England's newest Major winner Aaron Rai is due to speak with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shortly after enhancing his claims at Aronimink.

Rai has been basking in his PGA Championship glory and speaking about his next steps - which included continuing to do things his own way without an agent.

The 31-year-old has plenty of trappings to go along with the Wanamaker Trophy, including a healthy payday of $3.7m and five years of Major exemptions.

He's also up to 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking and fifth on the DP World Tour's Race To Dubai - but perhaps most importantly he's catapulted his name into the Ryder Cup race.

Qualification for 2027 at Adare Manor doesn't start until later this year, but the manner of Rai's Major success gives him a ton of credit in the bank.

And he's due to speak with Donald soon, telling a media conference call: "I will catch up with him in the coming days."

Rai was in and around the mix for the European side at Bethpage Black, and that experience coupled with now being a Major champion could give him the edge this time around.

"I think it's such a long way away," Rai said. "Ryder Cup qualification hasn't even started yet, so I'm well aware of just how much good golf you have to play to even be in that framework come next year, so it's not something that I've really thought too much about.

"I've really enjoyed over the previous few years getting around it and experiencing kind of the lead up to it and what it's like.

"Hopefully I can learn a few things from those experiences moving into next year, but there's a lot of golf to be played and a lot of great performances that you have to have in order to be even considered for that team."

Rai still waiting for Wanamaker Trophy

Winning a Major is an achievement in itself, but the manner of Rai's victory at Aronimink was particularly impressive.

Going six under for his final 10 holes, holding his nerve with the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy giving chase shows exactly the character Donald will want in his side for Ireland.

"I think over those last few holes, I definitely felt that, providing I can keep doing what I'm doing, we stand a very good chance," Rai said of closing out the win.

"But I also tried not to let myself get too far ahead and think that there's a chance, because I knew how hard those last few holes are."

Rai is also as grounded as any golfer, as shown by his modest plans for spending his new $3.7m windfall, which don't include anything lavish.

"I have a really nice house in Jacksonville that I've been in for three years now, which I absolutely love," Rai added.

"I imported my car from the UK three years ago, which I absolutely love, and I wouldn't change that for anything. So, nothing really comes to my mind for myself."

One thing has wants to get his hands on is the Wanamaker Trophy, as he's still not got it back from the PGA of America.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened," Rai said about the trophy. "But there was just a little bit of damage towards the top of the trophy, which they wanted to fix before it went anywhere."

The caddie let go by Garrick Higgo after missing his PGA Championship tee time has spoken out for the first time since the incident at Aronimink last week.

Higgo was given a two-stroke penalty by PGA of America officials after arriving late to the tee box for his opening round of the PGA Championship.

It proved to be a costly penalty, as despite a battling first round he struggled on Friday and ended up missing the cut by just one shot.

Higgo then split with his caddie Austin Gaugert in the aftermath of the event - and now Gaugert has had his say on the matter.

Far from being angry about the situation, Gaugert shouldered the blame for Higgo missing his tee time as he posted on social media.

"As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that," Gaugert said on Instagram.

"Garrick was understanding throughout the situation and handled it with professionalism and class. This has happened to players before and will again.

"Garrick handled this difficult situation with grace, and I wish him nothing but success moving forward."

Gaugert added the Higgo, who has gone back to former caddie Nick Cavendish-Pell, remains a good friend despite the bizarre mishap, which really sparked interest at Aronimink.

It's unusual for players to miss their tee times at all, let alone in a Major, but even after that interest in the story increased when Higgo tried to explain the penalty - but only served to add to the confusion.

"It's kind of - I was there on time, but the rule is, if you're one second late, you're late. So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean," said Higgo in his now infamous explanation.

"I don't want to be there ten minutes early. I know that five minutes is fine. I thought I had time.

"I could have added maybe five minutes for the walk from the range to the tee, but everything is kind of here."

Higgo admitted he was "obviously too casual" in his approach, but Gaugert has also now accepted some of the blame for one of the headline making moments of the PGA Championship.

Aaron Rai has won almost as many plaudits for how he's carried himself after winning the PGA Championship as he has for the way he played at Aronimink.

On Sunday, he became the first English player to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes 107 years ago - and he's been a very popular champion.

Not long after lifting the Wanamaker Trophy, his first Major Championship, the underdog was keen to praise his whole team, with his wife, also a professional golfer, receiving a special mention.

"She's been incredible. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I wouldn't be here without her," said the new PGA champion.

"Both as a companion, as a friend, as someone I'm sharing my life with, but also as a real support system for my game."

Rai's wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, a distinguished golfer in her own right, was greenside as her husband put the finishing touches on a superb final round that saw him ease to victory in the closing stages.

"She's a professional golfer herself. So her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it's technique or the way I'm holding myself, is absolutely invaluable," added Rai.

"We even had a conversation yesterday for probably 30 minutes in the car just before we got back to the hotel, just speaking a little bit about today.

"Again, some of the things that she mentioned in the conversations were really with me today."

Originally from India, Bishnoi is a professional on the Ladies European Tour and was ranked the No.1 Indian women's player in 2017 and '19.

Rai said that being able to practice with Bishnoi, whom he married last year, has also helped his game.

"We practice quite a lot together. Honestly, she beats me more times than I beat her," he said.

"When we have putting contests, chipping contests, we do some wedge games on TrackMan. I do well to keep up with her. She really is that good.

"We play a little bit on the course, but I've played Sawgrass, that's where we live, a little bit more than her, and I think that little bit of experience helps.

"But it's still very close with us, even on the course."

Rai, who is now up to No.15 in the world, also praised several other key members of his team following his second PGA Tour victory.

He thanked Piers Ward and Andy Proudman of Me and My Golf, with whom he has worked since he was a junior, but found it hard to put into words just how supportive his parents have been.

"I think I'll get way too emotional to speak," said Rai. "Starting with my dad, he was with me every day that I went to practice from the age of four, five years old.

"He actually quit his job and started to focus on my golf from a really young age.

"My mom has been absolutely incredible as well. She works extremely long hours to just provide for the house, really, especially with my dad also not working as much.

"So she did a lot of things, and her support has been phenomenal."

Although Rai's parents were not at Aronimink, it sounds like there will be a big celebration when Team Rai is reunited.

Everyone was waiting for him to wilt. That's how it felt. However, Alex Smalley remained very composed throughout the final round of the 108th PGA Championship.

Although Aaron Rai was the one left holding the Wanamaker trophy aloft, the 29-year-old American can be very proud of his efforts.

And he can also look forward to the rest of the season, because his runner-up finish at Aronimink has opened up a few more doors - so don't be surprised to see him finally get into the winner's circle this year.

Here's what a successful week at the season's second Major Championship has done for Smalley...

POINTS AND PAYOUTS

When it comes to prize money, there was quite a big difference between first and second.

Aaron Rai banked $3,690,000, whereas Smalley's check was roughly half, $1,804,000 to be exact (the same as joint runner-up Jon Rahm).

Smalley drained a 20-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to get into second, which was worth an extra $961,000.

Decent enough, then, and there's also the bonus of 425 FedExCup points, which puts Smalley in a very strong position.

A PLACE IN THE MASTERS

Talking of strong positions, his place in next year's Masters has already been secured.

The PGA Championship has a top-four-and-ties rule for Augusta, so he can look forward to teeing it up in the 2027 Masters for the very first time.

"This week was special," he said. "As far as this tournament, in terms of my career, who knows? Maybe it's a springboard.

"It gives me a lot of confidence coming away from this week to know that I can compete on the PGA Tour and even some of the Major Championships."

PGA Championship Return

Next year is already shaping up nicely, and there's more good news on the Majors front: Smalley also gets to have another crack at the Wanamaker Trophy.

The top 15 players have already done enough to return to the PGA Championship next year, which will take place at PGA Frisco in Texas.

A PLACE IN THE US OPEN

Having moved well inside the world's top 60, Smalley has also qualified for next month's US Open at Shinnecock in New York.

Smalley's only previous appearance in his national Open came in 2017, when he competed as an amateur.

A PLACE IN THE OPEN

The first 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2026, qualify automatically for this year's Open at Royal Birkdale.

Having climbed to No. 42, Smalley's place in the field is all but assured. It will be his first appearance in golf's oldest Major Championship.

WORLD RANKING BOOST

Smalley can also update his CV. Coming into PGA Championship week, he could only say he was a top 100 player in the world.

