2026-05-6 Truist Championship

Truist Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

Tournament: Truist Championship
Date: May 7–10, 2026
Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, NC
Purse: $20,000,000+ (winner $3.6 million)
Cut Rule: No cut
Course Details: This week’s venue is one of the most respected championship tracks in the country — a classic Southern parkland layout originally designed by George Cobb in 1961, later reshaped by Arnold Palmer in the 1980s, and comprehensively rebuilt by Tom Fazio beginning in 1997. At 7,583 yards, it ranks as one of the three longest courses in regular rotation on the PGA Tour, playing to a par of 71 across four par 3s, eleven par 4s, and three par 5s. The fairways are relatively narrow — averaging just 33 yards in width — making accuracy off the tee just as important as raw distance. The greens are TifEagle Bermudagrass, now three years old, and are being groomed to reach 13 feet on the Stimpmeter — a little above average in size compared to most Tour stops. For this week’s setup, the course is playing notably more generous than it did during last year’s PGA Championship — wider fairways and shorter rough — but don’t mistake “more generous” for easy.
Weather: Round 1 on Thursday looks to be the toughest draw of the week, with a 75% chance of rain and highs around 74°F — early starters may want to check the radar closely. Conditions improve significantly from Friday onward, with mostly dry skies and temperatures ranging from the low 70s to near 80°F through the weekend, though Sunday brings a 40% chance of showers to close things out.
FedEx Points: 700 points to the winner.

Now in its 23rd playing and second year as a PGA Tour Signature Event, the Truist Championship has long been one of the most prestigious non-major stops on the schedule — a brutally honest test that has crowned champions like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, and Max Homa. This week carries extra weight: it’s the third Signature Event in four weeks since the Masters, and it serves as the final tune-up before next week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink — meaning the players teeing it up in Charlotte have something real on the line both this week and next. The field quality is as strong as it gets outside of a major. Seven of the top 10 players in the world are in the field, including Rory McIlroy (No. 2), Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 3), Cameron Young (No. 4), Justin Rose (No. 5), Tommy Fleetwood (No. 7), Xander Schauffele (No. 9), and J.J. Spaun (No. 10). The notable absentees are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is resting ahead of his PGA Championship title defense, and No. 6 Collin Morikawa, who has withdrawn due to a nagging back injury. Defending champion Sepp Straka is back, McIlroy arrives fresh off defending his Masters title, and Cameron Young rolls in red-hot after winning both the Players Championship and last week’s Cadillac Championship.

Past Champions:

2025 – Sepp Straka (-16)
2024 – Rory McIlroy (-17)
2023 – Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022 – Max Homa (-8)
2021 – Rory McIlroy (-17)

NOTE: The 2022 and 2025 editions were played at off-site venues (TPC Potomac and Philadelphia Cricket Club respectively) due to Quail Hollow hosting other events, which explains the outlier winning score in 2022. When played at Quail Hollow, the winning number has typically landed in the -17 to -19 range.

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🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

With Scottie Scheffler taking the week off and Collin Morikawa sidelined with a back injury, the door is wide open for the rest of the elite field. This is still one of the strongest non-major lineups you’ll see all year, and Quail Hollow has a very clear player profile — long, accurate off the tee, elite with the long irons, and steady enough to survive the Green Mile. For the uninitiated, the Green Mile is the brutal three-hole closing stretch of holes 16, 17, and 18 — each featuring water hazards, punishing bunkering, and elevated green complexes that have ended more than a few would-be victories. More tournaments have been lost on the Green Mile than won, which makes closing ability and composure under pressure just as important as raw ball-striking.

