Rory McIlroy will begin his quest to win back-to-back major titles for the second time in his career when he tees off at the PGA Championship on Thursday.
The Northern Irishman arrives at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina as the favourite and with a giant weight lifted off his shoulders after finally clinching Masters glory in the most dramatic finish at Augusta last month.
McIlroy went through the full range of emotions during a truly remarkable final round, eventually beating Justin Rose in a play-off for the Green Jacket to follow Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as only the sixth golfer ever to claim a coveted career Grand Slam.
Such a momentous triumph also finally ended his 11-year wait for a fifth major, having been stuck on four since his famous Open and PGA Championship double in 2014.
McIlroy has previously won this event twice, sealing his second major with a superb eight-shot victory at Kiawah Island back in 2012 and then repeating the feat two years later as he became the first player from the UK to win successive majors, edging out Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson and Rickie Fowler in a late thriller at Valhalla after a long weather delay.
The in-form McIlroy also has wins to his name at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and in the Players Championship so far in 2025, while he knows very well what it takes to win at Quail Hollow, having triumphed in four tournaments there in the past - most recently the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, when a superb back nine saw him win in five shots from Xander Schauffele.
However, there are plenty of threats to McIlroy in the 156-strong field this week, not least reigning world No1 Scottie Scheffler, who recently equalled the record for the lowest 72-hole score ever seen on the PGA Tour as he won by eight strokes at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas.
When is Rory McIlroy playing at the PGA Championship?
McIlroy will tee off alongside Scheffler and last year’s PGA Tour Championship winner Schauffele in a box-office trio for the first two rounds.
He is due to hit his first shot at 1:22pm BST on Thursday afternoon, which is 8:22am local time.
PGA Championship tee times
Selected first-round groupings (all times BST unless stated)
12pm: Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer
12:38pm: Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry
12:49pm: Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day
1pm: Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick
1:22pm: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
How to watch the PGA Championship
TV channel: In the UK, live coverage of the 2025 PGA Championship is provided by Sky Sports. Daily broadcasts begin at midday for the first two rounds on Sky Sports Main Event (12:15pm on Thursday) and Sky Sports Golf, moving to 1pm on Sky Sports Golf on Saturday and Sunday.
Sky Sports Main Event joins the coverage from 5pm on Saturday and 7pm on Sunday.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the action live online via the Sky Go app.
PGA Championship prize money
The exact prize pool for the 2025 PGA Championship has yet to be officially disclosed, but last year Schauffele pocketed a cool $3.3million at Valhalla from a total pot of over $18m after beating Bryson DeChambeau by one shot.
PGA Championship odds
Winner
Scottie Scheffler 4/1
Rory McIlroy 9/2
Jon Rahm 17/1
Justin Thomas 19/1
Collin Morikawa 21/1
Joaquin Niemann 30/1
Patrick Cantlay 35/1
40/1 bar
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
