May 11 (Reuters) - Scottie Scheffler enters this week's PGA Championship as a hot favorite to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2019, while a confident Rory McIlroy eyes more major glory after successfully defending his Masters title.
Lurking behind the two best golfers on the planet is a cast of contenders with unfinished business at the year's second major, among them Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Young, and Jordan Spieth, who arrives with a chance to complete his career Grand Slam.
The PGA Championship gets underway on Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a private country club located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia that is consistently rated among the nation's top golf courses. The championship was last played at the course in 1962.
World number one Scheffler, who prevailed by five shots in last year's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, has runner-up finishes in his last three starts on the PGA Tour, including at the Masters where he fell just short of pulling off an unprecedented comeback from 12 strokes down after 36 holes.
From tee to green, Scheffler may be swinging it as well as he has all season, preparing him for a strong look at defending his PGA Championship title.
"It sure looks like to me Scottie's going to come back and break through one of these days and get off the second-place train. This might just be the perfect week in my mind," veteran broadcaster Jim Nantz said on CBS Sports' PGA Championship preview call.
LACK OF COMPETITIVE REPS
World number two McIlroy arrives at Aronimink as a two-time defending Masters champion.
McIlroy, who made the cut on the number at last year's PGA Championship before finishing in a share of 47th place, skipped tournaments leading up to the 2026 Masters so he could take a private jet to Augusta for practice rounds and be home for dinner.
Since successfully defending his Masters title, the Northern Irishman has kept a similar schedule, his only start coming at the PGA Tour's Signature Event in Charlotte where he finished in a share of 19th place on Sunday.
Despite the lack of competitive reps, McIlroy is fully expected to be in the mix this week. "I'm not concerned about him taking this time off at all. He quite frankly did it before the Masters and had a great week there," said CBS Sports lead analyst and former Masters champion Trevor Immelman. "So, I think he'll be ready and raring to go."
SPIETH'S BID FOR GRAND SLAM
LIV Golf's Rahm will be eager for another shot at the PGA Championship after walking away empty-handed last year when he held a share of the back-nine lead during the final round before a stunning collapse. Rahm dropped five shots at Quail Hollow over his final three holes to slide back into a share of eighth place.
"A tough pill to swallow right now," Rahm said after the final round a year ago.
Fan favourite DeChambeau, who missed the cut at the Masters in April following a pair of LIV Golf triumphs, has finished runner-up at the PGA Championship in each of the last two years. He held the lead late in the third round last year before a late stumble.
Another player to watch is Young, the reigning Players Championship winner who played with McIlroy in the final pairing at the Masters. Young, who enjoyed a dominant wire-to-wire victory at Trump National Doral a week ago, enjoyed his best PGA Championship finish in 2022 when he earned a share of third place en route to collecting PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honours.
Among the other golfers in the field, Spieth can complete the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors with a win this week, which would put him in a club that consists of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and McIlroy.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