Rory McIlroy — The field favorite and for good reason. McIlroy has won at this venue in 2010, 2015, 2021, and 2024, making him a four-time champion here. He arrives fresh off defending his Masters title and has been rested since Augusta. This is arguably his best venue on the PGA Tour — Jordan Spieth once called it “Rory McIlroy Country Club” — and he leads the field in strokes gained tee-to-green and off-the-tee in 2026. The obvious pick, and the stats back it up.
Cameron Young — Young just routed the field by six strokes at the Cadillac Championship last week and rolls into Charlotte on an extraordinary heater. He’s won the Players Championship, contended at the Masters, and now arrives at a course that fits his game perfectly — long, demanding, and rewarding of elite driving distance and high ball flight. He’s the most dangerous player in the field not named McIlroy right now.
Xander Schauffele — Nobody has a more tortured relationship with close calls at Quail Hollow than Schauffele, with runner-up finishes in both 2023 and 2024. He’s been steadily rounding back into form with seven consecutive top-25 finishes and is one of only six players in the field ranking above average in all of the key stat categories for this course. At some point, he breaks through here. This week feels ripe.
Matt Fitzpatrick — Fitzpatrick has won three times in 2026, including the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic with brother Alex. He ranks second in the field in strokes gained tee-to-green this season and ninth in bogey avoidance — exactly the profile that survives Quail Hollow. Don’t let the lack of a course win here fool you; his game fits this track.
Ludvig Åberg — Åberg has posted four top-five finishes in his last six starts and ranks fifth in strokes gained tee-to-green, fifth in strokes gained approach, and ninth in driving distance over the last 24 rounds. He’s been knocking on the door all season without a win, and Quail Hollow’s ball-striking demands are tailor-made for his game.
Adam Scott — At 45, Scott is quietly having one of the best seasons of his recent career. He posted a T4 at the Cadillac Championship for his second top-five finish of the year. He’s gained strokes on the greens in each of his last four appearances at Quail Hollow — impressive given his well-documented putting woes elsewhere — and his elite long iron play is perfectly suited to this course.
Sepp Straka — The defending Truist champion may have won at Philadelphia Cricket Club last year, but he should be on your radar for a strong performance at Quail Hollow. He’s a big hitter who plays a complete game and has shown the ability to win in signature-event fields. An underrated name at a course that suits him.

Potential Fades:

Robert MacIntyre — MacIntyre ranks second-to-last in the field in strokes gained approach this year, losing 0.61 strokes per round — a glaring weakness at a course where approach play is everything. Recent form has also been lacking, with a T-42 at the RBC Heritage following a missed cut at the Masters. He’s an unnecessary risk this week.
Viktor Hovland — Hovland is searching for his best form and hasn’t found it yet. He’s coming off a T-42 at Harbour Town and a T-38 at Doral heading into a track that demands consistency and precision from tee to green. A name to monitor but not one to lean on heavily this week.
Si Woo Kim — Kim has posted three top-10s in his last four events and is an intriguing name, but his T8 at the PGA Championship here last year was largely powered by a sizzling second-round 64, and he shot 71 or higher in the other three rounds. The concern is that his game may be too streaky and too dependent on one brilliant round to hold up over four days at a course this demanding.

🧐 Did You Know?

Mother’s Day Tradition — The final round of the Truist Championship falls on Mother’s Day this year, which has become something of a tradition at this event. Remarkably, two of McIlroy’s four wins here — 2021 and 2024 — both came on Mother’s Day. If he wins again on Sunday, he’ll have claimed three Mother’s Day victories at the same venue. Flowers optional, trophy mandatory.
Musical Venues — Though Quail Hollow is home, this tournament has been a bit of a nomad over the years. Due to Quail Hollow hosting the PGA Championship or Presidents Cup, the event has been forced to relocate three times — to Eagle Point in Wilmington (2017), TPC Potomac near Washington D.C. (2022), and Philadelphia Cricket Club (2025). That means last year’s defending champion Sepp Straka has never actually played this event at Quail Hollow — making his bid to defend the title this week essentially a debut at the home venue.
Rory’s House — Rory McIlroy has won at Quail Hollow four times (2010, 2015, 2021, and 2024), but what makes it even more remarkable is how he’s won. His 2015 victory set the all-time tournament scoring record at -21, winning by seven strokes. His 2024 win came from one stroke behind entering the final round, where he proceeded to shoot a closing 65. No other player has won this event more than twice — McIlroy has lapped the field in terms of course dominance.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Quail Hollow is one of the most straightforward course-fit profiles on the PGA Tour, which is both a gift and a trap for fantasy managers. The profile is clear — long hitters with elite iron play and solid short games — but the no-cut Signature Event format changes how you should build your lineup. With all 72 players guaranteed four rounds, there’s no floor to protect you from a boom-or-bust pick. That means roster construction matters more than usual. Load up on the ball-strikers who fit this track, mix in at least one mid-tier value play, and resist the urge to go too top-heavy — the $20 million purse and 700 FedEx points have every elite player in this field motivated to perform.