Now, though, he can claim to be one of the best 50 players in the world.

Smalley has leapt from No. 78 to No. 42 in the world, a career-high.

I could have written this article last week, or perhaps the week before. It's a conversation the news team is regularly having here at Golf Monthly as Signature Events, regular tournaments and Majors go by.

This latest example is yet another illustration of why the big money, small-field PGA Tour showpieces need to go.

Aaron Rai is now a Major champion after playing his last ten holes in six-under-par at Aronimink to win the 2026 PGA Championship.

He was a very worthy winner and ends the 100+ year drought for English golfers in the championship.

Rai is one of the hardest workers in the game and his victory on Sunday was a real feel-good story, having started out on the third-tier, and now defunct, EuroPro Tour before progressing through Europe to make it in the US.

Rai is up to a career-best 15th in the world, and he has been ranked inside the world's top 50 all year yet has only managed to make his way into two Signature Events.

He was ranked 33rd in the world during the Arnold Palmer Invitational week, yet the model came to the conclusion that he was not deserving of a place in the field.

Last week, he was playing in the opposite-field $4m Myrtle Beach Classic while the Tour also ran the $20m no-cut Truist Championship.

This isn't meant to be a slight but the likes of Tony Finau, Max Homa and Billy Horschel have been ranked outside of the top 100 and they have played far more Signature Events, with the popular stars receiving multiple sponsor's invitations.

Players of this stature have been getting in time and time again while multiple top 50 players miss out just because they aren't as famous or have as strong historic resumes.

It's an example of why the tournaments are not fair, and they have to be changed going forward. Hopefully they will, with plans to increase fields to 120 and introduce cuts in all of them.

I have no problem with Finau, Homa and Horschel playing in these events by the way. They have earned the right to compete in the biggest tournaments and I would love to follow them if I saw them playing on-site, plus they can help with ticket sales and general interest - especially if they play well and contend.

What I do have a problem with is players like Aaron Rai and other deserving pros being left out.

Signature Events have been great for the select players in them, and perhaps the TV networks and sponsors, too, but they have largely been unpopular with fans. Some players dislike them as well.

"I've been on record as saying I was not a fan of these when they hatched the idea of them," 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover told Golf Channel.

"I didn't like them then and I have been in most of them since they started and I still don't like them."

Erik Van Rooyen is another. “How honest do you want me to be?” he asked, after qualifying for the $20m Truist Championship last year, where he was guaranteed at least $36,000 for simply turning up.

“I hate it. I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them. The guys on the PGA Tour are so good. It's so deep."

Brian Rolapp said he hopes to operate 16 Signature Events on tier one of the PGA Tour in the future, which to me is essentially getting rid of them. If you have 16 Signature Events then they are no longer elevated and instead just become the norm. That will be a great thing.

A total of 16 big money events with 120-man fields and cuts should really improve things on the circuit, as the current Signature model is now stale and not conducive with a circuit that likes to pride itself on meritocracy.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you agree? Or do you think the Signature Events are great for showcasing all of the best players?

So, what are some other examples that have been grinding my gears this year? Let's look back and start with Alex Fitzpatrick.

The Englishman won the Zurich Classic with his older brother, Matt, and then went on to contend at the $20m Truist Championship after also producing a strong week at the Cadillac Championship.

Fitzpatrick only just kept his DP World Tour card last year yet managed to finish T9-T4 in back-to-back Signature Events. He added a lot to the event, making for a very intriguing storyline to see how he would get on at the elite level.

He coped extremely well.

What does that tell you? It tells me that anyone with a tour card is an exceptional player and limiting fields to just 70 or 80 means fans miss out on great storylines of underdogs challenging for the title and up-and-coming pros progressing in their journeys.

Kristoffer Reitan is another example. The Norwegian won twice on the DP World Tour last year, including at December's Nedbank Golf Challenge, and, like Rai, has been ranked inside the world's top 50 all year.

He was the second-highest finisher on the Race to Dubai to pick up a PGA Tour card last year yet he didn't play in any of the first four Signature Events. Again, this was while players ranked outside of the top 100 were getting sponsor's invites ahead of him.

He finally managed to get in the Cadillac Championship as an alternate and went on to finish T14th before going on to win, with a very impressive finish may I add, at the Truist Championship the following week.

Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard are two other Europeans who have been ranked highly this year but haven't played a great deal of 'Signature' golf either.

They were ranked 44th and 53rd the week of the 80-man Genesis Invitational yet missed out, and Rasmus sat 48th in the OWGR while not getting into the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Nicolai, who has now played in four of the six this year, went on to finish T2nd at the Truist Championship. Rasmus has still not played in a single one in 2026 despite making nine of 11 cuts on the PGA Tour and starting the year ranked inside the world's top 40.

Tom Kim was another high-profile example in 2025, when he failed to qualify for the Truist Championship while ranked 41st in the world.

Golf is a funny, and amazing, game and anyone with a tour card is capable of challenging Scheffler, McIlroy and co. at the top on any given week. Everyone on the PGA Tour is so good, so let's reduce the restrictions over who gets to play the biggest events going forward.

Well done Aaron Rai for a phenomenal performance and well done to the likes of Kristoffer Reitan and Alex Fitzpatrick in recent weeks. Hopefully we'll see plenty more of these stories once all PGA Tour events feature fields of 120 men.

Let me know your thoughts below.

Following an epic PGA Championship finale, it was Aaron Rai who secured a maiden Major title, producing a fine display to secure the win at Aronimink Golf Club.

Carding a nine-under-par tournament total, the Englishman finished three clear of Jon Rahm, who happened to be the best LIV Golfer for the week, as the Spaniard produced a T2nd result and his first top-five finish since the 2023 Open Championship.

Being the best performer from the LIV Golf League, it was also a welcome top 10 finish from Cameron Smith, who carded a two-under 68 on Sunday to claim a T7th result.

Having missed his last six Major cuts, the Australian had been struggling for form, so much so he changed his coach prior to teeing it up in Philadelphia.

The move proved to be a successful one, as Smith shot rounds of 69, 71, 68 and 68 to finish four-under, his best Major finish since the 2024 Masters.

Outside of the top 10, David Puig produced his best result in a Major, as he finished in a share of 18th. He was joined alongside Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann, who finished one-under alongside the Spaniard.

Former PGA Championship winner, Martin Kaymer, enjoyed an excellent week as he finished T35th, ending his Sunday one-over-par following rounds of 67, 75, 66 and 73.

Dustin Johnson finished T44th, while Elvis Smylie rounded out the final LIV Golf placing, with the Australian finishing eight-over-par and in a tie for 75th.

Final LIV Golf Leaderboard At The PGA Championship

• T2nd -6 Jon Rahm
• T7th -4 Cameron Smith
• T18th -1 David Puig
• T18th -1 Joaquin Niemann
• T35th +1 Martin Kaymer
• T44th +2 Dustin Johnson
• T75th +8 Elvis Smylie
• MC +5 Thomas Detry
• MC +6 Tyrrell Hatton
• MC +7 Tom McKibbin
• MC +7 Bryson DeChambeau

Cameron Smith made a Sunday charge at the PGA Championship to push the leaders close, but he just fell short at the final hurdle.

The Australian golfer shot 68 on Sunday at Aronimink to finish on four-under for the tournament. He was as low as five-under for much of the back nine, though, before a bogey on 17 cost him dearly.

It looked as though birdies on the second, the fourth, and the ninth would set Smith up for a real shot at the championship. But, it wasn't to be in the end.

Still, it's a vast improvement from the 32-year-old, who has found the Majors a little more difficult over the last three years.

Having won The Open in 2022, Smith shocked the golfing world by leaving the PGA Tour and joining the LIV Golf league.

He arrived in Philadelphia this week off the back of six consecutive missed cuts in Majors, which makes his performance this week even more impressive.

Speaking to the media after his final round at Aronimink on Sunday, Smith discussed how his confidence levels have fluctuated, and referenced a coaching change as a potential catalyst for success.

He said: "It feels great to play nice. You don't work hard to play crap. The last couple of years have been frustrating. I feel like I've been putting in the work and not really getting anything out of it.

"I made a swing coach switch a couple of weeks ago to Claude [Harmon III], and we've managed to clean up a few things that were perhaps a little bit off. I feel like I've got a lot more confidence in my swing.

