Rampant Rory McIlroy out to bust another decade-long hoodoo. Superstar Scottie Scheffler aiming to cement his No1 status in the world. Brash Bryson DeChambeau looking to do it for LIV. The PGA Championship , the second Major golf championship of 2025, at Quail Hollow is bubbling up to be an absolute classic with the game’s elite peaking at just the right time. McIlroy, fresh from winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam, is the biggest talking point as he chases the title and a fifth win at the venue. Having broken his 11-year Major duck, the European hero is now aiming to collect his sixth and become the first player to win the first two Majors in a year since Jordan Spieth in 2015, but there are storylines all over the set-up in Charlotte, North Carolina. The PGA Championship is, naturally, ranked as the fourth biggest of the Majors behind the Masters, The Open and US Open. However, the tournament has produced some brilliant champions and superb finishes, including 12 months ago when Xander Schauffele edged DeChambeau by a shot at Valhalla. The field is deep and also contains 20 PGA professionals from the 30,000 across America having moved six years ago from a September slot into the May date. McIlroy against Scheffler is the dream Sunday head-to-head for golf fans across the planet. The Worlds No.1 and No.2 could barely be in better shape heading into the event. The Northern Irishman is on top of the game having completed the career Grand Slam and securing a fifth Major when winning at Augusta. It’s been hectic since with a trip home to see family, an illness bug and appearances on various TV shows eager to grab a piece of him. McIlroy got back into individual action at the Truist Championship as build-up, but Scheffeler was happy to take a week break having signed-off with a remarkable win at TPC Craig Ranch. The game’s top-ranked star matched the PGA Tour record for 72 holes at 253 with an eight-shot victory in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, his first win of a season that started slowly because of a freak injury. Scheffler had a tournament to forget in 2024 finishing eighth during a week that saw him arrested and briefly jailed on charges later dropped that he didn't follow police orders during an investigation into a traffic fatality. He lost his titles at Pebble Beach, the Players and Augusta to McIlroy and wants some revenge. He says we’d see who the best player is at Quail Hollow. It could be a memorable showdown. The Ryder Cup isn’t until September, but it is never far away from thoughts and Europe's heroes have held the upper hand through the early stages of the campaign. McIlroy has led the way with his three wins, including a Major. However, from Luke Donald’s winning team in Rome in 2023, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland have all also won in the States this term and Tyrrell Hatton has triumphed on the LIV Tour. Team hopeful Thomas Detry, of Belgium, has secured a PGA Tour success, while the likes Bob MacIntyre and the Hojgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, are performing to good levels. But it’s notable that Americans have won the last nine times at the PGA Championship, the longest such streak of any major, and some are coming into form. Justin Thomas, Brian Harman, DeChambeau, on LIV, and Scheffler have won in recent weeks with signs of life from the likes of Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns. Captain Keegan Bradley is also doing well. The 38-year-old has won this title before and is the 10th-ranked American in the OWGR. DeChambeau heads the change for the Saudi-backed series as they look to make another splash within the biggest events. He may have flopped behind McIlroy on Sunday at the Masters, but he had played in the final group at four straight tournaments before he broke through with a LIV Golf win in South Korea. DeChambeau finished one behind in last year’s PGA Championship and won the US Open, his second Major, which proves his credentials for the big ones. His shape of shot and muscle to plough out of thick Quail Hollow rough will be an advantage. Jon Rahm will have spotlight. The Spaniard has never been a fan of the course and, prior to joining LIV, took it off his PGA schedule after missing the cut in 2021. Partick Reed was tied second at the Quail PGA in 2017 and tied-third behind McIlroy at the Masters, Hatton has won in LIV and Joaquin Niemann is looking to damage at last in a Major. As the hunt goes on for OWGR recognition in their own series, it’s another big chance for the 15 involved to showcase their skills and strike a blow for LIV. Brooks Koepka is a three-time winner of the PGA and could bounce back from some lacklustre form. The World No.3 has yet to make an impact in 2025 having had to take his patient steps in the opening months of the year during his comeback back from a rib injury that kept him out for two months. But Schauffele has a sensational pedigree for the event. While McIlroy has won four times at Quail Hollow, Schauffele has been runner-up the last two years at the Wells Fargo, the PGA Tour event held at the course. Crucially, he is still the holder of two Majors, including this one having defeated DeChambeau by a shot at Valhalla. Schauffele set the major championship scoring record at 263 and became the first player to twice shoot 62 in the majors. With his past record at the venue and his Major credentials, the 31-year-old Champion Golfer of the Year is building back towards his best after more reps at the Truist and could be set to explode back to his best. Following McIlroy’s Grand Slam joy at Augusta, Spieth now has the chance to do it himself as he aims to complete the sweep. This will be his ninth PGA Championship with an opportunity to get the final leg after it took McIlroy 11 attempts. Unlike Rory at the Masters, the Texan is not arriving into his bid in magnificent form. He is without a tournament success in three years, a spell where he had to cope with a troubling a wrist injury that finally led to surgery last August. There have, though, been encouraging recent signs. Spieth drove superbly at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and was sixth in strokes-gained approach on the week at TPC Craog Ranch with excellent iron play. A final round 62 in Dallas spoke to those improvements. Spieth would represent an unlikely winner, but in a season of storylines and fairytales, he might add his own chapter