An Inside Look at 2025 PGA Championship Host Quail Hollow with PGA Champions Bradley, Day, Morikawa & Schauffele

The PGA Championship heads back to Quail Hollow Golf Club this May just south of Charlotte for the first time since 2017.

That final round saw Justin Thomas validate his promising talent with a two-shot win capped off by a brilliant iron shot on the par 3 17th hole over water that led to birdie and sealed his maiden major victory. The revered club has annually hosted the PGA Tour for years and unlike many PGA Championship venues like Valhalla and Oak Hill, this one will feel very familiar to many players. Additionally, some competitors this year will have also played in the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow.

For 2011 PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, Quail Hollow ticks all the boxes.

“I think it's a really strong major championship venue,” Bradley said. “Quail Hollow is one of my favorite courses on Tour, no question. It's just such an amazing country club, they treat us so great there and it's just got a lot of history.”

Part of that history is The Green Mile, the last three holes on the course, which bring in a variety of trouble that includes a lake on the par 4 16th and par 3 17th, as well as a creek along the left of the closing par 4 18th.

“Those last few holes are such a good test. You can't fake it on The Green Mile. You need to have your distance control dialed in, and you can't be too conservative on those three holes either, you have to be all in with whatever club decision you choose there,” Bradley said.

2015 PGA Champion Jason Day has been a regular at Quail Hollow’s Tour events and he thinks that specific knowledge of the course will be critical come championship week

“I think the familiarity with the course and the way it plays during tough tournament weeks will be important. It helps to know what you can and can't do out of that thick rough. It's such a tremendous course and a great test. I make sure I don't ever miss that tournament at Quail Hollow when we have it there. And I just love the layout of the course.”

Day won the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, and he’s well aware of the changes made to the course since. Quail Hollow was closed for four months during the summer of 2023 to reconstruct the greens, bunkers and tee boxes.

Though the course isn’t the exact same test it was back when he won in 2018, it still gives Day a shot of confidence as he prepares for this year.

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“It's kind of nice to be able to go back to a course where I've had a lot of success at and where I've won. Those are two really good positives that give me extra confidence stepping on the property for the PGA Championship.”

2020 PGA Champion Collin Morikawa has some experience playing at Quail Hollow. In addition to playing the Wells Fargo Championship, the 29-year-old went 2-1 in the 2022 Presidents Cup matches held there as well.

“I think it's really important to have at least played some rounds there to where you're not going to be too surprised by any setup changes,” Morikawa says.

“I think it's just a great golf course overall. From tee to green it's comprehensive. You've got very challenging tee shots to deal with, and it's a pretty long test. Mixed in there you've also got some scorable holes, par 5s that you can take advantage of and they can sometimes be gettable depending on the wind and the weather. You just can't let up on a golf course like that, and that's all you can ask for when you come to a major championship.”

For fans the week of the PGA Championship, Bradley thinks the course will provide the entertainment they want to see, especially on the last few holes.

“From the fan's perspective, it's a really entertaining finish to see the players take on The Green Mile,” Bradley said. “A lot of things can happen at the end of the tournament there. There's a lot of water to navigate, and just a bunch of tough shots facing the contenders.”

Speaking of tough shots, last year’s PGA Champion Xander Schauffele thinks one of the keys to success at Quail Hollow will be properly navigating some of the course’s demanding green complexes.

“It’s a big boy golf course, it’s got a strong championship-style to it,” Schauffele said. “You’ve got really tough green complexes when it’s bermuda. Getting up and down is difficult on that course.”

Schauffele brings some jaw-droppingly impressive past experience at Quail Hollow. He finished solo second in the Wells Fargo Championship the last two years. And last year his runner-up came the week before his major breakthrough at Valhalla in the 2024 PGA Championship. He also went 3-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup as part of the U.S. team’s win. The 31-year-old cautions that the conditions in May will be a big factor for scoring and how aggressive players can be during the PGA Championship.

“I don’t know if the rough is going to be overseeded or not but if it’s bermuda to bermuda that makes it really tough,” Schauffele said. “You need to have distance out there to really make a mark. If it rains it plays really soft, and the course plays really long. If it’s firm, then the ball is kind of running all over the place and then you can land in that bermuda and it becomes hard to hold those greens. Regardless of the conditions it’s a big, big golf course that holds big tournaments.”