"Even out there today, under the pressure I felt like I was able to trust it already. So lots of positive signs."

Smith went into more detail on that difficult decision to part with his former coach, Grant Field, and outlined just how tough it was to go in separate ways.

"It was a hard call to make to my coach. I had been seeing Grant since I was 9 years old. So I'd been with him for 23 years," Smith said. "It was probably one of the most difficult phone calls I've ever had to make."

He added: "It's still kind of lingering, but I feel like I've made the right call. I can see it in my golf and my strike of the ball and seeing some different shots. It's been nice."

Claude Harmon III, the son of the legendary Butch Harmon, previously worked with Brooks Koepka and currently also works with Dustin Johnson.

The 2026 PGA Championship prize money is a new record for the event, with $20.5m the figure announced during the third round.

That is $500,000 more than the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, meaning that, as well as the prestige of winning a Major, players are competing for one of the biggest money prizes in golf.

Whichever player lifts the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening, a reward of $3.69m awaits, although he won’t get to keep the full amount.

For example, various factors, including taxes, reduce how much players really earn, while caddies are also compensated from the prize money.

That’s something the winner is unlikely to begrudge paying after this year’s event, with Aronimink offering a stern challenge for players, including its undulating greens, meaning the money heading to the caddies will have been well earned.

But how much does the winning caddie get?

In many cases, a player will negotiate terms with his caddie. For example, most caddies are either paid an annual salary or given a weekly base rate. That information is generally kept between them.

However, it is widely accepted that winners of tournaments generally give their caddies 10% of their prize money, on top of what else they are paid.

A year ago, Scottie Scheffler won $3.42m for his victory, and if we are to assume he paid caddie Ted Scott 10% of that, he would have left Quail Hollow $342,000 better off.

In 2024, Xander Schauffele took the title to give him $3.33m and his caddie Austin Kaiser around $333,000.

With even more money going to this year’s winner, his caddie should leave Aronimink with $369,000.

The caddies of players finishing further down the leaderboard are also expected to be well rewarded.

Caddies of players finishing elsewhere in the top 10 of the PGA Championship leaderboard are expected to receive around 7% of the prize money, with around 5% going to the caddies of other players in the field.

If there’s a solo runner-up at the PGA Championship, he will win $2.214m. If his caddie receives 7% of that, it would hand them around $155,000.

Even the player who finishes the event 82nd and last of those who made the cut will earn $23,900. However, that would likely leave his caddie earning a far more modest $1,195.

The PGA Championship is a tricky tournament. It has to be, given it's one of the Majors, and it's not unthinkable that it'll go right down to the wire this year.

The setup at Aronimink has proven very challenging indeed for some of the world's best golfers. Scottie Scheffler struggled with pin positions, and even Rory McIlroy had had to fight to make the cut.

It's not been the lowest-scoring tournament so far, and the margins over the weekend have only got tighter to create an incredibly bunched leaderboard.

So, will a playoff be needed to crown the latest Major champion?

The rules for playoffs vary from tournament to tournament, so let's take a look at how a playoff works in the PGA Championship.

PGA Championship playoff format

It's pretty simple, really. If there is a tie after 72 holes at Aronimink, a three-hole aggregate score playoff will commence.

Interestingly, while a lot of championships use the final three holes for playoffs, this year's PGA Championship will utilize holes 10, 17, and 18.

If things are still level after those three holes, a sudden-death playoff on No. 18 will occur until a winner is found.

The par-4 10th is full of hazards, with two fairway bunkers and a pond situated at the front left of the green. Hole 17 may be a par-3, but it's 229-yards long and also has a pond. The 490-yard 18th is daunting, too, with three bunkers down the right side of the fairway and an elevated green.

The three-hole format has been used for some time now, and we've seen five playoffs in the 21st century.

Most recently, Justin Thomas prevailed in a playoff win over Will Zalatoris in 2022. Thomas had clawed back a seven-shot deficit at the start of the final day to tie the lead after 72 holes, marking the joint-biggest comeback in PGA Championship history.

You have to go back to 2011 for the last playoff before that, when Keegan Bradley defeated Jason Dufner by one stroke over the three holes. Bradley was a rookie at the time, and was one of only three players ever to have emerged victorious at their first-ever Major.

Martin Kaymer's win over Bubba Watson in 2010 saw an extended playoff occur. Watson missed a putt everyone had expected him to make, and the German took advantage with a birdie on the first extra hole.

A three-way playoff in 2004 saw Vijay Singh lift the Wanamaker Trophy after seeing off both Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.

Then, in 2000, Tiger Woods beat Bob May. That was Woods' second straight PGA Championship win, but he had to do it the hard way after both he and May set the PGA Championship record to par at 18-under.

Prior to this, the PGA Championship used a full 18-hole playoff on two occasions (in 1961 and 1968) before moving to a sudden death format through the 1970s, '80s and '90s.

The PGA Championship was a thrilling spectacle this year at Aronimink, where England's Aaron Rai held off a number of huge names to win his maiden Major title.

Despite some questions surrounding the setup, including its tough pin positions, the Philadelphia course proved to be the star of the show, and Rai tamed it with a stunning nine-under-par total.

The PGA Championship, which at times in recent years has been a birdie fest, has played more like a US Open, with players struggling to post low scores before more opportunities presented themselves on Saturday.

That’s partly down to the Donald Ross-designed layout, with the undulating greens causing difficulties, as well as the thick rough.

Rai is the man lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening, and he earns more prize money than has ever been awarded at the tournament.

A year ago, the purse was $19m, and winner Scottie Scheffler earned $3.42m.

However, this year, $20.5m in prize money is available, with the champion winning $3.69m, before various factors reduce how much players actually earn.

That’s $90,000 more than players earn in the non-player-hosted PGA Tour Signature Events, although it is less than the $4m given to winners of the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament, despite a larger overall purse.

It is by far and away Rai's biggest ever payday.

Further down the leaderboard, solo second wins a huge $2.214m, with third-place earning $1.394m. Meanwhile, even the player finishing 82nd banks $23,900.

It’s not just the players who made the cut who earn prize money from the event, with those who failed to make it beyond 36 holes all winning $4,300.

Despite the record prize money, it is still less than what was offered at the first Major of the year, The Masters. At Augusta National, $22.5m was available, with winner Rory McIlroy scooping $4.5m.

Like that event, there's more than just prize money at stake with plenty of great perks on offer, though, with the winner earning a lifetime exemption to the event, five-year exemptions to the other three Majors, 100 world ranking points and 750 FedEx Cup points.

Below is the prize money payout for each position at the PGA Championship before ties are taken into account.

PGA Championship Prize Money Breakdown 2026

Ahead of the final round of the PGA Championship, it was still anyone's guess as to who would lift the Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink.

While Alex Smalley had a two-stroke lead at six under, dozens of players were still in with a realistic chance of claiming the title, such was the bunched nature of the leaderboard.

Lurking not far behind were superstars including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, but eventually it was Aaron Rai who took control of proceedings to claim his maiden Major title in style.

Previously, the only Englishman to take the title had been Jim Barnes, who won the first two editions of the PGA Championship in 1916 and 1919, but Rai wasn't about to let the chance to end that long run slip.

Rai began the day two back of Smalley, along with the likes of Rahm, but it was the Spaniard, in the group immediately behind Rai, who looked like the man to stop at first, beginning his round with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes as he tied the lead.

Rai also birdied the first, but he then had a run of inconsistency, with one more birdie but three bogeys in the next seven holes.

However, if he didn't appear likely to challenge at that stage, a brilliant 39-foot putt for eagle at the ninth dragged him firmly into the conversation - not the last time he would hole a monster putt on Sunday.

The moment of magic took him to five under, level with Justin Thomas, who was back in the clubhouse, and firmly in the mix alongside the likes of McIlroy, Rahm, Cameron Smith, Smalley and Matti Schmid, who at that stage led by one at six under.

While none of those players could be written off, it already had the look of a "nearly" day for McIlroy, who failed to build on a second-hole birdie with a run of frustrating pars.

Rahm, meanwhile, suffered setbacks with bogeys at the third and seventh to check his progress before a birdie at the ninth brought him back to within one.

On the 11th, Rai joined Schmid at the top of the leaderboard for the first time, and when the German bogeyed the 10th, the Englishman had the solo lead.

