All Eyes on Quail Hollow

Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

There is golf, and there is major championship golf. Rory’s emotional victory reminded us all why the game’s four biggest events stand out from the rest. It’s a potent cocktail - the best players, the best courses, and the chance to make history, not simply cash a check. Cheers to Rory McIlroy for winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam - only the 6th player to do so.

Luckily for us, the next opportunity to see golf on the grandest stage is just around the corner and coming to our backyard! In today’s 2DP, we get an inside scoop on what we can expect from Quail Hollow at this year’s PGA Championship. We’ll also recap last weekend’s Carolinas Mid-Am at Waynesville before closing with some local and regional tournament news. Thanks for reading!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

PGA Championship Course Preview with Keith Wood, Quail Hollow Director of Greens and Grounds

I can’t blame you if your Masters hangover is setting in, but the perfect hair of the dog for Carolinas golf fans is only 4 weeks away. As the PGA Championship draws near and Quail Hollow gets ready to take center stage, Keith Wood, the club’s Director of Greens and Grounds, and team are putting the finishing touches on the familiar layout set to host the world’s best.

Ch-ch-changes: While veteran attendees of the Wells Fargo (now Truist) Championship will only notice minor changes since last May’s tournament, the course will look and play quite differently than it did for the 2017 PGA, which was held in August.

“The course presentation will be quite different from 2017,” said Wood. “The 2025 event will be played on overseeded bermuda, so fans will see a different shade of green. We also hope the weather is much different, as August was extremely hot and quite still - in May, you still get fronts pushing through that create a bit of breeze.”

The expected wind will be on display at the par 3 6th, where a few oak trees were removed left of the green prior to the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship to create space for swirls and gusts. The most prominent course change for 2025, however, is a new tee on the par 4 9th.

“Last summer, the 9th tee was moved 25 yards back and closer to the 8th green. This brings the fairway bunker back into play, which is a big change because players were just knocking it over the bunker.”

Setup: Wood and team are striving for a unique combination of shorter, thicker rough for the championship, a setup decision that accommodates pre-tournament member play while still delivering a stern test.

“You don’t have a major championship without penal rough, but we’re trying to figure out exactly where it needs to be. Ryegrass rough is very different [from bermuda] in terms of height and the way it plays. We’ve chosen to have very thick rough for the event so height of cut is not as much of an issue leading up. We want it to be penal, but not hack out.”

Wood and team also plan to deliver a firm golf course for the event. “We want [the players] to have to shape the ball to hit the fairways," explained Wood. Firmness and shorter rough make a great pairing, as the rough height tempts players to take on shots they might not otherwise into greens requiring proper trajectory and spin control.

The man behind the curtain: The team at Quail Hollow has been collaborating closely with PGA setup guru Kerry Haigh over the past few months, with the organization’s Chief Championship Officer visiting Charlotte regularly to walk the course.

“Kerry Haigh does the entire course setup. We’ve walked the course multiple times looking at fairway widths, where hospitality will go, rope and stake lines, teeing options for different winds, green speed and firmness, and hole locations. He asks questions and develops his plan, but I don’t know where the hole locations are going to be until the day before.”

My two cents: Fingers crossed for good weather, firm conditions, and wind! I’m also hoping for some top secret setup wrinkles to truly differentiate the PGA from the annual tour event (move a tee way up, use a pin location we’ve never seen before, etc.), but we’ll have to wait and see what Mr. Haigh has in store.

TOURNAMENTS

Brett McLamb Takes Carolinas Mid-Am in Playoff Over Zachary Herold

The 28-year-old from Lillington, North Carolina birdied the first playoff hole to capture his first CGA title at Waynesville Inn & Golf Club. Starting the day 4 shots back of Lexington, South Carolina’s Herold, who led after each of the first two rounds, McLamb made 15 pars, two birdies, and only one bogey en route to a solid Sunday 70.

Herold saw his lead slip away on the back 9, going +5 in a four hole stretch that included his first double bogey of the championship. While Herold himself made a clutch birdie on 18 to secure a spot in the playoff, it was McLamb who made 4 on the par 5 18th the second time around to seal the win.

Ace alert: Huge congratulations to 2DP contributor Andrew Furr, who made a hole-in-one on the 14th hole (PW, 157 yards) during Sunday’s final round. Better yet, Furr’s Sunday 72 and T23 finish were enough to secure an exemption into next year’s championship.

Quotable: Waynesville garnered strong reviews from contestants for it’s challenge and conditioning. Here’s what a few of the players had to say about the recently restored layout:

“It’s probably one of the purest courses I’ve played tee to green in a CGA event. The greens were the defense.” -Brett McLamb (Champion)

“It’s not a place you can overpower. If you manage your misses well and don’t short-side yourself, you can score.” -Andrew Furr (T23)

“The golf course is a real treat. The greens were rolling 12+ with really tough pin positions. It shows golf courses don’t need to be 7,400 yards to be tough.” -John Eades (T18)

“It seemed like every chip or putt was downhill and the greens were running super fast [by Sunday afternoon]. Our group kept joking it was almost impossible to leave the ball under the hole. The greens have a lot of undulation, so your lag putting has to be dialed in.” -Stephen Woodard (T35)

Hole by hole results: View full scoring

STORIES TO TRACK

Registration Periods Opening for USGA Championships: Big couple weeks here for those looking to sign up for a summer/fall USGA qualifier. Men’s and Women’s Mid-Am registration opened on Wednesday morning, while the Men’s and Women’s Four-Ball sign-up period (for 2026 events) opens on 4/23. Check out the full slate of Carolinas qualifying options here.

Registration Opens for Carolinas Amateur and North Carolina Match Play Championships: I couldn’t leave these off the list given I got the email while finishing up today’s newsletter! These events typically share joint qualifiers, so double your chances and sign up for both. Charlotte-area qualifying at Pine Island Country Club on June 23rd.

Hodges/Cloninger Hold Two-Shot Lead Entering Final Round of Carolinas Senior Four-Ball: Mark Hodges and Larry Cloninger sit at -12 with 18 holes to play after shooting the low score of the day (65) in the second round. Jay Barnes and Kyle Brown sit at -10, followed by Richard Rebholz and Scott Osler at -8. The event concludes today at Rock Hill Country Club.

• Hole by hole results: Follow along here

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