CHARLOTTE—The PGA of America made a bold statement Wednesday evening that will delight golf purists: despite days of drenching rain at Quail Hollow, Thursday's opening round of the 107th PGA Championship will proceed without preferred lies.

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Charlotte, N.C., has endured several inches of rain recently but PGA officials made a point of saying preferred lies would not be in effect at Quail Hollow.

Everyone is excited to see if Rory McIlroy can follow up his memorable and historic Masters victory, which gave him the career Grand Slam. Now, the Northern Irishman looks to capture the PGA Championship title for the first time since 2014.

The 2025 PGA Championship returns to Quail Hollow in Charlotte for the second major of the golf season. This North Carolina course last hosted in 2017 when Justin Thomas won by two strokes, and as luck would have it for J.T., he's playing some of his best golf of the last few years entering this edition of the tournament.

Don’t forget about the LIV players, too. While Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are the favorites to win the 107th PGA Championship, they have plenty of challengers. That includes defending champion Xander Schauffele, who is fifth among the early betting favorites, and the 2017 PGA winner at Quail Hollow, Justin Thomas.

Beem is still at Quail Hollow this week handling his duties as an on-course reporter for Sky Sports. And in a late chance to play the course ahead of the tournament, Beem took to Instagram to show why he didn't take a Thursday tee time.

The PGA Championship has long been the major that has struggled to find an identity outside of getting the top 100 players in the world.

REX HOGGARD: Rory McIlroy. This is the most chalk of picks for nearly every reason. The Northern Irishman’s record at Quail Hollow is beyond impressive with four victories (at the Truist Championship) and he’s in the best form of anyone in golf with three marquee victories this year.

It’s PGA Championship week, and we’ve got some expert fantasy picks to help you win your office pool or compete in our PGA Championship Fantasy contest for a chance to win incredible golf prizes.

The Wanamaker Trophy, which includes the engraved names of every PGA Championship winner, measures 29 1/2 inches high, 27 inches from handle to handle and weighs 27 pounds.