Key Stats to Target This Week: Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Strokes Gained: Approach, Driving Distance, and Around-the-Green performance on the Green Mile holes. Players who can generate high ball flight on approach shots have historically had an edge here.

Sleepers to Consider:

Jason Day — Day won here in 2018 and finished T4 in the last Truist played at Quail Hollow in 2024 — his first chance to test the renovated layout, and he took to it immediately. He’s currently 10th in strokes gained around the green, 17th in strokes gained putting, and fifth in bogey avoidance. His short game is the best weapon in this field at longer odds, and his course history is as good as anyone not named McIlroy. A high-floor play.
Harris English — English has a T3 at the 2023 Truist and a T2 at last year’s PGA Championship at this very course on his Quail Hollow resume. He carded a T4 at the RBC Heritage three weeks ago and ranks 16th in birdie-or-better percentage and 40th in bogey avoidance this season. Eight trips to this track and a results sheet that demands attention.
Akshay Bhatia — The 24-year-old lefty already has a Signature Event win this season (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and is arriving in excellent form after a T24 at Augusta, T12 at the RBC Heritage, and a T9 at the Cadillac Championship. He’s 2-for-4 at Quail Hollow with course experience and a ball flight that suits this layout. His ability to find fairways and convert short approach putts makes him dangerous mid-level play.
Taylor Pendrith — Pendrith has solid history at this course and brings one of the biggest drives in the field — exactly the profile that wins here. He’s been quietly consistent this season and represents genuine value in a format where he’s guaranteed four full rounds to make his power game count.
Sungjae Im — Im has gone T4 and T8 the last two times this event was played at Quail Hollow — a remarkably consistent and impressive track record. He’s a reliable driver of the ball who thrives on longer, more demanding layouts. Im’s course history makes him one of the safest mid-range plays in the field.

⭐️ Pro Tip: Quail Hollow rewards a very specific type of player — long off the tee, elite with the long irons, and composed under pressure — so when building your roster, prioritize ball-strikers over putters, because the winners here are almost always made from tee to green, not on the greens themselves.

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❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Truist Championship carries the same $20,000,000 purse as other Signature Events, with $3,600,000 going to the winner. Given the strength of the field and purse size, this week can have a meaningful impact on One and Done standings.

Quail Hollow is one of the most reliable course-fit venues on the PGA Tour calendar, which makes it a strong one-and-done deployment week — but only if you pick the right type of player. The winners here are almost exclusively elite ball-strikers who generate exceptional distance off the tee combined with high-flight long iron play, and the stat category to prioritize above all others is Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Unlike courses where a hot putter can carry a mediocre ball-striker to a top finish, Quail Hollow’s sheer length and narrow fairways punish anyone leaking strokes from tee to green before they even reach the green. Of the past eight winners here, none ranked worse than 36th in driving distance for the week — so if you’re using a premium name, make sure they check both boxes of distance and iron precision, not just one. For one-and-done purposes, this week favors deploying a top-five caliber player — McIlroy, Young, or Schauffele — rather than gambling on a sleeper, because the course profile is so well-defined that the elite players with proven Quail Hollow history have a genuine structural advantage. Save your mid-tier darts for venues where course fit is less predictable.

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
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💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Rory McIlroy +550
Cameron Young +950
Xander Schauffele +1000
Matt Fitzpatrick +1500
Ludvig Åberg +1800

Mid Tier Contenders
Jason Day +4700
Harris English +5000
Jordan Spieth +4500
Hideki Matsuyama +3500
Akshay Bhatia +6000

Long Shots
Taylor Pendrith +10000
Sungjae Im +17000
Max Homa +11500
Corey Conners +8800
Brian Harman +10000

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Truist Championship

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