Rory McIlroy made golf history with his long-awaited first Masters win, becoming only the sixth male to complete the career Grand Slam. And now the question is whether he can pull off the calendar Grand Slam—especially considering where the 2025 PGA Championship is being contested.
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Quail Hollow will host the second men’s major of the year for a second time. And no one has a better record there than McIlroy. He won his maiden PGA Tour title there way back in 2010, and he’s won at the Charlotte track an additional three times. Heck, they named a freaking bald eagle there after him. But McIlroy’s not the only one with a chance at the calendar slam because we at “Best Bets” central had him at No. 1 in our Masters ranking heading into the year’s first major. So where does he slot in this time? Here’s a look at our best 13 bets (odds via DraftKings) to hoist that huge Wanamaker Trophy.
1. Rory McIlroy (5/1) 
Reason to pick: Like we said above, he’s enjoying a truly historic season with wins at the Masters, the Players and Pebble Beach. And he owns Quail Hollow.
Cause for concern: The pressure of completing the career Grand Slam clearly got to him, so you’d have to think it would be the same for the calendar slam.
2. Xander Schauffele (11/1) 
Michael Reaves
Reason to pick: He won two majors last year, including the PGA Championship, and he has finished runner-up at the previous two Wells Fargo Championships (now the Truist Championship).
Cause for concern: Schauffele hasn’t been as sharp this season after taking a couple months off due to a rib injury. It’s showing up most on the greens where he ranks 156th in strokes gained/putting. And this is the guy giving Justin Thomas putting lessons!
3. Scottie Scheffler (5/1) 
Stephen Denton
Reason to pick: It seems like this three-time defending PGA Tour Player of the Year is having a horrible season … and yet he’s still third in the FedEx Cup standings. In addition to still being No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, of course.
Cause for concern: But … yeah … he still hasn’t won in 2025. Which is crazy considering he won nine times worldwide in 2024. It’s a big reason why he’s not the solo betting favorite for the first time in a long time. Oh, and not getting arrested on his way to the course like last year at the PGA would probably make his job easier as well.
4. Bryson DeChambeau (12/1) 
Michael Reaves
Reason to pick: The reigning U.S. Open champ nearly chased down Schauffele at last year’s PGA Championship and was in the final group of this year’s Masters.
Cause for concern: His irons were really bad at Augusta National—which makes it even crazier that he was even in contention.
5. Justin Thomas (18/1) 
Keyur Khamar
Reason to pick: He finally ended that three-year winless drought with a victory at the RBC Heritage. And he’s the only person (for now) who can say he’s won a PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
Cause for concern: That being said, that was eight years ago when he was still making Spring Break buddies trips.
6. Collin Morikawa (22/1) 
JD Cuban
Reason to pick: We’ve already seen Rory and JT end long winless droughts this year, and Morikawa seems next.
Cause for concern: Unlike at his two other major championship victories, there will be a crowd at this one. Kidding, Collin. Sort of.
7. Ludvig Aberg (16/1) 
Photo by Stephen Denton
Reason to pick: Already a winnner of a signature event this year at Torrey Pines, a major seems the next step in this talented Swede’s future—especially after another close call at Augusta National.
Cause for concern: Unlike the rest of this list, Aberg doesn’t have the advantage of having played Quail Hollow before.
8. Brooks Koepka (22/1) 
Keyur Khamar
Reason to pick: He’s already got three Wanamakers in his trophy case.
Cause for concern: He hasn’t done much of note in 2025, including missing the cut at the Masters with a bogey-quad final two holes.
9. Wyndham Clark (35/1) 
Mike Ehrmann
Reason to pick: The long-hitting 2023 U.S. Open champ also won the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship against a major-caliber field.
Cause for concern: Since winning that U.S. Open, Clark has gone T-33, MC, MC, MC, T-56 and T-46 in the majors.
10. Hideki Matsuyama (40/1) 
Ben Jared
Reason to pick: Already a winner in 2025, the 2021 Masters champ looked like he was on his way to winning his first major at Quail Hollow in 2017 before a Sunday back-nine stumble.
Cause for concern: Normally, ranking 34th in strokes gained/approach would be a good thing, but not when you’re a ball-striking machine like Matsuyama. He’s been off with his irons this year.
11. Patrick Cantlay (28/1) 
Reason to pick: Made his major championship debut as a pro at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and finished a solid T-33.
Cause for concern: His career has still been marked by solid major finishes but no true breakthrough at one of the four biggest events.
12. Viktor Hovland (20/1) 
Harry How
Reason to pick: The 27-year-old Norwegian looks to be on the path back to peak form after winning the Valspar Championship in March. And his closest call at a major came at a PGA in 2023 at Oak Hill.
Cause for concern: Even as Hovland’s results get better, it doesn’t seem like he believes he’s quite back yet, saying he hit a lot of “disgusting shots” during his latest win. Finally getting over the hump at a major will probably require a bit more confidence. (And, obviously, not too many disgusting shots.)
13. Jason Day (100/1) 
Keyur Khamar
Reason to pick: A former PGA champ (2015) and winner at Quail Hollow (2018), Day finished T-8 at the Masters, one of three top-10s in 2025.
Cause for concern: He wears something that gets him kicked out of the tournament.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