McIlroy's chances faded even further with a bogey at the 13th to drop three back of Rai, who moved to seven under with a birdie at the same hole shortly afterwards.

Things tightened again when McIlroy moved back within two with his final birdie of the tournament at the 14th, and Schmid reduced Rai's lead to one with a birdie at the 13th.

While that still left the outcome up in the air, by the 16th, things began to look a lot clearer. First Rai, then Rahm, birdied the hole, but Rai did so having almost made an eagle following a brilliant approach at the par-5.

That gave him a two-stroke lead with two to play, and, given the assured way he was handling the back nine - and the pressure of closing in on the title, it looked a near-certainty he would hang on.

In the end, he didn't hang on at all, instead storming to the title, encapsulated by a moment of sheer brilliance at the 17th, when he drained a 69-foot birdie putt to move three clear at nine under.

All Rai needed to do was hold his nerve at the 18th, and he never looked like crumbling, finishing with a par for a three-stroke clubhouse lead.

That left his victory a virtual formality, and when the remaining players on the course couldn't produce the necessary heroics over the closing holes, Rai's hugely impressive victory was confirmed, with Rahm and Smalley finishing T2.

Following his victory, Rai spoke about how much it meant to him to become the first Englishman in over 100 years to win the title.

He said: "Extremely, extremely proud. There's a lot of incredible and historic English players over those hundred years who have gone on to achieve incredible things and had phenomenal careers.

"But to win this event and then to be the person that's the first one to have won it in a long time from England is an amazing thing and something to be extremely proud of."

PGA Championship 2026 leaderboard

View full PGA Championship leaderboard

PGA Championship quick links

• PGA Championship 2026 Full Prize Money Payout
• Perks Of Winning The PGA Championship
• Aronimink Golf Club: 5 Things To Know
• How To Watch The 2026 PGA Championship
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HELLO AND WELCOME

Welcome to Golf Monthly's coverage of the 2026 PGA Championship final round.

We have an all-timer in store today with a leaderboard like I have never seen before. Nobody has a clue who will come out on top later at Aronimink.

As always, please leave your comments below and we'll make sure to feature them in the blog. Thanks for tuning in.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER UNDERWAY

The World No.1 gets underway a remarkable two-and-a-half hours before Alex Smalley and Matti Schmid in the final group.

Scheffler is only five back and could well go on a run today, but he'll need to be better with his putter.

ROUND OF THE WEEK

Kurt Kitayama has just birdied the 18th to shoot 63 (-7), the best round of the week so far by two strokes.

The California has vaulted up 57 places on the leaderboard to T7th.

SUNDAY'S WEATHER FORECAST

Today is the hottest of the week and also the calmest, so conditions should be a little easier in the afternoon compared to yesterday. Hopefully the rain stays away.

BETTING ODDS

Here's how the odds look heading into the final round. I must say I am surprised to see Smalley as favorite...

• Alex Smalley 9/2
• Jon Rahm 11/2
• Ludvig Aberg 13/2
• Rory McIlroy 13/2
• Xander Schauffele 12/1
• Nick Taylor 16/1
• Aaron Rai 16/1
• Scottie Scheffler 20/1
• Patrick Reed 22/1

LOW CLUB PRO BEN KERN:

"It's very special. Obviously, once I got into the business, it was a goal to get out here and play in this kind of event. It's a once-in-a-year opportunity that I've had the chance to play in three. It's very special to be in this field and then to walk away with low club pro, it's everything."

Kern shot a very respectable 72 (+2) today and is currently in 81st-place at 10-over-par.

SCOTTIE ON THE MOVE

The World No.1 holes a long right-to-left birdie putt at the 2nd hole to move to two-under-par.

Many more are needed, but it is just the start he will have been looking for.

MATT FITZPATRICK MAKING MOVES TODAY

The Englishman has been one of the best players in the world this year, and he is climbing the leaderboard after a fourth birdie of the day at the par 4 13th.

He is four-under for the round and one-under for the tournament, which has him in T26th.

SCHEFFLER HITS A BEAUTY INTO 3

The World No.1 has 108 yards in from the middle of the fairway and pitches his wedge long and left before it spins back and rolls down the hill towards the hole.

He'll have inside 5ft to go two-under thru 3.

SCHEFFLER MISSES!

Ouch. The World No.1's short birdie effort at the 3rd lips out. It's just a par-birdie-par start for Scheffler, who needs to go low today to defend his Wanamaker.

The putting has really cost him this week. It's the same story with Brooks Koepka (-1), who has just missed from 5ft at the 1st to make a bogey.

NOT TOO MANY GROUPS LEFT NOW...

We have under 2hrs until the final pairings gets underway, here's a reminder of who is yet to start:

• 12.55pm: Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman
• 1.05pm: Ben Griffin, Cameron Smith
• 1.15pm: Martin Kaymer, Bud Cauley
• 1.25pm: Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann
• 1.35pm: Kristoffer Reitan, Chris Kirk
• 1.55pm: Patrick Reed, Maverick McNealy
• 2.05pm: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
• 2.15pm: Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg
• 2.25pm: Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm
• 2.35pm: Alex Smalley, Matti Schmid

FANTASTIC CROWDS

Huge crowds watch Scottie Scheffler hit his opening tee shot. A regular Philadelphia event needs to be on the PGA Tour schedule.

WHAT DO WE MAKE OF NIKE'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SHOES?

Nike's PGA shoes divided the Golf Monthly office, and they are everywhere on-screen TV with Scheffler, Koepka, Gotterup and others wearing them.

I must say, I am a fan.

JUSTIN ROSE PUNS

The McLaren man is "on the softs today and on an aggressive pit strategy," No Laying Up's Tron Carter jokes on X.

Hopefully the Englishman survives the opening corner and can start making his way through the field. He's two-under-par and just four back of Smalley's lead.

I think a Rose win would be the story of the day.

JUSTIN THOMAS TURNS IN TWO-UNDER

The 2017 and 2022 PGA Champion is out in two-under-par, which is the same as his total score for the championship.

He is going to need to go extremely low on the back nine to have a realistic chance, but either way it has been a solid performance from the former World No.1 this week. He had a back operation last fall and only returned to pro golf in March. It has been good to see him back playing well.

HARRIS ENGLISH MOVING

The US Ryder Cup man birdies 2 and 3 to get up to three-under-par.

I've barely seen him hit a shot this week but the World No.21 could be a real contender.

The five-time PGA Tour winner was T2nd here last year and again finished runner-up at The Open.

SCHEFFLER IN TROUBLE AT 5

The World No.1 misses the par 3 long-left and his chip runs 9ft past. Big putt coming up. It feels like a must-make already.

It misses. Scheffler back to one-under. Not what he was looking for after having a 5-footer to go two-under for the day on the 3rd.

JUSTIN THOMAS FINDS THE WATER ON 10

Thomas' second shot finds the water short-left of the green on the 10th and that will be his slim hopes of lifting the title over.

The former World No.1 is currently two-under and could well be dropping back to level-par.

MATT FITZPATRICK BIRDIE

The Englishman birdies the par 5 16th after finding the green in two. He moves to five-under mfor the day and it up to T14th now at -2.

HARRIS ENGLISH IN TIGHT AT 6

English wedges it close to the front-right pin on the short par 4 and he has that go move to three-under for the day and four-under for the tournament.

Update: He misses

SOME HUGE POTENTIAL STORYLINES TODAY...

- Rory McIlroy could win his 7th Major and move to 2/4 in the 2026 calendar slam.

- Jon Rahm could win his 3rd Major and Spain's first ever PGA Championship, completing the nation's slam. He would arrive at Royal Birkdale in July with the chance to complete the career grand slam.

- Ludvig Aberg joins the Major ranks.

- Justin Rose wins his 2nd Major title and first in almost 13 years.

- Aaron Rai, or Rose, end England's 100+ year curse in the PGA Championship.

- Alex Smalley wins his first pro title at the PGA Championship.

- Hideki Matsuyama becomes a two-time Major champion. In both The Masters and PGA for life

- Cameron Smith could also become a two-time Major champion...incredibly he is just four back heading into Sunday, despite barely being mentioned this week

- Another LIV Golfer, Joaquin Niemann, could win his first Major. He's also at two-under.

CAM SMITH IN TIGHT AT 2

The Aussie, working with Claude Harmon now, hits a beautiful wedge into the 2nd and should be able to move up to three-under.

