McIlroy Primed To ‘Cover Drive’ To A Fourth Season Success At Philadelphia Cricket Club

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Pre-Tournament Information – 2025 Truist Championship

Player Interviews (all times local)

Wednesday, May 7

After 7:11 a.m. 9-hole pro-am – Rory McIlroy

After 7:22 a.m. 9-hole pro-am – Justin Thomas

After 8:28 a.m. 9-hole pro-am – Xander Schauffele

To Be Determined

Jordan Spieth

*Visit pgatourmedia.com for the latest interview schedule                                                                                     

Rory McIlroy

  • Defending champion is a four-time winner of the Truist Championship, all at Quail Hollow Club (2010, 2015, 2021, 2024)
  • World No. 2 making his first start on TOUR since finishing T12 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Shane Lowry
  • Would become the 14th player in TOUR history to win the same event at least five times with a victory in 2025
  • Only multiple winner on TOUR this season (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament)
  • Fifth PGA TOUR season with three or more victories (2012/4, 2014/3, 2019/3, 2022/3)

Justin Thomas

  • World No. 5 making his first start since winning the 2025 RBC Heritage, his 16th career PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2022 PGA Championship
  • Highest position in the Official World Golf Ranking since the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open (No. 5)
  • Five top-10s in 10 starts this season, including his victory and two runner-up results (The American Express, Valspar Championship); one of five players with five or more top-10s this season (6/Scottie Scheffler, 5/Maverick McNealy, Russell Henley, Corey Conners)
  • Leads the TOUR in Birdie or Better Percentage – Fairway (32.32 %) this season
  • Seeks to join Scottie Scheffler as players to win back-to-back Signature Events since 2024 (2024 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday-2024 Travelers Championship; 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard-2024 RBC Heritage)

Xander Schauffele

  • World No. 3 making his first start since a T18 at the RBC Heritage, his third consecutive top-20 finish
  • One top-10 in six starts this season (T8/Masters Tournament)
  • Nine-time PGA TOUR winner seeks his first victory on TOUR since the 2024 Open Championship
  • Set to defend his 2024 PGA Championship title next week at Quail Hollow Club

Jordan Spieth

  • Solo fourth at last week’s CJ CUP Byron Nelson, his fourth consecutive finish inside the top 20 and second top-five of the season (T4/WM Phoenix Open)
  • Received one of four sponsor exemptions restricted to PGA TOUR members at the Truist Championship
  • No. 39 in the FedExCup following his solo fourth at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson; playing in the final year of his Tournament Winners exemption
  • One top-10 in 11 Signature Event starts since 2024 (3rd/2024 Sentry)
  • Would become the seventh player to complete the Career Grand Slam with a win at next week’s PGA Championship

Truist Championship notes:

  • The Truist Championship marks the first PGA TOUR event played in Philadelphia since the 2018 BMW Championship (won by Keegan Bradley). The tournament will return to Charlotte and Quail Hollow Club in 2026.
  • The Philadelphia Cricket Club is the oldest private club in the United States, founded in 1854. Its Wissahickon Course was designed by A.W. Tillinghast – who was a member of the club – and opened for play in 1922. The Wissahickon Course has hosted a number of premier national and regional events, including the 2016 SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, won by Bernhard Langer.
  • Sixth of eight Signature Events of the season and includes 44 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, headlined by World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Xander Schauffele, No. 4 Collin Morikawa and No. 5 Justin Thomas. Additional field features:
    • 27 players in the field competed at last week’s CJ CUP Byron Nelson, including five who finished inside the top 10: Erik van Rooyen (2nd), Sam Stevens (3rd), Jordan Spieth (4th), Sam Burns (T5), Eric Cole (T5)
    • Seven past champions: Rory McIlroy (2010, 2015, 2021, 2024), Lucas Glover (2011), Rickie Fowler (2012), Brian Harman (2017), Jason Day (2018), Max Homa (2019, 2022), Wyndham Clark (2023)
    • Five past FedExCup champions: Jordan Spieth (2015), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Viktor Hovland (2023)
    • Sponsor exemptions: Rickie Fowler, Keith Mitchell, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland
  • The Aon Next 10 is filled with the top 10 players in the FedExCup standings through THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson that did not finish in the top 50 of the 2024 FedExCup standings: Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy, J.J. Spaun, Justin Rose, Daniel Berger, Michael Kim, Nick Taylor, Ben Griffin, Lucas Glover, Min Woo Lee
  • The Aon Swing 5 is made up of the five players, not otherwise exempt, who earned the most FedExCup points in the Corales Puntacana Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: Garrick Higgo, Erik van Rooyen, Sam Stevens, Michael Thorbjornsen, Rasmus Højgaard
  • Two players in the field are competing in a Signature Event for the first time this season: Garrick Higgo (Aon Swing 5) and Michael Thorbjornsen (Aon Swing 5); Higgo claimed his second career PGA TOUR title at the Corales Puntacana Championship while Thorbjornsen finished T2 in Puntacana and T4 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Karl Vilips)
  • 11-time PGA TOUR winner Justin Rose has won twice in Philadelphia: 2010 AT&T National (Aronimink Golf Club) and 2013 U.S. Open (Merion Golf Club)
  • Alex Noren (No. 37 in 2024 FedExCup) is making his first start of the season since withdrawing prior to the start of The Sentry with neck and hamstring injuries.

PGA TOUR season notes

  • Making his first start on TOUR since claiming his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Ben Griffin), Andrew Novak is the only player on TOUR this season with four top-three finishes (Won/Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2nd/RBC Heritage, 3rd/Farmers Insurance Open, T3/Valero Texas Open)
  • Seven first-time winners in 2025: Thomas Detry (WM Phoenix Open), Brian Campbell (Mexico Open at VidantaWorld), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches), Karl Vilips (Puerto Rico Open), Min Woo Lee (Texas Children’s Houston Open), Ben Griffin/Andrew Novak (Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
  • International players have won 12 of the first 20 events on TOUR this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria, Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland/3, Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden, Karl Vilips/Australia, Viktor Hovland/Norway, Min Woo Lee/Australia, Garrick Higgo/South Africa


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