Johnson Wagner has warned that the entire field should be fearful of Rory McIlroy heading into the PGA Championship, despite the Northern Irishman failing to contend at the recent Truist Championship.
McIlroy made his first start since winning his second Masters title by finishing tied for 19th at Quail Hollow. While the North Carolina course has historically been kind to him, he struggled during Saturday’s third round before bouncing back impressively on Sunday with a 67 to sneak inside the top 20.
Wagner believes that performance was enough to suggest the 37-year-old will be the player to beat at the second major of the year. Speaking on Scorecard after the Truist Championship, Wagner revealed he was so struck by what he saw from McIlroy on the practice ground at Quail Hollow that he cannot help but tip him for a third PGA Championship crown.
“I think you’re going to see Rory at the top of his game. We’re finally going to get a Rory-Scottie battle,” Wagner said. “I saw enough great stuff out of him this week, I’m not concerned at all. I watched him warm up yesterday, and on the chipping green, some of the shots he was able to play were absolutely ridiculous. He just kept hitting these flop shots off this tight fairway grass right around the green. He holed like three chips in about 20 shots that he hit, and every other one looked like it was going to go in. So I think he’s primed and ready.
“The way he talked after The Masters about the Grand Slam, he thought it was the top of the mountain, but realised it was just a step along the way. Man, I’d be scared if I was playing at the PGA because Rory’s coming.”
McIlroy’s third-round struggles at the Truist Championship can, the stats suggest, be dismissed as an anomaly. It was statistically one of the worst rounds of his entire PGA Tour career. He ranked worst in the field around the greens and struggled with his approach play. Wagner explained what McIlroy attributed those difficulties to after speaking with him following the round.
“I will say about Rory, with him yesterday, Rory McIlroy kept missing his irons and wedges just horribly left. I talked to him after the round after doing the show when I got my leg in that pond, and Rory said the wind on the range was left to right all week long and he kept just his shoulders open and open. So I feel confident he’s going to fix that and I’m looking forward to watching him play next week too,” Wagner said.
McIlroy appears to have found an ideal balance in his life. His second Masters win was partly inspired by the numerous trips he made to Augusta National in the weeks leading up to the event. Similarly, he has spent time at Aronimink, viewing that as better preparation than playing events like the RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship.
Freed up by his 2025 Masters victory, McIlroy now looks determined to make up for lost time after going more than a decade without a major win.