Update: He holes it, great putt

JUSTIN THOMAS UPDATE

I made a slight error earlier on the 10th hole. Thomas' ball did not find the water, just the bank, and he got it up-and-down for a big par save.

Well, he has just birdied the 11th hole and has moved up to three-under-par for the tournament.

ROSE AND NIEMANN UNDERWAY

Two big names have just started their rounds, and they both split the fairway.

The pair are two-under-par and just four back of Smalley's six-under total. Surely one of them will go low today.

MATT FITZPATRICK CLOSES WITH A 65

Brilliant round for the Englishman, who finishes up with a bogey-free 65 to climb up 36 spots to T16th.

SCHEFFLER STALLING

The World No.1 is level-par for his first eight holes today, keeping him at one-under for the tournament.

He is currently in T26th and running out of holes, so it doesn't look like it is going to be his day.

Joaquin Niemann has just hit a beauty into the 1st and should tap in for an opening birdie and move to three-under.

JUST FIVE GROUPS REMAINING:

• 1.55pm: Patrick Reed, Maverick McNealy
• 2.05pm: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
• 2.15pm: Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg
• 2.25pm: Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm
• 2.35pm: Alex Smalley, Matti Schmid

BIRDIE FOR JUSTIN ROSE!

Rose holes a 20-footer on the 1st to move to three-under. Huge start!

Niemann also birdies.

HIDEKI!

Hideki Matsuyama makes his third birdie of the day at the 5th to get to four-under-par. Great start!

NICE FROM NIEMANN AT 2

The LIV star pitches one up close again at the 2nd, with playing partner Rose flaring his wedge out around 25ft short-right.

Could Niemann win this? If he holes that he moves to four-under-par after a birdie-birdie start. He is so in this...and so is Justin Rose, as well as 25 other players.

Update: Niemann holes, Rose misses

SCHEFFLER BIRDIES 9

Scottie two-putts from just off the front of the par 5 green to turn in one-under-par.

He is now two-under for the tournament and needs something very low on the back nine to stand a chance.

MISSED CHANCE FOR HIDEKI

Matsuyama pulls a short-ish putt for birdie just left on the 6th to spurn a very good chance to reach five-under.

RORY MCILROY UP NEXT

McIlroy and Xander Schauffele take to the 1st tee next. Both are multiple Major winners and they're each at three-under-par.

I feel they both have very important roles to play in the tournament this afternoon.

CAM SMITH TO FOUR!

Cameron Smith birdies the 4th to climb up to 2nd at four-under-par.

The LIV guys are flying high this week. Smith, Rahm or Niemann could easily win this.

...just as I write that, Niemann knifes a wedge through the back of the 3rd and will struggle to save par.

MCILROY UNDERWAY

The six-time Major champion pushes his opening drive up the right side of the 1st. It may be in a bunker or the rough, I'm not quite sure. But either way, not ideal.

Xander Schauffele, with a 3-wood in hand, misses the fairway left.

NIEMANN DROPS BACK

After knifing his wedge through the back of the 3rd hole, Niemann manages to hole a 15-footer to save bogey.

He and playing partner Rose are now tied at three-under.

RAI AND LUDVIG ARE OFF

Starting the day two strokes behind leader Alex Smalley, Aaron Rai and Ludvig Aberg have now teed off. Can either of them catch Smalley?

CRAZY LEADERBOARD

Have you ever seen anything like this? 16 players are within touching distance of Alex Smalley at the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard:

JT RIGHT BACK IN THE MIX

What a day Justin Thomas is having. He makes birdie on the 15th to hit -4 for the day and go T3:

IMMEDIATE BIRDIE FOR RAI

One hole down and one birdie on the scorecard today for Aaron Rai. He played the first hole perfectly, finding the fairway with his drive before hitting a delightful approach onto the green and sinking the putt.

He's now at five-under and is solo second (for now).

MCILROY MAKES BIRDIE

Wonderful play by Rory McIlroy on hole 2. He lands his approach shot within a couple of feet and putts for birdie.

He's now -4 for the week and two strokes back.

HERE COMES RAHMBO

Jon Rahm saw Aaron Rai make birdie on the first and decided he wanted to do the same. The Spaniard is now T2 at five-under.

THE LEADER IS ON HIS WAY

Alex Smalley tees off for the final round... but he's got four other golfers now just one stroke behind him as Justin Thomas and Ludvig Aberg join Jon Rahm and Aaron Rai at five-under.

RAHM IS ON FIRE

After two birdies from two holes, Jon Rahm is now tied for the lead at Aronimink. He looks like a man on a mission today.

NO GRAND SLAM FOR SPIETH

It just wasn't to be for Jordan Spieth this week, and the dream of the career Grand Slam will be on hold for another year.

Still, at least he finished in style on 18 today:

RAHM IS THE ONE TO BEAT?

It really feels like Jon Rahm is gunning for the win today. When he's in this form, can anyone match him?

CLUBHOUSE LEAD FOR THOMAS

Justin Thomas is done for the day and he takes a clubhouse lead of five-under with him. Will he be called upon later today for some playoff action?

HARRINGTON WITH THE EAGLE

Away from the chaos at the top of the leaderboard, Padraig Harrington just made eagle with a deft chip out of the bunker.

He's still way back at even-par, but that is a delightful shot:

BIG PUTT FROM SMALLEY

Tournament leader Alex Smalley maintains his one stroke advantage thanks to this glorious 26ft putt at the 3rd:

NICK TAYLOR JOINS THE PARTY

The Canadian nearly bagged an ace on hole 5. He has to settle for a birdie and a tie for second.

SCHMID BIRDIES AGAIN

Matti Schmid didn't want to be left out of that chasing pack on five-under. He's made another birdie at the 4th and is now one of six golfers just a stroke behind Alex Smalley.

Seven-way playoff, anyone?

SMALLEY KEEPS HIS COOL

Five holes down and Alex Smalley is looking calm and composed, with par across the board. That huge chasing pack are waiting for him to slip up but he's not giving them anything.

SCHMID GOES SOLO

The leaderboard has changed again. Matti Schmid makes birdie at the 6th in style, while Alex Smalley collapses and double bogeys.

Schmid now leads the field by one.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN FOR SCOTTIE

PAR FOR SCHMID

It's a safe par for the German at the sixth, who remains one clear of Justin Thomas, Cam Smith and Nick Taylor.

BIG MISTAKE FOR RORY

He pounds his tee shot nearly 380 yards at the par 5 ninth but, with just 195 yards left in, McIlroy can only make a par.

That's really sloppy from The Masters winner, who should be making birdie there. He remains four-under heading into the back nine.

EXCELLENT FROM JT

XANDER BIRDIES THE NINTH

McIlroy makes par, while Schauffele makes birdie at the ninth. He moves to four-under, just two back of leader Schmidt.

NEAR MISS FROM SMITH

That was to share the lead, but Smith's putt just misses on the right-side at the par 3 14th. He remains five-under, one back of Schmidt.

ROSE HANGS TOUGH

An excellent par save at the 12th means Rose stays three-under. He's heading to the driveable 13th, with a strong finish needed for the Englishman.

RAI MAKES EAGLE

What an eagle for Rai!

Looking to become the second Englishman to win the PGA Championship, Rai eagles the par 5 ninth and goes from three-to-five-under.

He's in a great position to challenge going into the back nine...

HOW WILL JT PREPARE...?

HARRINGTON ENJOYS A FINE WEEKEND

SO CLOSE FOR TAYLOR

That was to tie the lead, but Taylor's effort at the ninth finishes on the lip and he stays five-under.

RAHM WITHIN ONE

Rahm finds the green in two at the par 5 ninth, with a solid two putt meaning he's now five-under and one back of the lead.

Smith, meanwhile, makes a classy up-and-down at the par 4 15th. He is five-under and, with the par 5 15th coming up, he has a great chance to set a clubhouse target.

HUGE SAVE FOR RAI

What an up-and-down for Rai at the 10th!

He misses on the short side and, following an average chip, it seems the Englishman will make bogey. Rai, though, rolls in a 10-footer for par and remains five-under.

Excellent work.

ABERG DROPS ANOTHER SHOT

Bogeying the seventh and eighth, Aberg birdies the ninth but bogeys the 10th via a missed short putt.

He drops to three-under and will need to make a charge over the remaining holes on the back nine to contend for the win.

