LAST week’s preview of the first major championship of the year argued that 2025 could be spectacular for Rory McIlroy, it remembered that sometimes the runner-up can be a hero too, and it hoped for drama. Well, as no one reading this week will need reminding, the Masters delivered. Oh boy, did it deliver.

“2025 has the potential to be a career-defining year for McIlroy,” we speculated last Monday. “Masters glory would send him to the PGA Championship, at his favorite course, Quail Hollow, with a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. Win there, and the Open at Royal Portrush would be absolutely electric. Pie in the sky? A good narrative rather than sensible analysis? Heart ruling head? All of the above. But, on the other hand, there are valid form doubts about the other favorites, and he’s never driven up Magnolia Lane with two wins for the year in his back pocket. It could happen; it really could.” It did, so it’s worth looking ahead to the major championships to come.

Next month’s PGA Championship could hardly represent a better place for McIlroy to maintain momentum. He’s a four-time winner at Quail Hollow, with two of his victories coming in his last three visits. In 2015 he said of the course, “It sets up perfectly for me and I’ve got great memories here. I think I’ve probably birdied every hole, so figure there’s no reason why I shouldn’t do it again.” Four years later he said, “I even feel like I don’t have to play that good and I can still get it round.” He’s currently the 5/1 favourite.

In June the US Open heads to Oakmont, and while McIlroy has no fond memories of the course (he carded 77-71 to miss the cut there in 2016), he will have every reason to look forward to a championship he won in 2011 (his first Major) and in which he has finished top 10 in each of the last six years. He’s currently 6/1 second favourite behind Scottie Scheffler.

And then, in July, a return to Royal Portrush for the Open will be giddy enough now that he has completed the career Grand Slam, but should he have tasted further triumph at either Quail Hollow or Oakmont, the excitement in Northern Ireland will be extraordinary. McIlroy carded a 61 on the course when he was 16 years old yet the Open there in 2019 had mixed emotions for him. Burdened by pressure in the first round, he bunted his first tee shot out of bounds and four putted the 16th green on the way to a 79 before a sensational second round 65 came up one shot shy of making the weekend. He’s currently 11/2 to claim redemption.

Do not overlook, either, the Ryder Cup in September. After victory in Rome two years ago McIlroy said, “I’ve said this for the last probably six or seven years to anyone that will listen: I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup – and that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.” The biennial continental clash never needs extra incentive, but the febrile state of world politics will provide it. It might even, at times, get ugly, but yet again there is a huge opportunity for McIlroy to achieve something very special. Europe are currently 6/4 to win the match in New York.

 

But enough of the thrills and spills of last week, and the possible thrills and spills to come, what of this week’s PGA Tour action? We’ve got another Signature Event, and it is one that perhaps most illustrates the disappointment many have with the modern schedule. The RBC Heritage was once a glorious contrast to the Masters a week before it. Where Augusta National is long and wide with enormous greens, Harbour Town is short and narrow with tiny putting surfaces, and where the Masters was a frenzy of excitement, the Heritage was a chilled-out after-party.

Plenty of contenders at the Masters would head to the Heritage, but the tournament was also a fine opportunity for the bulk of the tour membership, not least because the course suits shorter hitters. Now, the top end can dodge one Signature Event a year, but most make the journey even though many of them would rather not be there. And, because it is a limited field, there are also many who would love to be there, but have not been invited. It’s not ideal, and from our point of view, it has turned a good event for punters into a slightly trickier one. Here are three against the head and he’s hoping for more joy after last week’s preview landed a 66/1 winner and a place payout on an 80/1 shot.

 

Sepp Straka

The Austrian has taken to the Pete Dye-designed Harbour Town, making four of five cuts while finishing third in 2022 and fifth last year. He also has multiple top 20s at Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, while his win at the start of this year came at PGA West’s Dye Stadium Course. He has nine top 30s from 11 starts in 2025 and will have been gutted to miss the cut last week at Augusta. He lurched to a first-round 78 and his second-round 71 included a bogey-triple bogey finish. This is an ideal base for him to bounce back in strong fashion.

 

Russell Henley

Augusta performances have impacted on Harbour Town results in recent years, but not always in obvious ways. Jordan Spieth, for example, was fuelled by a missed cut in the Masters. Like Straka, Henley is in fine form in 2025 (six top 30s in eight starts, including one win), and he will also be ruing his missed cut last week when he carded 79-68. He’s finished top 20 in three of his last four visits to Harbour Town.

 

JT Poston

The American is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour but if he is to land a significant victory, it is likely to come at a course like Harbour Town. He’s got four top eight finishes there from just six starts, and short, tree-lined courses with Bermuda grass greens suit him—he won at Sedgefield and finished top 10 at Waialae and Sea Island last year. 

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