There won’t be any spectators for Monday’s practice rounds at the PGA Championship in North Carolina, where a week of rain promises to complicate things for players at Quail Hollow Club outside Charlotte.
In addition to a few inches of precipitation, Accuweather is also predicting heavy thunderstorms in the area with temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit (20s Celsius)
The PGA of America announced that any ticket holders for Monday’s practice rounds can use their passes Tuesday or Wednesday, when rain forecasts are already threatening preparations for the season’s second major.
Fans are particularly focused Rory McIlory, who is coming off his recent Masters victory in Augusta to play at a course where he’s already won four tournaments, including last year’s Wells Fargo Championship.
McIlroy was the most popular player this week at the Truist Championship in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
‘They’re very enthusiastic,’ McIlroy said of the Philadelphia-area fans. ‘They’re loud. They’re relentless in terms of like … I must have heard my name a million times this week.’
Spectators sit in the rain and watch play during a practice round prior to the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Similar circumstances are impacting the event this year
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland smiles with the trophy following his victory in the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 12, 2024 in Charlotte
McIlroy said entering the week that he was ‘excited to get back to being a golfer’ and figure out where his game is at entering the second major of the year, the PGA Championship. Consider that task complete.
‘I think I’m in a good place,’ the Northern Irishman said Sunday. ‘I didn’t feel like I played all that well this week, I still finished seventh. Even my — what I feel is my bad golf, I’m still there or thereabouts.
‘A couple little improvements and little tweaks, especially going to a place I love like Quail Hollow, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.’
McIlroy shot in red figures all week, capped by Sunday’s 2-under 68 with 16 pars and two birdies. He did not make a bogey or worse over his final 28 holes of the tournament, but thought he missed several chances to climb the leaderboard.
Now he turns his attention to Quail Hollow, which is known for brutally tough 16th, 17th and 18th holes, not to mention some treacherous water hazards.
The signature hole is the 17th, a peninsula green that requires a carry of 195 yards from the back tees. With a firm green, players have to be careful with back pin positions so the ball doesn´t run off the back into the water. The popular miss is to the right, which leaves a tough up-and-down.
And the 18th isn’t much better.
One of the strongest closing holes, players must avoid a bunker on the right and a creek that meanders down the left side of the hole, with a steep slope to the left of the creek. The second shot is uphill with bunkers right and the creek to the left.
