rewrite this title PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy’s past success at Quail Hollow ahead of push for another major victory

Rory McIlroy’s title defence at the Truist Championship is being held away from Quail Hollow due to it hosting next week’s PGA Championship, with few courses better suited to him adding to his major tally.

The FedExCup leader chases a fifth win at the event – previously known at the Wells Fargo Championship, held this year at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, before turning his attention to the second major of the year.

McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, with his 2014 victory at Valhalla his most recent major title until he completed the career Grand Slam by securing the Green Jacket at The Masters last month.

The 36-year-old now has a great opportunity to lift the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time, which would pull him level with Sir Nick Faldo’s six major titles, with the iconic North Carolina venue being where McIlroy has enjoyed more success than any other in America.

He claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory there in 2010 and won at Quail Hollow for a fourth time only last May, plus registered titles there in 2015 and 2021, with his past success fuelling the prospect of adding to his major tally.

That breakthrough Quail Hollow Championship title 15 years ago came despite him needing an eagle late in his second round just to make the cut, with McIlroy overturning a four-shot deficit on the final day to fire a brilliant 62 and race to a four-shot victory.

A stunning 42-foot birdie on the last hole produced Jim Nantz’s iconic commentary line ‘welcome to the big time, Rory McIlroy’, with the-then 20-year-old becoming – at the time – the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods.

McIlroy lost out in a play-off to Rickie Fowler two years later and already had three legs of the Grand Slam secured before the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship, where he set the course record on his way a record-breaking victory.

An 11-under 61 in the third round was one shot better than the course record he had set five years earlier, with his seven-shot victory still the largest in the tournament’s history and making McIlroy one of the favourites when the 2017 PGA Championship was held at Quail Hollow.

McIlroy battled rib and back injuries throughout that season and never really contended in the final major of the year, with the PGA Championship then held in August, as Justin Thomas impressed on the final day to claim his maiden major title.

Thomas started the final round two strokes behind Kevin Kisner but jumped up the leaderboard by following three birdies in four holes around the turn with a chip-in from off the 13th green, with a four-under 68 enough for a two-shot victory.

McIlroy finished nine strokes back in tied-22nd as part of a trophyless 2017, although he continued his impressive Quail Hollow record with top-20s in his next two visits ahead of him returning to the winner’s circle at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship.

The Northern Irishman had dropped to world No 15 – his lowest in 12 years – after a torrid start to the season saw him miss the cut at The Players and The Masters, with McIlroy battling swing problems caused by “speed training” and chasing extra distance.

McIlroy nearly withdrew ahead of his opening round at Quail Hollow due to a neck injury, only to end the week with his first PGA Tour victory in 18 months after clinging on to a one-shot victory over Abraham Ancer in a much-improved performance.

He described Quail Hollow as “one of his favourite places in the world” after his third victory at the event, with his 19th PGA Tour title coming on Mother’s Day in the United States and first since having a daughter the previous autumn.

McIlroy’s title defence was played away from Quail Hollow a year later due to the venue hosting the 2022 Presidents Cup, with the tournament since becoming one of the PGA Tour’s “Signature Events” – offering smaller fields and more prize money.

Team victory alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in his previous start gave McIlroy confidence going into last year’s Wells Fargo Championship, where he dominated the final day to storm to a five-shot victory over Xander Schauffele.

McIlroy played an eight-hole stretch in eight under to pull clear of the field and put his own tournament scoring records under threat, before eventually closing out a six-under 65 despite double-bogeying his final hole.

A fourth Wells Fargo Championship title was one of four worldwide wins for McIlroy in 2024, while his historic start to this year’s campaign saw him win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players before his Grand Slam success.

McIlroy has never won the same event five times, but that could change this week in North Carolina. Even if he doesn’t, the possibility of back-to-back major titles – like he achieved in 2014 – is a genuine possibility.

Can Rory McIlroy build on his historic start to 2025? Watch him in action at the Truist Championship and the PGA Championship this month live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.