BIG SAVE FOR RORY

It only just finds the right-side of the hole, but it's a par for McIlroy at the par 4 11th. He remains two back of Schmidt, who pars the par 5 ninth.

SUPERB FROM RAI

His wedges have been world class this week and, at the 11th, Rai produces another superb shot.

He will have five-foot for birdie to join Schmidt at the top of the leaderboard!

RAI JOINS THE LEAD

Excellent from Rai, who birdies the 11th and joins Schmidt at six-under.

Speaking of Schmidt, he is in trouble at the 10th, and will need to get up-and-down to remain tied.

SCHMID DROPS A SHOT

It was a scrappy third from the German and, from 10-foot, Schmid misses on the left-side at the 10th to fall back to five-under.

Rai leads the PGA Championship.

PAR FOR RAI

It's another excellent up-and-down for Rai, who manages to par the 12th and remains one clear of a bunched chasing pack.

POOR FROM RORY

He was two back of the lead but, with a bogey at the 13th, McIlroy drops to three-under and three back of Rai.

It was a poor showing from the six-time Major winner, who had to hole a six-footer to save a bogey.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING?

Should Aaron Rai lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday, it will end a very long drought...

Some very fine English players have competed in the PGA Championship over the years, but no Englishman has won this tournament since Jim Barnes took the first two titles in 1916 and 1919.

If Rai wins, he'll become the second Englishman to lift the Wanamaker Trophy.

CAM SMITH FINISHES UP

Smith joins Justin Thomas in the clubhouse, but at four under, the Australian's chance of winning is gone. Thomas still has a chance at five under. Smith carded a one-under 69 on Sunday.

SO GOOD FROM RAI

That's unreal from Rai, who birdies the par 4 13th to lead by two strokes!

Impressive stuff from the Englishman, who is looking very composed as he enters the final stages of the back nine.

Rory McIlroy just birdied the 14th, while Aberg birdied the 13th. They are both two back of Rai, though, who is seven-under.

TAYLOR IN TROUBLE

Nick Taylor gets in some trouble off the tee at 13, and his chip towards the green doesn't really help matters as it drops into the rough surrounding it.

The Canadian is four under, three behind leader Aaron Rai, but this looks like a crucial moment....

He's not happy with his third either, and that leaves a longer par putt than he'd have wanted.

In the end, he makes a bogey...

SO CLOSE, RORY!

McIlroy makes par at the 15th, but it was so, so close to a brilliant birdie. From some distance, his putt tracks the entire way, before stopping inches short to leave a tap-in. He remains on four under, three back of Rai.

NOT QUITE FOR RAHM

Can Jon Rahm force the issue at 13? It's a sizeable birdie putt, but if he holes it he goes to six under. It doesn't break, though, and he remains two back of the lead in pursuit of his maiden PGA Championship title.

STILL UP FOR GRABS

What a remarkable tournament this has been. Yes, Aaron Rai currently has clear daylight between him and the chasing pack, but as we approach the last hour of regulation, it's still too close to call, particularly with Jon Rahm right behind him.

On the par-4 15th, Rai finds the green with his second.

WELL DONE, JUSTIN!

Another excellent Major for Justin Rose, who makes par at the 18th to finish on three under.

BIRDIE FOR SCHMID

Matti Schmid reduces Rai's lead to one with a birdie at the 13th, but at 16, McIlroy finds a bunker with his third. He digs it out well though and that should give him another par. Not ideal, but not a disaster. But at four under he needs to push this in the remaining two holes.

AARON STAYING FOCUSED

While players are jostling for position further back, Aaron Ria is still holding his nerve well. He pars the 15th and now there are just three more to go as he leads by one.

CLOSE FROM SCHMID

Matti Schmid eyes a chance for the co-lead at 14. It's a long birdie putt, and it's excellent - except for coming up just short. Still, if he stays in touch, he'll have a chance as he'll finish after Rai. so would know what he'd need to do.

BRILLIANT FROM AARON RAI!

Aaron Rai with an incredible shot at 16 to get within 15 feet or so. That leaves an eagle chance, and it could make the difference!

Soon after, another birdie chance goes begging for McIlroy at 17. It doesn't look like he's quite going to get there this year.

RAI INCREASES LEAD

Aaron Rai lines up his eagle putt at 16. This would give him a lead of three...

It doesn't make it, but it's a birdie to go to eight under.

OH MY WORD!

From 69 feet, Rai holes a monster birdie putt to move to nine under - three clear of Schmid!

That's the second-longest putt made by anyone all week, and what a time to do it!

MCILROY FINISHES WITH PAR

Amid the pandemonium of Rai's amazing moment at 17, Rory McIlroy finishes with par for a one under 69. That leaves him stranded on four under and officially out of the running.

RAI ON THE WAY

It's almost job done for Rai. He has 166 yards to the hole with his second at 18. One more good swing should see him home, a miracle further back notwithstanding.

That'll do! He finds the green comfortably and could even wrap things up with another birdie.

AARON RAI COMPLETES ROUND OF 65

Rai's playing partner Ludvig Aberg finishes with a birdie. That leaves him on five under.

Rai's birdie chance doesn't quite make it but he taps in for par for the clubhouse lead at nine under, three clear of Jon Rahm, who is on the 17th.

ALL SMILES FROM AARON RAI

Aaron Rai is all smiles as he strides away from the 18th hand in hand with his wife, and you can't blame him.

After so long with nothing between so many players, he leads by three knowing only something sensational from those still out on the course will deny him his maiden Major title.

ALL BUT OVER FOR CHASERS

We're basically going through the formalities now, with Jon Rahm, three back on the 18th, Alex Smalley level with the Spaniard on the 17th and Matt Schmid on the same hole and four back.

RAHM HOME IN SECOND

Jon Rahm finishes with a 68 to stand in solo second.

AARON RAI WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP!

Matti Schmid and Alex Smalley are finishing on the 18th, but they can't catch Aaron Rai. The Englishman is the new PGA Champion!

You can't please everyone. Make a course too difficult, and the players will moan that... well, it's too difficult, especially those who don't make it through to the weekend (they get super angry).

Set the course up so it's easy to make lots of birdies, and fans, generally, complain that the world's best players just aren't getting tested enough.

It's hard being responsible for the setup, and rarely does a Major Championship pass without the course coming in for some criticism.

This week has been no different, with the Donald Ross-designed Aronimink taking quite a bit of flak.

The 108th PGA Championship started with fears that the old course would be overpowered.

Rory McIlroy was one of the first players to question the test it posed, saying that "strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent."

"It’s basically bash driver down there and then figure it out from there, which I think is a lot of these newly renovated - I think about Oak Hill in 2023, here… when these traditional golf courses take a lot of trees out, it makes strategy not as much of a concern off the tee."

Well, we've seen lots of bashing of the driver, and the players who have taken that one-dimensional approach have been caught out.

Europe's Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald, said the fairways had lots of width, but the slopes still made them difficult to find.

"I don’t know about it," Rahm said of the course. "I’ve been making this joke for the last few years where I see a lot of golf courses coming in saying, 'Look, 100 years ago, this golf course was like this, there were no trees.'

"I’m like, well, in the back of my mind, they planted those trees with the future vision of having those trees in play, and now you’re taking them all out?"

As the week has progressed, however, we've been talking far less about the trees and more about the pin positions.

Maybe the PGA was worried about McIlroy's comments and feared that players would find the test too easy.

On Friday, a few holes appeared to be cut on slopes and ridges or hidden away on small platforms, making it difficult for players to attack the flags.

As a result, we've seen an awful lot of three-putts. Again, ask most fans what they think about that, and most will say it's actually quite refreshing to see.

However, it's Okay if you're sat at home watching television.

"This is the hardest set of pin locations that I've seen since I've been on Tour, and that includes US Opens," said World No. 1 and defending PGA champion Scottie Scheffler.

When the best player in the world shoots over par, you know the course must have been hard.

"It's difficult to get the ball close to the hole. It's difficult to hole putts, especially when you have big slopes and wind," he added.

Ah, yes, the wind. For fans, it's been enthralling because add that stiff breeze into the equation and we've been treated to a real grind at times, a war of attrition that appeals to the more sadistic golf fans.

"Most of the pins today were, I mean, kind of absurd," Scheffler continued. "There's literally just a spine [on the green], and they're like, 'Oh, we'll just put the pin right on top of it.' And you're like, all right, well, I'll see what I can do."

