2 - Ryan Noren’s fast start has continued at No 4 with birdie No 2 of the day.
Rory McIlroy set to get underway
13:21
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Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s time. Rory McIlroy is stepping out towards the course alongside Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler - what chance one of this trio is hoisting the trophy come the end of the weekend? How will McIlroy play, now free from the burden of chasing a major that had long eluded him? This could be very fun indeed.
Luke Donald into the red
13:16
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Luke Donald has also made an early birdie, his coming at the fourth after leaving himself four feet or so off the tee. Good stuff from the visored one
Ryan Fox extends strong start
13:13
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Harry Latham-Coyle
A lovely tee shot on the par-three 13th keeps Ryan Fox moving, a little bit of left to right shape to take it over the bunker and then the flag, and a tidy putt to convert the birdie chance.
Brooks Kopeka opens with a bogey
13:05
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Harry Latham-Coyle
With no Tiger Woods in the field, Brooks Koepka is the most successful PGA Championship player at Quail Hollow. The American will be hoping that three titles become four come Sunday to match the tally of the absent Woods and leave him one short of the record of Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus - though it’s not the best of starts for the LIV rebel, starting off with a bogey six at the par-five 10th.
PGA Championship
12:57
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Harry Latham-Coyle
A double bogey at 11 is not what Seamus Power would have wanted after a positive start, the Irishman slipping back from a leading trio of Ryan Fox, Alex Noren and Max McGreevy.
PGA Championship
12:39
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Well, Fox’s was the only birdie. Seamus Power is also off to an excellent start with a birdie at the 10th with the field split today in getting underway on the front or back nines.
Back on that tee, another Irishman is about to begin - Shane Lowry looked in lovely touch at the Truist Championship last week before fading from Sepp Straka late on. Can he mount a charge? Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler are his playing partners in a fun little three-ball.
PGA Championship - a flying Fox?
12:35
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Harry Latham-Coyle
The only birdie of the day so far, incidentally, has gone to another of last week’s winners. Ryan Fox booked his spot here thanks to a play-off victory at the secondary Myrtle Beach Classic event on the PGA Tour. Having started with a birdie on the back nine, perhaps it was little surprise that the son of great All Blacks fly half Grant Fox liked No 10.
Sepp Straka gets underway
12:30
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Sepp Straka looks a safe bet to be heading for New York in September, the Austrian adding a second PGA Tour title of the year to his collection at the Truist Championship last year. Could a major breakthrough be on the cards? Straka missed the cut at the Masters and has largely failed to figure at the top of leaderboards in golf’s biggest events since tying for second at the Open at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
Ryder Cup 2025: Predicting Team Europe
12:20
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Harry Latham-Coyle
This could be a big week for some of the fringe Ryder Cup hopefuls, someone like Niklas Norgaard (who really gives it a whack) the type of player that might go well on a course that favours the crushers. The Dane is not currently on our list of European contenders for Bethpage - find out who Jack Rathborn and Luke Baker, The Independent’s own Ballesteros and Olazabal-esque dynamic duo, currently have making the team.
PGA Championship
12:10
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Speaking of Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald appears to have left the door ajar for Jon Rahm to seize his spot at Bethpage Black - though there are a couple of pretty major stumbling blocks to be overcome...
Sahith Theegala withdraws
12:00
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Harry Latham-Coyle
The first group of the day are on the tee: Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and Martin Kaymer would have been a fascinating trio a decade ago but is unlikely to provide a contender this time around. The European stalwarts will nonetheless hope to use their wiles to go well.
A bit of late injury news, though. Sahith Theegala had been due to kick off on the 10th hole in at 12.27, but withdrew last night; Alex Smalley replaces him in a three-ball with Max McGreevy and Sepp Straka, winner at the Truist Championship last week. A shame for Theegala, who has been struggling with a neck issue.
