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PGA Championship arrives with Rory McIlroy playing well, dealing with divorce as latest distraction

AP photo by Jeff Roberson / Rory McIlroy chips to the green on the 16th hole at Valhalla Golf Club during a practice round for the PGA Championship on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. The year's second major championship tournament tees off Thursday.
AP photo by Jeff Roberson / Rory McIlroy chips to the green on the 16th hole at Valhalla Golf Club during a practice round for the PGA Championship on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. The year's second major championship tournament tees off Thursday. AP photo by Jeff Roberson / Rory McIlroy chips to the green on the 16th hole at Valhalla Golf Club during a practice round for the PGA Championship on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. The year's second major championship tournament tees off Thursday.

By DOUG FERGUSON / The Asociated Press 6 min read

Rory McIlroy has all the momentum he could want heading into the PGA Championship as he tries to end a drought in the majors that has lasted a decade.

He also has a major distraction.

McIlroy is coming off two straight victories, one of them a team title with Irish pal Shane Lowry in New Orleans, the other secured with an exquisite back nine at Quail Hollow Club to rally past Xander Schauffele on Sunday in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The PGA Championship begins Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, at Valhalla Golf Club, the site of his fourth and most recent major triumph 10 years ago. And if that wasn’t enough, rain has pounded an already soft course with more showers expected, the conditions that favor power and aggressive play, right up McIlroy’s alley.

The distraction is an impending divorce from his wife of seven years, a stunning turn of events in so many ways. There was no public hint of any trouble, and most peculiar of all is the timing.