Unsurprisingly, those who fared a little better in the tough conditions - and they were tough, there's no doubting that - weren't so critical.

"I don't think it's unfair by any stretch of the imagination, but you're not going to get any four-and-a-half-hour rounds out here," said Chris Gotterup after he shot a second-round 65.

"So, unfair, no, but tough to make birdies."

Although McIlroy was seething after shooting a four-over-par 74 on the opening day and had been critical of the setup, he was quick to clarify his comments after putting himself back into contention on Saturday.

"What I was trying to say when you have these big old golf courses that are renovated and their wide fairways and wide greens and you tuck the pins away, everyone plays the exact same way and that's why you see such a bunched leaderboard," he said.

"Again, it's frustrating to us, but at the same time, it creates a helluva entering championship.

"If I wasn't playing this tournament, I'd love what's going on this week, but watching and playing are two different things."

Whoever lifts the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday afternoon won't be looking back on how difficult the test was - and there are some very interesting storylines developing at Aronimink.

McIlroy, having got to grips with the course, is now right in the mix for a seventh Major Championship title, which would be his third in six.

There's also the prospect of Aaron Rai or Justin Rose becoming the first English winner of the tournament since 1919.

Time to forget about the course, play it how it is, and see where that gets you - and that might suit Rai, a player who seems happy to get on with it.

What have you made of the setup this week? Let us know in the comments section below.

We have a stacked leaderboard entering Sunday at the PGA Championship with a record 22 players within four strokes of the lead.

Alex Smalley takes a two-stroke lead into the final round, with the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler all within touching distance in the chasing pack.

Smalley plays in the final group with Germany's Matti Schmid, with the duo off last at 2.35pm local time.

They follow the penultimate pairing of Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor at 2.25pm, with Aaron Rai and Ludvig Aberg ahead and the big duo of Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in the fourth-to-last group at 2.05pm.

Take a look at all of the Sunday pairings at the 2026 PGA Championship...

PGA Championship 2026 final round tee times:

All times local EDT

• 7.40am: Casey Jarvis, Brian Campbell
• 7.49am: Luke Donald, Ben Kern
• 7.58am: Collin Morikawa, Elvis Smylie
• 8.07am: Kurt Kitayama, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
• 8.16am: Ryan Gerard, Jason Day
• 8.25am: Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt Wallace
• 8.34am: Rasmus Hojgaard, Sami Valimaki
• 8.43am: Shane Lowry, John Parry
• 8.52am: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, William Mouw
• 9.01am: Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
• 9.10am: Corey Conners, Ryo Hisatsune
• 9.19am: Matt Fitzpatrick, Sahith Theegala
• 9.28am: Keith Mitchell, Sam Stevens
• 9.37am: Daniel Berger, Daniel Brown
• 9.46am: Michael Brennan, John Keefer
• 9.55am: Ryan Fox, Jhonattan Vegas
• 10.15am: Denny McCarthy, Chandler Blanchet
• 10.25am: Haotong Li, Kazuki Higa
• 10.35am: Jordan Spieth, Rico Hoey
• 10.45am: Stephan Jaeger, Taylor Pendrith
• 10.55am: Justin Thomas, Aldrich Potgieter
• 11.05am: Si Woo Kim, Cameron Young
• 11.15am: Andrew Putnam, Andrew Novak
• 11.25am: Dustin Johnson, Daniel Hillier
• 11.35am: Padraig Harrington, Tom Hoge
• 11.45am: Nicolai Hojgaard, Michael Kim
• 12.05pm: Scottie Scheffler, David Puig
• 12.15pm: Rickie Fowler, Harris English
• 12.25pm: Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka
• 12.35pm: Brian Harman, Mikael Lindberg
• 12.45pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup
• 12.55pm: Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman
• 1.05pm: Ben Griffin, Cameron Smith
• 1.15pm: Martin Kaymer, Bud Cauley
• 1.25pm: Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann
• 1.35pm: Kristoffer Reitan, Chris Kirk
• 1.55pm: Patrick Reed, Maverick McNealy
• 2.05pm: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
• 2.15pm: Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg
• 2.25pm: Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm
• 2.35pm: Alex Smalley, Matti Schmid

During my time as a golf fan, I can't recall a more exciting looking leaderboard going into the final round than this week's PGA Championship.

Alex Smalley, who is yet to win as a professional, leads by two strokes, thanks to a stunning four-under-par back nine, but 22 players are within four strokes, and 43 are within six of the American heading into the final round

Not only that, but 11 countries are represented among those 22 individuals, with USA, Germany, Canada, Spain, England, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Norway, Chile, Australia and Japan the countries present.

Smalley was gutsy on Saturday, especially after a poor start that included three early bogeys, but here's why the PGA Championship has been perfectly done, so far.

To begin with this chaotic final round comes after the PGA Championship received some criticism for its lack of identity, especially after the Scottie Scheffler domination in 2025 and the low-scoring nature of Xander Schauffele's win in 2024.

In fact, pre-championship, scores were predicted to be as low as 15-under, which is why it's such a surprise to see the world's best struggle around Aronimink Golf Club.

Let's put it this way, the course has been the star of the show, as has the set-up, which proved a thorough test for the 36 holes, but let its hair down, slightly, for Saturday and Moving Day.

The early wave made the most of the good conditions, which is why an epic leaderboard is in-play that features a mix of decorated individuals and those who don't possess the Major form.

Okay, the players aren't loving it, as seen by Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry, with the former stating "I think a bunched leaderboard like this, I think it's a sign of not a great setup."

I'm a McIlroy fan, but sorry Rory, you couldn't be more wrong.

For the fans, it just builds excitement, knowing that you're just one bad swing away from losing the championship. Birdie fests are impressive, but the real fun lies when the best golfers on the planet are grinding for their scores.

Take the last few US Opens. For me, the 2024 and 2025 editions were the best men's Majors of the year and, in fact, some of the best golf tournaments of the season. They provided drama as low-ish scores were possible, but only through quality play.

That's what we have at the PGA Championship.

It's not just the leaderboard, but the overall feel of the tournament.

As my colleague, Mike Hall, alluded to, the PGA Tour's CEO Brian Rolapp has spoken about expanding the circuit into areas like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC and Boston.

These are areas that are golf hungry, but have been starved of top quality events.

In Philadelphia, we've seen passionate, knowledgeable fans that, currently, haven't been over the top. They've watched the golf intently and been rewarded with an incredible leaderboard.

There's a lot of positives to take from this week and, on Sunday, tournament organizers have the choice of whether they provide players with a chance of making birdies, or whether they keep the tough conditions in-place.

Moving Day was the easiest we've seen Aronimink play, so will it follow a similar pattern on Sunday?

Either way, there are so many players in contention that it's set up to be a thriller. It really is the case that one of the big names could make a charge, or one of the unknown names edges in-front and fends off the field.

I can't wait for the PGA Championship finale... Let's hope that my words aren't in vain!

PGA Championship Leaderboard

• -6 Alex Smalley
• -4 Matti Schmid
• -4 Nick Taylor
• -4 Jon Rahm
• -4 Aaron Rai
• -4 Ludvig Aberg
• -3 Rory McIlroy
• -3 Xander Schauffele
• -3 Patrick Reed
• -3 Maverick McNealy
• -3 Kristoffer Reitan
• -3 Chris Kirk
• -3 Justin Rose
• -3 Joaquin Niemann
• -3 Martin Kaymer
• -3 Bud Cauley
• -3 Ben Griffin
• -3 Cameron Smith
• -3 Min Woo Lee
• -3 Max Greyserman
• -3 Hideki Matsuyama
• -3 Chris Gotterup

Jon Rahm has been making steady progress at the PGA Championship over the last three days, and he's determined to finish strong on Sunday for more reasons than one.

The Spaniard was sitting at one-under going into Saturday, but an impressive three-under 67 has him sitting tied for second now on the PGA Championship leaderboard.

Not only does this now present itself as a great opportunity for Rahm to add another Major to his record, and perhaps prove that LIV Golf still has been keeping him sharp, but there's national pride at stake, too.

Incredibly, no Spanish player has ever won the PGA Championship before. Not even the legendary Seve Ballesteros could claim that Major championship.

And, by the sounds of it, Rahm really wants to change that, and help his country claim a Grand Slam in the process.