Weather watch
11:55
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Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s not long at all now until the first groups are out on course at Quail Hollow. Practice earlier in the week was heavily disrupted by torrential downpours, but the weather looks set fair for the weekend, with temperatures set to rise up around 30 degrees a little later. The precipitation will have softened the fairways and putting surfaces, perhaps placing power-hitting even more at a premium but creating scoring chances for those that can get their approach game going.
Rory McIlroy determined not to ‘burden’ himself with numbers after Masters glory
11:45
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Rory McIlroy has no plans to “burden” himself with victory targets and is determined to enjoy achieving everything he dreamed of following his memorable Masters triumph.
McIlroy’s nerve-shredding victory at Augusta National made him just the sixth male golfer to complete a career grand slam and gave him a fifth major title, one behind Sir Nick Faldo and two adrift of Europe’s most prolific major winner, Harry Vardon.
And the world number two has every chance of equalling Faldo’s tally in the 107th US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, a venue where he won his first PGA Tour title in 2010 and has since claimed three more victories, including last year.
“I have achieved everything that I wanted, I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game,” McIlroy said before completing his preparations by playing the back nine at a rain-soaked Quail Hollow on Wednesday.
PGA Championship: Bryson DeChambeau wants another showdown with Rory McIlroy
11:25
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Bryson DeChambeau is targeting another showdown with Rory McIlroy at a venue where he learned an expensive lesson on his last appearance.
DeChambeau and McIlroy made up the last group in the final round of the Masters last month and it was McIlroy who overcame a double bogey on the first hole to eventually beat Justin Rose in a play-off and complete the career grand slam.
McIlroy has also won four times at Quail Hollow, venue for this week’s US PGA Championship, including in 2021 when DeChambeau finished ninth in remarkable circumstances.
Jordan Spieth eager to emulate Rory McIlroy and complete career grand slam at PGA Championship
11:05
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Jordan Spieth admits he has been inspired by Rory McIlroy completing the career grand slam as he bids to join golf's most exclusive club himself.
Just five weeks after McIlroy won the Masters to become the sixth player to have claimed all four major titles, Spieth can make it a magnificent seven by ending his own major drought with victory in the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
It will be Spieth's ninth attempt to complete the career grand slam since he secured the third leg in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and he will be optimistic of mounting a sustained challenge for the first time.
Key tee times
10:45
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Harry Latham-Coyle
The PGA Championship can often throw up a surprise, so it is best to keep one’s eye on the entirety of a mammoth field over the next couple of days. But here are a few round one tee times and groups of particular interest:
12:38 Rickie Fowler (US), Brooks Koepka (US), Shane Lowry (Ire)
12:49 Jason Day (Aus), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Phil Mickelson (US)
13:00 Patrick Cantlay (US), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Jon Rahm (Spa)
13:22 Rory McIlroy (NI), Xander Schauffele (US), Scottie Scheffler (US)
18:14 Dustin Johnson (US), Collin Morikawa (US), Justin Thomas (US)
18:25 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Patrick Reed (US), Jordan Spieth (US)
18:47 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Gary Woodland (US)
Former Ryder Cup star bizarrely compares PGA Championship course to the Kardashians
10:25
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Harry Latham-Coyle
Quail Hollow is a regular stop on the PGA Tour, the tournament now known as the Truist Championship held at the North Carolina course each year. But it’s not to everyone’s taste - a number of players in the field have moaned this week about it being too heavily in favour of the bigger hitters, with limited thought required on the tee. Former Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan went a step further with a curious comparison.
Rory McIlroy’s newfound strength puts PGA Championship rivals on notice
10:05
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Jack Rathborn
First came the vulnerability over many years. Then the outpouring of emotion at the Masters – Rory McIlroy allowing us to witness one of the most intimate moments in sports for decades.
Completing the grand slam and slipping on that green jacket banished the demons after so much heartache – that Augusta collapse; freezing at Royal Portrush before the Open had barely begun; stumbling over 18 holes on Sunday at St Andrews as Cam Smith snuck up on him; and then the torture of Pinehurst No. 2 last year.
