2025 PGA Championship
Storylines, Jokes, and Social Media Roundup

Published May 19, 2025
David Cannon/Getty Images

Course: Quail Hollow
Location: Charlotte, NC
Winner: Scottie Scheffler

The roars (and perhaps a few groans) have faded from Quail Hollow as the 2025 PGA Championship reached its conclusion. From Scottie Scheffler's dominant march to his first Wanamaker Trophy and third major title, to the Sunday charges that kept us on the edge of our seats, and all the unexpected twists, club snaps, and viral moments in between, this year's championship delivered plenty of talking points. As the dust settles in Charlotte, the digital world is still buzzing. Let’s take a look at the top storylines, reactions, hot takes, and memes that made this year’s PGA Championship so memorable, as seen through the lens of X/Twitter.

Click on the images to go to social media source.

Pre-tournament

Is Quail Hollow worthy of hosting a major?

There was controversy about Quail Hollow's selection as a major venue. Due to it being a regular PGA Tour stop, many thought it wasn't a worthy choice. Rory said "it felt no different than last year at the Wells Fargo."
Hunter Mahan said Quail "lacks soul or character" like the Kardashians.
Justin Thomas mentioned "I feel like a place like this, where it doesn't necessarily require a lot of thought or strategy off the tee, it's generally pulling out driver and just I need to hit this as far and straight as possible."

Mudballs

With lots of rain early in the week, there was discussion on whether the tournament would employ lift, clean, and place rules (playing it up). The PGA of America decided against it, which led to controversy later in the week.

PGA Hacked

The PGA Tour's instagram account was hacked before play began. Predictably, the hackers pumped a crypto scheme.

New PGA of America president

The organization hosting the event, the PGA of America, recently elected a new president, Don Rea. They held an awkward press conference with three separate leaders, and Rea had to get a word in edgewise after every single question. Apparently, he's a guy who loves to hear himself speak. He said the PGA has 31,000 members and "they are listening to his every word." He was mocked on socials throughout the week.

Hideki practiced in the rain

For some reason no one could figure out, Hideki Matsuyama was videotaped on the practice green with two assistants in a driving rainstorm. The green was totally flooded. Click the image for the video.

Anniversary of Scottie's arrest

This year's PGA is one year removed from Scheffler being arrested in Louisville before round 2 at Valhalla, and of course people had a lot to say about it.

Round 1 - Thursday May 15, 2025

Questionable leaderboard

People weren't thrilled with the lack of star power at the top of the leaderboard during day 1 at Quail. Journeyman Jhonattan Vegas led after the first round at 7-under.

Turtles? Yes, turtles

Turtles were nestling in the bunkers and caused delays. All part of the circus at Quail this week.

Sergio's outfit

Sergio Garcia's outfit raised some eyebrows.

T-Mobile tee box

For some reason, the 14th hole had something called the "T-Mobile for business tee box" and no one could figure out what it was meant to be. Jim Nantz talked how some AI technology would enhance the viewer experience, along with stats and information to better understand tee shots. But in reality, it was just a silly graphics package overlayed on the tee box. Nothing was different from any other hole on the course. It was widely mocked, with good reason.

Round 2 - Friday May 16, 2025

A relatively sleepy day 2 finished with Vegas once again atop the leaderboard.

Rory's driver

In pre-tournament testing, Rory McIlroy's driver was found to be non-conforming, which unleashed a lot of takes.

Si Woo Kim made an ace!

Si Woo made a hole-in-one on the 6th hole. At 252 yards, it's the longest ace in major tournament history! Click through to watch the video and wild celebration.

Questionable attendance at Quail?

Some golf media & influencers continued their skepticism about Quail Hollow's bona fides as a major venue. Many commented on the sparse crowds.

Shane Lowry enraged by embedded ball

During round 2, Shane Lowry's ball landed in a pitch mark. He asked for relief but it wasn't granted. He hit a poor shot, and took out his frustration by digging into the fairway. Click the image to watch the video.

Blockie misses the cut

The world's most famous PGA club pro is at it again after successfully qualifying to play in the PGA Championship. After finishing dead last and missing the cut, he had some interesting things to say to Golf Magazine, claiming he would play better if he had larger crowds. Any excuse will do Mike! I have dozens of them chambered at any given time for a bad shot myself.

Round 3 - Saturday May 17, 2025

Things spiced up with brand name guys like Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm getting into the mix. Scottie was the day 3 leader when it was all said and done, with many feeling the tournament was a wrap at that point.

More crowd commentary

Popular golf accounts again questioned the lack of fans in Charlotte.

Opportunities for felons

With Scottie's quality play and the arrest anniversary top of mind, posts like these were common.

Commercial load

There was almost universal praise for CBS (and ESPN) on how they handled the broadcast this year. The drone shots and tracers were successful, and in particular, the amount of commercials shown was noticeably fewer than in pervious years.

Final round - Sunday May 18, 2025

Rory's water ball

After Rory hit a shot into the water, a volunteer thought it was a good idea to try to retrieve it. Highly unusual.

Wyndham Clark violently throws his driver

On the 16th hole, Clark hit a drive that went into a bunker. He was so enraged, he violently whipped the club backwards, smashing a hole in a T-Mobile sign. The driver head snapped off as a result. Totally unacceptable. He apologized the next day.

Rake auction

On a par-3 earlier in the week, Jhonattan Vegas's poor tee shot hit a rake next to a bunker. The luckiest bounce ensued, setting him up for a birdie putt instead of a difficult chip. Oddly, that rake is now available to bid on.

Scottie's dominance

After a scuffling front 9, with Rahm and Bryson chasing, Scheffler turned on the jets and hit some fantastic shots on the back en route to winning the tournament by 5 strokes.

Dunking on Phil

In March 2025, Phil Mickelson proclaimed on social media that he didn't think Scheffler would win in 2025 until the Ryder Cup, which is in September. This was a pretty memorable shot at Scottie, who's been the #1 player in the world by a wide margin for some time now. After the dominant win, people took to X/Twitter to dunk on Phil.

Rahm falls apart

Jon Rahm was tied for the lead with Scheffler in the final round at one point, but fell apart on the back nine and finished 7 shots behind the winner. With his relatively disappointing results in majors since his switch to LIV, jokes ensued.

Nike's clever ad

After Scottie's win, the Nike-sponsored athlete was featured in a memorable ad that poked fun at his arrest.

Don Rea's trophy presentation

Showing a continued lack of self-awareness, self-indulgent PGA of America president Don Rea gave a speech where he proclaimed Charlotte's fans at Quail Hollow to be the best in all of sports 😂.

Wanamaker Trophy dropped!

During the trophy presentation, Scottie lifted up the Wanamaker, and the lid fell off. It was a little bent. Click the images for the video.

Rory skipped media all 4 days

For some unknown reason, Rory McIlroy refused to talk to the media after the tournament began, for all 4 days. Very strange behavior for someone who's previously said it's important to talk to media. Also, he just came off a win at the Masters, completing the career grand slam. He should be riding high.

Brooks gets beers

Brooks Koepka was photographed grabbing a case of Miller Lite at a gas station after the tournament concluded.