It did not happen suddenly after Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago. Instead, it dripped into existence as he was making a run at his first PGA Tour win since the end of 2019. McIlroy was nearly 20-1 to win the PGA Championship -- golf's second major of the year -- when the Wells Fargo began (an unheard of number for McIlroy). After he played his way into contention on Friday and Saturday, the number started dropping. Now, as we enter the 2021 PGA Championship, he has become the favorite to win.

At 11-1, McIlroy sits just in front of Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm (14-1) as well as Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau (14-1). Dustin Johnson (20-1) and Xander Schauffele (22-1) round out your top seven for Kiawah Island this week, where McIlroy won by eight back in 2012.

McIlroy, whose originally long odds for the PGA were always a little ridiculous, takes a game that has seemingly snapped back onto the right track after a few months of futility (at least for him). Following missed cuts at the Genesis Invitational, Players Championship and Masters, he beat Abraham Ancer by a stroke to win Quail Hollow in what was a nearly-flawless final three rounds of play. It's an encouraging sign for him and an exciting reminder that his baseline of greatness is so high.

Whether it adds up to a win -- or even a near-win -- on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island remains to be seen. McIlroy has not won a major in seven years, but the way he played the last three rounds at Quail Hollow -- with very little consternation whatsoever -- could point to a little run of major championship contention. So too could his immense success in the past at Kiawah.

"Obviously, I played really well there last time," said McIlroy. "I'm honestly not sure whether they've made any changes to the golf course since, but I'll go up there and try to do my homework and re-familiarize myself with the layout a little bit. But yeah, it's certainly great timing. This is obviously a huge confidence boost going in there knowing that my game is closer than it has been. I'll be able to poke holes in everything that I did today, it's certainly far from perfect, but this one is validation that I'm on the right track."

Here's a look at the current odds of everyone at 50-1 or shorter, according to William Hill Sportsbook.

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