Now, though, with five career majors elevating himself back above Brooks Koepka as the definitive player of a generation, if there was any doubt beforehand, McIlroy is certainly emboldened ahead of this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
Rory McIlroy still feels emotional watching back Masters win
09:45
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Jamie Braidwood
Rory McIlroy says the reaction to his Masters win was “everything I thought it would be” and he admitted he still feels like crying when he sees the emotional scenes that followed his winning moment at Augusta.
“The outpouring of support and congratulatory messages has been absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said.
“Look, everyone needs to have goals and dreams, and I’ve been able to do something that I dreamed of for a long time. I’m still going to set myself goals. I’m still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that that very well could be the highlight of my career.
“That’s a very cool thing. I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I’m not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.”
Rory McIlroy on setting new targets after Masters win
09:35
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Jamie Braidwood
Rory McIlroy has no plans to “burden” himself with victory targets and is determined to enjoy achieving everything he dreamed of following his memorable Masters triumph.
“I have achieved everything that I wanted, I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game,” McIlroy said.
“I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.
“I’ve always said I’m never going to put a number on it. I’ve talked about trying to become the best European ever or the best international player ever or whatever that is.”
‘I don’t know what he was expecting’: McIlroy on DeChambeau
09:20
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Jamie Braidwood
Rory McIlroy on Bryson DeChambeau’s comments following the Masters:
“I don't know what he was expecting. You know, we're trying to win the Masters, I'm not trying to be his best mate out there.
“Everyone approaches the game in different ways, I was focusing on myself and what I needed to do. That's all it was, it wasn't anything against him, I felt like that was what I needed to do to get the best out of me that day.”
Rory McIlroy left confused by Bryson DeChambeau reaction at the Masters
09:10
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Jamie Braidwood
Rory McIlroy admits he has been left confused by Bryson DeChambeau’s reaction to their lack of interaction during the final round of the Masters.
McIlroy, 35, completed the career grand slam at Augusta after beating out Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose. in the first men’s golf major of the year.
DeChambeau had been in contention, starting two shots behind McIlroy, before falling away to finish fifth, and the American later shed light on how the pair did not interact during their time playing together on Sunday at Augusta National.
“No idea. Didn't talk to me once all day,” DeChambeau said at the time. “He wouldn't talk to me.”
But McIlroy has now reacted to DeChambeau’s comments ahead of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this week.
PGA Championship 2025 tee times and schedule
08:55
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Jamie Braidwood
The PGA Championship begins as the world’s top players contend the second major of the year in North Carolina.
The Quail Hollow Country Club is the venue for the 2025 edition of one of golf’s most prestigious tournaments, with Rory McIlroy the headliner as he looks to build on winning his first Green Jacket at Augusta last month.
While McIlroy hopes to keep alive a bid for a calendar slam while picking up a third victory in this major, he’ll face stiff competition from defending champion Xander Schauffele, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and a competitive field including Jordan Spieth, who himself is hoping to complete a career grand slam with victory in North Carolina.
But though a strong pack of favourites look set to gather at the top of the leaderboard, the PGA Championship can often throw up a surprise contender or two, with more than 150 players competing.
PGA Championship LIVE
08:38
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Harry Latham-Coyle
The second men’s major of the year is upon us, Quail Hollow primed and ready for four days of PGA Championship thrills and spills. After completing a career grand slam at the Masters in such dramatic fashion, Rory McIlroy will be freed from the buren of a long wait for major number five as he chases more success at a course he knows incredibly well.
But the Northern Irishman is far from the only tale in town. Is Scottie Scheffler back to his best? Will Bryson DeChambeau strike another big blow for LIV? Can Xander Schauffele defend his title? And could Jordan Spieth yet follow McIlroy to a clean sweep? It should be a weekend to savour in North Carolina.