The second largest major in the 2025 season is the PGA Championship, which was held Thursday at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Can Rory McIlroy have two majors in a row? Will Scottie Scheffler add another major to his resume? What can we expect from Bryson DeChambeau and other LIV golfers?

From favorites to radar athletes watching and more, here are six storylines that have been followed this week at the PGA Championship.

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Who is the favorite: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler or Master Champion Rory McIlroy?

Mark Schrabach: Although Scottie Scheffler is a slight gambling favorite and is about to win the first win of the 2025 season, I think you can say Rory McIlroy is the best golfer on the planet. He has won three championships on this year’s Tour, each of them in an area full of AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Player Championship and Masters, where he became the sixth golfer to complete a career Grand Slam.

McIlroy recently won four times and finished second at Quail Hollow Club, making him the golfer he defeated this week. Shefleur hadn't had a stroke there, and his lonely appearance at Quail Hollow in the 2022 Presidents Cup was hardly memorable. He scored a 0-3-1 record with the US team's 17.5-12½ beat the international team.

Paul's object: I agree with Mark - Rory should be favored this week and no one is playing this game in a better form than him. However, it is worth noting that the top of the game can be changed. Schaffler has been very stable so far this season, but since he won only once and didn’t keep his painful pace since last year, he essentially opened the door for McIlroy to step into the best player in the world again. If Sunday comes to Sunday, I'm all trying to increase their main totals and find myself in each other's way, it won't surprise me.

Apart from Scottie and Rory, who will you choose this week?

Schrabach: Justin Thomas played some of the best golf in his career and won the final PGA title in 2017 at Quail Hollow. JT won nearly three years of drought on the tour when he won the legacy of Andrew Novak's playoffs on April 20 and won the Valspar title (probably runner-up in the Valspar Championship. Hovland hit) and tied for second in the Truist Championship last week, behind winner Sepp Straka.

Thomas has a long history with Quail Hollow, ranking in the top 26 in five of his six games. He finished fifth: Tee to Green (1.227) and close (.896), while putter (.432) 20th.

Uggetti: You're telling me that this is one of the longest courses ever for professional gaming, with healthy hardships and lots of pre-race rain to make driving length necessary, and you didn't choose Bryson DeChambeau? Quail Hollow will be a bomber paradise this year, and no one will bomb it better than DeChambeau. According to Data Golf, DeChambeau had two strokes with his driver, a figure leading the way over the second player in the category. However, it's not just the driver. DeChambeau has played sharp games for the rest of his time over the last few years - he has five top ten in the last nine Grand Slams - if he could copy his performance at Valhalla last year, he would undoubtedly fit in.

What do you expect from Xander Schauffele (the defending champion) this week?

Schrabach: After being out for more than two months after suffering a painful rib injury, Xander Schauffele's game is moving in the right direction again. He ended four consecutive times, including eighth place in the Masters and 11th place in the Truist Championship.

Although he ranked seventh in stroke: approach (.821), he ranked 157th (-.320) over Green (-.155) (-.155) and 135th putter (-.244). I attribute it to the lack of representation more than anything else. The most important thing: Schauffele has won two titles in the past four majors and has won the top 10 in seven of the last nine games. Oh, he also finished second in Quail Hollow in the last two times.

Uggetti: Schauffele is now the mysterious man of the sport. As always, his floor is so high that he is obviously not in mid-season yet, but he is still tripping over the top 20. Schauffele's worst result in his last four games was the 18th tie at the Royal Bank of Canada legacy, ending the game with an 11th-place draw last week in Philadelphia cricket. Honestly, I don't know what Quail Hollow's Schauffele would expect from Schauffele this week, but the defending champion (and two-time major title) is flying slightly under the current radar.

Which LIV golfer will you watch this week?

Schrabach: Distance from Quail Hollow Club will be the most important thing, so why don't you expect Bryson DeChambeau to fit in? He finished second in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, losing one shot to Schauffele. He took the lead early in the final round of the Masters, then hit three times over 75 and faded into the tie for fifth place. As far as Tee's DeChambeau is concerned, no one can hit it, and if his iron performance is better than the Augusta National Golf Club, I wouldn't be surprised to see him lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.

Patrick Reed finished third in the Masters, and he also had a good record with Quail Hollow.

Uggetti: Until he makes the top ten in the Grand Slam, the answer will remain Joaquín Niemann. This is starting to be a clear sign that players who continue to win on the LIV Tour do not seem to show up when they arrive at the main venue of the best players in the world. Niemann has won multiple professional games, and Data Golf now sees him as the top 10 player in the world. So why can't it translate into four biggest weeks of the year? This issue continues to cover up Neeman's career, and this week will be another chance for him to stop the trend.

One or two radar players or two players watching this week?

Schrabach: As Sepp Straka won the second time in the Truist Championship this season, the former Georgia golfer won five titles in 22 PGA Tours this season.

Another former bulldog, Keith Mitchell, has been moving in the right direction after struggling in late 2024. Mitchell has five straight top 25, including second in Corales Puntacana and seventh in the Truist Championship. Mitchell ranked 11th in driving distance (313.3 yards) and tournament in 21st: Tee to Green (.868). He has two top 10 careers in Quail Hollow.

Taylor Pendrith of Canada has been underperforming in the past few weeks, but he finished in the top ten earlier this season. He is another golfer who hits T-shirts (307.9 yards) and hits a lot of greens (70.6%) in the regulations. He wasn't great around, or on the green, but if his putting was hot this week, he might fit in.

Uggetti: A two-on-one special: Beware of Højgaard Twins (Nicolai and Rasmus). Both have the ability to keep up with the length of the course and may make some noises secretly this week. As far as other young players are concerned, I also put Michael Thorbjornsen into it. He has two top five this season and has been playing some very solid golf lately.

Eventually, watching Akshay Bhatia in the players’ game, it was obvious that he had games to win professionally, maybe at this stage of his career, his game was good, but not perfect, and a venue like Quail Hollow could be the ideal place to break through.

How will Quail Hollow play this week?

Schrabach: Quail Hollow is one of the longest 7,626 yard courses on the tour, ranking fourth in PGA Championship history and the longest PAR-71 course. It can play longer after the rain soaked the course on Monday. More precipitation is expected by Wednesday. If so, there will be no too much roll on the fairway, resulting in a greater distance on the tee.

Contenders will also have to play well around the greens as they may miss a lot. According to ESPN research, eight greens played less than 50% during the 2017 PGA Championship. The opening hole hit only 33%.

The golfer will have to survive the par 3 (four over 200 yards), score high on 5 and score in three-hole closure, known as the "Green Mile." ESPN Research says it's more than a better Bird or a better (88) or worse (99).