Raise your hand if you’ve still got some energy left for another signature event. The Truist Championship marks the third signature stop in the past four weeks, once again featuring a star-studded field competing for their share of the $20-million purse in Charlotte. Quail Hollow awaits, and it’s far from an easy test. Following a renovation completed in 2024 ahead of the PGA Championship, the course now firmly stands as a major-caliber venue.
At 7,600 yards and playing to a par 71, the scorecard itself helps shape the profile of players to target. Long irons are at a premium, and the redesigned greens have introduced new hole locations while allowing for increased speeds. The roadmap to success at Quail Hollow is relatively straightforward, and we’ll use that to guide us toward a winner at the Truist.
The headline players arrive in Charlotte in exceptional form, including the tournament favorite, who is chasing his fifth career victory at this venue. The question is whether he can maintain his dominance, or if a hungry field will finally break his grip on Quail Hollow.
Here are the 10 players best positioned to make a statement and win the 2026 Truist Championship. 10. Sepp Straka
Technically the defending Truist champion, albeit at Philadelphia Cricket Club, Sepp Straka should be on your radar for a strong performance at Quail Hollow. His consistency in 2026 has been his hallmark, and I’ve noticed an under-the-radar trend in his game that correlates well this week. Straka has picked up distance and is growing more comfortable on longer golf courses.
His proximity from beyond 175 yards ranks near the top of the field, placing him well within the tier of players suited for success on Quail Hollow’s long, demanding par 4s. A strong weekend at Doral (68-66) catapulted Straka to a T-4 result and packs on confidence headed into his second straight signature event. Expect to see Straka lumbering down the fairways, and up the leaderboard, in Charlotte.
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9. Adam Scott 
Orlando Ramirez
Let’s roll out another player who had a phenomenal weekend at Doral. Adam Scott, whose week began with a rules infraction, posted the low round of the day on Sunday and continues to flash brilliance on courses that demand long-iron excellence. We’ve got another course this week where he can showcase his superpower.
At 45 years of age, do not sleep on Scott’s power. He ranks fourth best in the field in driving distance over the past two months, and he has historically putted great on these tricky greens at Quail Hollow. Given his form and the course fit, Adam Scott looks primed to be one of the best values on the board.
8. Hideki Matsuyama
There is a clear-cut correlation between players having success at Quail Hollow, Augusta National and Riviera Country Club. This leads me down the path of backing Hideki Matsuyama. His familiar elite-iron play has remained intact, and he’s reined in the big miss off the tee that was his demise earlier in 2026.
What he might lack in power, Matsuyama more than makes up for with long-iron proximity. Nobody in the field statistically generates more birdie opportunities inside 15 feet with approach shots from 200-plus yards. He’s a player who experiences waves of form, and I believe the timing is ripe for a Hideki Matsuyama dismantling of a golf course. Nobody stalks dangerous pin locations like Matsuyama when all systems are firing.
7. Si Woo Kim 
Carmen Mandato
His name and positioning on the pre-tournament odds boards still look a bit out of place, but it shouldn’t. Si Woo Kim just does it a different way. He leads the PGA Tour in fairways hit, and while this course rewards bombers, the ability to remain in position and avoid bogeys becomes a much simpler proposition from the short grass.
Like Straka, Kim acknowledges that what he gives up in power must be reconciled with precision. He ranks third best in the field in strokes gained/approach on long courses this season. He’s retained that early season form and has now become a perennial name that can contend on any given week.
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6. Sam Burns
First round leads, final pairings and contending deep into majors. All are elements we look for in this industry, and if you keep throwing your name into the mix like Sam Burns has recently, then your time is surely coming. Best known for his putting acumen, Burns has put in the work to become a more complete player thus far in 2026.
Statistically, he’s been a big gainer in the ball-striking department in four of his last five starts. Burns has been solid in his past two appearances at Quail Hollow and was arguably the break-out performer on these grounds during the 2022 Presidents Cup. If you bypass the favorites, Sam Burns is a top name to consider.
5. Xander Schauffele 
Tracy Wilcox
Nobody has a more tortured relationship with close calls at Quail Hollow than Xander Schauffele. Runner-up finishes in both 2023 and 2024, with a couple back-nine collapses, makes him one of the more compelling players that I’m frankly torn on. But Schauffele thrives on difficult tests, and his course history in totality has shown the propensity to routinely score at Quail Hollow.
The ball-striking metrics for Schauffele continue to impress, but he’s struggled to parlay it into his normal standard of results. With just one top-5 finish this season, Schauffele aims to conquer the final round demons at Quail Hollow and is ready to get back inside the winner’s circle.
4. Ludvig Aberg
If you could create the ideal player skill set to profile perfectly for Quail Hollow, it would look a whole lot like Ludvig Aberg. The Swede’s elite driving makes him a natural fit for a venue that has historically favored the tour’s longest and straightest. His total driving affords him the ability to shorten the approach shots on the nine 450-plus-yard par 4s on the scorecard, opening up scoring opportunities.
The only hesitation is his closing rate when in contention recently. He appeared primed to take home a trophy on numerous occasions, but has still rallied to post top-five results in four of his past five tournaments. We need to give Aberg time and grace. He’s only 26 years old, and still rapidly improving, with very few in professional golf that possess a higher ceiling.
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3. Matt Fitzpatrick 
Tracy Wilcox
It’s admittedly ridiculous that a player with three victories in his last four starts can’t even crack the top-two in my power rankings, but it speaks to the strength of this field. His run has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his lead-in form for Charlotte is unprecedented as Fitzpatrick has unlocked a new level.
Beyond the most consistent ball-striking run of his career, Fitzpatrick also comes with the best around-the-green statistics in the field. He brings a quiet and quick confidence that continues to compound when he takes down Scheffler in Harbour Town and Young at Sawgrass. But come on, four out of five can’t happen … can it?
2. Cameron Young
Quail Hollow is a brute. Long, exacting, demanding of your full attention for eighteen holes and ready to punish errant mistakes. It sounds an awful lot like Trump Doral, where Cameron Young just routed Would No. 1 and the entire field in his six-stroke victory last week. The Wake Forest grad has personal connections to Charlotte, but his case here is rooted in being an idyllic course fit.
Two iconic wins in Florida and fiery reps in the Augusta National cauldron have Cameron Young on the precipice of superstardom. Even if his personality is averse to it, his game demands it. Young checks every box and is a top contender to watch in Charlotte.
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1. Rory McIlroy
2010, 2015, 2021 and 2024. All years that featured a Rory McIlroy win at Quail Hollow. The most important being the most recent, as McIlroy bludgeoned his way around this course, post-renovation, to the tune of a five-stroke victory after trailing headed into the final round.
The driving distance is the starting base for success, but McIlroy genuinely thrives on the intricacies of this layout and the strategy that accompanies it. Rory has become the most complete version of himself as a player, and the momentum of capturing his sixth major adds jet fuel to his rise. He’s showcased composure, fortitude and has become the intimidating force on the PGA Tour when Rory gets that bounce in his step. He’s got four of these trophies on the mantle at home, with room to add a fifth after this week!
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Joe Idone is a Read The Line contributor and host of the Preferred Lines podcast.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com