Rory McIlroy favourite to win US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow despite changes to course

Getting into the swing: Rory McIlroy
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John Huggan9 August 2017

Two names have dominated the build-up to the US PGA Championship that begins tomorrow at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jordan Spieth will attempt to become only the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam, having already notched up victories in the Masters, the US Open and, last month, the Open Championship.

But the 24-year-old Texan will not start favourite. That honour belongs to Rory McIlroy, despite Hideki Matsuyama arriving here at Quail Hollow on the back of a brilliant victory in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at the weekend. The 25-year-old Japanese — now up to world No3 — blew away a world-class field with a final-round nine-under-par 61 on the fearsome Firestone course in Ohio.

Others such as world No1 Dustin Johnson, 2015 champion Jason Day, Masters winner Sergio Garcia, Spanish sensation Jon Rahm, US Open champion Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler — winner of the 2012 Wells Fago Championship at Quail Hollow — have all been “under the radar”, as the spotlight has shone on Spieth and, in particular, McIlroy.

All of which is understandable. The Northern Irishman is returning to a club where, on three occasions since 2010, he has shot the lowest score over 72 holes in PGA Tour events and only once finished outside the top 10. Throw in McIlroy’s impressive record in what is — at least until 2019 when it moves to May — the year’s final Major and it is easy to see why he will tee-up as the man to beat. In only eight starts, he has two USPGA victories, two ties for third and one other top-ten finish.

"The course really suits my game,” said McIlroy, who has been inundated with offers from people who want to be his new caddy following his split from long-time bagman, JP Fitzgerald. For the time being, his best friend Harry Diamond has assumed caddie duties.

“I couldn’t say the same about every venue but at Quail Hollow I’ve always been able to establish a good line from almost every tee and, generally, for my approach shots. And when I’m relaxed over shots and the course sets up well for my game, that really gives my confidence a boost.

“I have to say that the Green Mile [holes 16, 17 and 18] is a great finishing test. Tough but fair is perhaps how I’d best describe those closing holes. Playing them in level-par will be good on any of the four days. But they’re not impossible.

“If you don’t try to be too clever and concentrate on finding position from the tee, the Green Mile can be accessible. But pushing too hard can be very costly.”

Hang on, though. The Quail Hollow course the elite field will see this week — 97 of the world’s top 100 are present — is quite a bit removed from the one on which McIlroy has enjoyed so much success. A number of holes are either new or have been markedly altered.

The first hole is now a par 4 524-yard dogleg right. A new par 3 was built to replace the old second, which was eliminated to extend the new first. The 5th, formerly a par 5, is now a par 4 dogleg-right. And bunkers have been added to the par 4 11th, where the green has also been pushed back. But the biggest difference is the switch from rye grass to Bermuda grass.

“It has the potential to play completely different than it used to,” said defending champion Jimmy Walker. “We’re used to playing it with rye grass everywhere. Now it has a potential [with Bermuda] to play really firm and really fast. That’s when golf gets really hard — when you start losing control of the golf ball.”

In view of the changes, McIlroy made a scouting mission to Charlotte earlier this year. So none of the differences in playability will come as a surprise.

“I was initially concerned at the thought of changes to a course where I have enjoyed so much success,” he said. “But I came away pleasantly surprised. The changes are, essentially, sympathetic and, I suppose, necessary for a major. The course is now longer, tougher and will be a real challenge.”

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