Stage is set for master craftsmen to show their class

Rory McIlroy has a lot to be happy about as he returns to one of his favourite venues, Quail Hollow, for this week’s USPGA Championship, writes John McHenry.

Back on form and with a run of tournaments behind him that suggests he is close to being as competitively sharp as he can possibly be, McIlroy will relish the fact that the American media will be focusing most of their attention on the efforts of their own superstar Jordan Spieth. His stunning victory at the Open Championship just a few short weeks ago means Spieth enters this week with the US PGA Championship as the only major missing from a career slam.

In all, there have only ever been five players to achieve such a feat with Tiger Woods, in 2000, joining a list that includes Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus, so the stakes this week couldn’t be higher, not just for Spieth but also for the other man determined to join that elusive club first, Spieth’s closest rival McIlroy.