Golfer likens PGA Championship course to ‘a Kardashian’ in bizarre take
Eyebrows have been raised around the world after a golfer compared this week’s PGA Championship course to a Kardashian.
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Raise your hand if you had a Kardashian reference on your bingo card entering the 2025 PGA Championship this week.
American golfer Hunter Mahan can go ahead and mark the square on his next to the free space following comments made about Quail Hollow, the site of the second major championship of the year that begins Thursday in Charlotte.
“I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian,” the six-time PGA Tour winner said, according to The Athletic.
“It’s very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character.”
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Mahan’s comments raised eyebrows ahead of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this week, where Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele are the main contenders.
Two-time major winner Justin Thomas echoed that sentiment, declaring Quail Hollow suits Rory McIlroy because he is such a long driver off the tee.
“This golf course fits a high draw really, really well,” Thomas said ahead of the PGA Championship.
“There’s a lot of tee shots, whether it’s holding fairways or fitting doglegs, taking bunkers out of play.
“When he (McIlroy) is on, he has such control with that driver it seems like he can hit it in an area that some guys are trying to hit short irons.
“That’s a tremendous advantage or threat at any golf course, but I feel like a place like this, where it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of thought or strategy off the tee — it’s generally pulling out driver and ‘I need to hit this as far and straight as possible’ — and he’s really good at that.”
McIlroy, 36, is coming off securing the career Grand Slam following his first-ever Masters win in April.
He last won the PGA Championship in 2014 at Valhalla Golf Club, where Schauffele, 31, hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time last May.
Two-time Masters champion Scheffler, 28, tied for eighth in the 2024 PGA Championship, although his arrest before the second round following a miscommunication over traffic flow overshadowed much of his play. The charges were eventually dropped.
Quail Hollow has recently been home to the 2022 Presidents Cup and the 2017 PGA Championship.
Having finally accomplished the career grand slam with victory at the Masters last month, can McIlroy go on a tear and win all four majors in 2025?
No golfer has ever achieved the feat in the Masters era — only Tiger Woods came close with his ‘Tiger slam’ of 2000-2001 when he won all four majors in a row.
Fox Sports commentator Warren Smith told news.com.au the stars could well be aligned for McIlroy to quickly rack up more major championship victories.
“It’s going to be fascinating isn’t it to see what it means now because he’s won the career slam, the pressure is removed,” Smith said.
“He doesn’t have to play for history or to break the drought of the 11 straight years without having won a major. So he can come out and having ripped the bandage off, he might just go crash bang wallop and win a bunch in the next two, three, four years. Who knows?
“Given the talent that he has, if he can just swing freely and play without that sort of trepidation of ‘Oh I can’t make a mistake here because I’ll blow another chance to win a major and break the drought’. He might just win.”
Seven Australians are playing in the PGA Championship: Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cam Davis, Cameron Smith, Elvis Smylie and Karl Vilips.
A Supercomputer prediction conducted via Betway is giving Scheffler a 11.9 per cent chance McIlroy, who has a 11.7 per cent likelihood of going all the way. of winning.
Min Woo Lee is rated a 0.3 per cent chance of winning.
With NY Post
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