ESPN analyst Curtis Strange: There are 2 clear favorites at PGA Championship
For most people who grew up in North Carolina and have played a little golf, the name “Curtis Strange” will ring a bell.
Originally from Virginia, Strange became a three-time All-American golfer at Wake Forest in the 1970s. He then went on to an extremely successful pro career, winning the U.S. Open twice and earning membership into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Now Strange is a part-time North Carolina resident, living five months a year in Morehead City. A rare golf major for Charlotte is on the horizon, and Strange will be part of it. This time, though, he will be a broadcaster, calling the 107th PGA Championship for ESPN.
I spoke to Strange by phone in advance of the tournament, which runs May 15-18 at Quail Hollow Club. And when I asked him who should be favored to win the second major on golf’s 2025 calendar, he talked about the two men he believes have separated themselves from the rest of the PGA Tour at the moment: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.
“You have to start with Rory, because of what he just accomplished by winning the career Grand Slam,” Strange, 70, said.
McIlroy won his first Masters in April in dramatic fashion, edging Justin Rose in a playoff. By doing so, McIlroy became only the sixth golfer in history to win the career Grand Slam. McIlroy has also had more success on Quail Hollow’s course than anyone else, winning the PGA Tour event that is usually held in Charlotte each May on four separate occasions, including in 2024.
“He may win more now, too,” Strange said of McIlroy, “because a burden has been lifted. I think you only realize how much of a burden something like that was until it’s gone. I think he’s going to play even more freely now.”
In 2010, as a baby-faced 20-year-old, McIlroy won his first PGA Tour event in the Queen City. He shot 66-62 over the final two rounds that year. He then won the event now known as the Truist Championship again in 2015, 2021 and 2024. Last year’s victory came after McIlroy shot a final-round 65, at one point going 8-under-par in a heavenly eight-hole stretch.
“Think about it,” Strange said. “Rory just won the Masters. He’s coming to a place he’s won four times and that he says is one of his favorite places ever. He’s comfortable. The burden has been lifted. So he’s No. 1 on the list of favorites.”
McIlroy is not the best player on the PGA Tour from tee to green, however, Strange said. That would be Scheffler, who is Strange’s second choice to win in Charlotte (and who is coming off an eight-stroke win in his last Tour event, in Dallas, where he finished an astonishing 31-under).
“They’re different sorts of players,” Strange said. “Rory tries to overpower a golf course. And so he hits some foul balls once in a while. Scottie is not like that. He’s more ‘steady Eddie’ when striking the golf ball. And sometimes he makes putts and sometimes he doesn’t. He’ll have to make some putts to win, but any golf course is easier if you can drop it in the fairway.”
Strange has played PGA Tour events at Quail Hollow before, both in its previous incarnation as the Kemper Open as well as in its more modern form.
“Over the years, the course has matured,” Strange said. “It’s harder, for one thing. (Quail Hollow Club president) Johnny Harris and his people have turned it into such a quality golf course with a great stretch of finishing holes. It’s going to be golf at the highest level, and everyone you care about or you’d think will have a chance to win is going to be there.”
Strange also offered some thoughts on some other contenders and gave a dark-horse pick. Here are his comments on each of them.
Strange on:
Collin Morikawa: “He hasn’t won in almost two years, but certainly is playing very well. A good striker of the ball who puts it on the fairway and on the green.”
Ludvig Aberg: “Such a talented young man. Was part of the conversation late Sunday afternoon at the Masters when Rory was hitting some foul balls, until he triple-bogeyed the last hole.”
Bryson DeChambeau: “He certainly tries to overpower a golf course. That’s his DNA. I hear people say he should lay up more or he should play a different game. That’s not what he’s comfortable doing. He either wins or he doesn’t play very well. But when he’s on, he’s very, very good.”
Xander Schauffele: “He’s coming back from a (rib) injury. Playing better, but still not quite in the groove he was in last year. But quite frankly, how many times do you get in a groove like that? He won two majors (including last year’s PGA, held in Louisville).”
Justin Thomas: “He’s back on track. He’s been playing much better all year long and just won an event (the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island). People love watching him play, and it probably helps a little that he won the PGA Championship the last time it was played here (in 2017).
Akshay Bhatia: “He’s my dark-horse pick. He’s from Wake Forest, N.C. — not the school, the town. He’s a young kid (age 23) and didn’t go to college. He turned pro right out of high school. That’s a hard life to live, but he’s done well and survived. Now he’s a multiple-time winner on tour, and a left-hander who’s really high on everybody’s list, including mine, for doing well in the coming years.”
How to watch: PGA Championship
If you want to watch the PGA Championship on TV, you will find yourself flipping back and forth between ESPN and CBS. Here’s the schedule for each day:
Thursday, May 15: 7 a.m.-noon (ESPN+), noon-7 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, May 16: 7 a.m.-noon (ESPN+), noon-7 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, May 17: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, May 18: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS)
Note: ESPN+ start time on Saturday and Sunday could be adjusted after tee times are released.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "ESPN analyst Curtis Strange: There are 2 clear favorites at PGA Championship."