Speaking to the media after his round on Saturday, Rahm was asked whether his performance at Aronimink can boost LIV Golf in a time of crisis, and he said: "Honestly, in a week like this, I'm thinking more about myself. I'm not going to take on anything outside what I can control when it comes to competing tomorrow.

"If I do get it done and I sit here again tomorrow, then you can ask me the same question, and I'll give you an answer.

"But what it would mean for Spain as well in the Grand Slam tally and being the last leg of the Grand Slam for us as well. There's a lot of things that would mean a lot, but too much of it is out of my control.

"Hopefully I can keep doing what I've done so far this week, especially today, and I get the chance to answer that tomorrow."

As things stand, Spain has four Masters champions (Rahm, Sergio Garcia, José María Olazábal, and Ballesteros). Rahm is the only Spaniard to have won the US Open, while Ballesteros is the only one to have lifted the Claret Jug at The Open.

Rahm is the most obvious candidate to help Spain complete that Grand Slam, but it's worth remembering David Puig is pushing at the PGA Championship and has a chance of glory - albeit a very slim one.

Much has been made of the tough pin positions at Aronimink this week, but plenty of players have managed to find birdies on Saturday, with Rahm among the more successful.

Discussing the nature of play on the third day, Rahm even admitted some of the holes were easier.

"There are some opportunities," he said. "Like I would say the fifth hole was a little bit easier today, and you're hitting from around 150 at 25 miles an hour straight into the wind where if you're short, you're dead. So a little bit easier."

"The bigger changes would be six with the pin. The last two locations were extremely difficult. Today was quite a bit easier on a hole that was playing downwind. So six, and nine being downwind, 16 being downwind, and the biggest change 13 being drivable. So I think with those differences, three, four holes, that makes a big difference," Rahm added.

Rahm is now just two strokes behind the leader and, as we saw on Saturday, that can change in the blink of an eye. It's safe to say he's very much in contention going into the final round of the PGA Championship, with history beckoning for the Spaniard.

A Rahm win would also seal the third leg of the career Grand Slam, having won the US Open in 2021 and The Masters in 2023.

Heading into the PGA Championship, David Puig thought he would need to take part in the Final Qualifying round to make it to the US Open.

Now, there is a chance he will not need to do that at all, and he may well be able to cancel his early tee time at Dallas Athletic Club on Monday morning.

The Spaniard is set to join the playing field on May 18 in Texas as part of US Open qualifiers, but there is another way for him to secure a spot at Shinnecock Hills.

Before the action began at Aronimink this week, Puig was sitting in 62nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). You have to be among the top 60 to gain access to the US Open via more traditional means, with the top 60 by Monday, May 18 and then also Monday, June 15, making it in.

If Puig can finish strong at the PGA Championship, he should find himself jumping well into the top 60 and landing a spot at the US Open, rendering his qualifier registration redundant.

It's hard to pin down exactly what Puig needs to do at Aronimink, but we'd say a top 20 finish would be enough to boost his ranking sufficiently, while even a finish inside the top 30 or 40 could push him in.

At the start of play on day three, Puig was T13 and looking like he would comfortably end up where he needed to be to avoid that 36-hole shootout at Dallas Athletic Club.

As things stand, he sits T23 and is just five strokes behind the leader, Alex Smalley.

Suffice it to say, he's going to need a strong showing on Sunday to put himself into a position where US Open Final Qualifying action isn't part of his schedule next week. The way he is going, it looks likely.

Another player who is looking to be in a far more positive place right now is Mikael Lindberg.

The Swedish golfer, who won the recent Turkish Airlines Open, was supposed to be playing at Walton Heath for US Open qualifying on Monday, but he's also currently T23 at the PGA Championship after shooting three-under on Saturday.

They may be the best players on the planet, but it's worth noting that they aren't immune to mistakes, as shown by Wyndham Clark at the PGA Championship.

One of the notable names to miss the cut at the Major, the American would rue a tough back nine at Aronimink Golf Club, but it could have been so much worse for Clark, who almost struck fans with his golf ball in rather frightening footage.

It's unclear as to which hole the moment occurred on, but given the severity of the incident, it's a miracle nobody was hurt as Clark's shot walloped a camera.

In fairness to Clark, the spectators shouldn't have been so close in front of him. Yes, he's a Major winner, but in thick rough and with the ball well below his feet, anything could happen... as shown by the footage.

Luckily, the ball missed any spectators, but it did break a section off a TV camera. Ultimately, the incident led to Clark missing the cut, his third of the 2026 season.

Certainly, Clark isn't the first player to endure a narrow escape from golf balls flying at spectators.

At The Players Championship in 2024, Max Homa came within inches of striking fans on the 14th hole at TPC Sawgrass, with his ball in fact colliding with a tree.

Speaking to the media on the day of the incident, Homa stated: "Yeah, it was the tree (I hit). I asked them to back up and they backed up their usual three or four steps and I was trying to go much higher than that (shot).

"At some point... I probably should have asked them to move more, but I didn't think I was going to knife it. Typically though, you ask them to move and it's two steps back and I... I think I've thrown caution to the wind at times with their own safety.

"I am glad I didn't hit anybody. It was scary, I was trying to go significantly higher than that. I gave some guys a good story."

Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley take a slender one-stroke lead into the weekend at the 2026 PGA Championship, with every player who made the cut within eight strokes ahead of the final two rounds.

The American pair at the top sit at four-under-par, with 29 players all within four of their lead at Aronimink.

Despite plenty of big names missing the PGA Championship cut, a number of stars and leading players remain in contention, including World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy all primed to make a charge.

McNealy and Smalley go out at 2.40pm in the final group, following the penultimate pairing of Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Gotterup.

Earlier in the day there are some huge groupings, with Jordan Spieth paired with Dustin Johnson at 10.50am, Brooks Koepka playing with Rory McIlroy at 11am, and Rickie Fowler with Xander Schauffele at 11.10am.

Take a look at all of the pairings and starting times below:

PGA Championship tee times: Round three Saturday pairings and times

All times local EDT

• 7.45am: Jhonattan Vegas, Alex Noren
• 7.54am: Nicolai Hojgaard, Michael Brennan
• 8.03am: Taylor Pendrith, John Keefer
• 8.12am: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, William Mouw
• 8.21am: Shane Lowry, Brian Campbell
• 8.30am: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Daniel Berger
• 8.39am: Luke Donald, Elvis Smylie
• 8.48am: Michael Kim, John Parry
• 8.57am: Kristoffer Reitan, Padraig Harrington
• 9.06am: Daniel Brown, Chris Kirk
• 9.15am: Justin Rose, Brian Harman
• 9.24am: Rasmus Hojgaard, Sami Valimaki
• 9.33am: Kazuki Higa, Mikael Lindberg
• 9.42am: Keith Mitchell, Sam Burns
• 9.51am: Tom Hoge, Joaquin Niemann
• 10am: Alex Fitzpatrick, Denny McCarthy
• 10.20am: Sam Stevens, Chandler Blanchet
• 10.30am: Martin Kaymer, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 10.40am: Casey Jarvis, Matt Wallace
• 10.50am: Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson
• 11am: Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy
• 11.10am: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele
• 11.20am: Sahith Theegala, Bud Cauley
• 11.30am: Ben Griffin, Ryan Gerard
• 11.40am: Collin Morikawa, Matti Schmid
• 11.50am: Nick Taylor, Corey Conners
• 12.10pm: Daniel Hillier, Ben Kern
• 12.20pm: Ryan Fox, Ryo Hisatsune
• 12.30pm: Rico Hoey, Cameron Smith
• 12.40pm: Haotong Li, Patrick Reed
• 12.50pm: Jon Rahm, Andrew Putnam
• 1pm: Jason Day, Patrick Cantlay
• 1.10pm: Kurt Kitayama, Aaron Rai
• 1.20pm: Ludvig Aberg, Andrew Novak
• 1.30pm: Harris English, Si Woo Kim
• 1.40pm: Scottie Scheffler, David Puig
• 2pm: Cameron Young, Justin Thomas
• 2.10pm: Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman
• 2.20pm: Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger
• 2.30pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup
• 2.40pm: Alex Smalley, Maverick McNealy

We're halfway through the 2026 PGA Championship, and the cut has arrived with the top 70 and ties making it through to the weekend.

Aronimink Golf Club posed a stern test for the world's best with thick rough and undulating, fast greens, as scoring proved tough over the first two days.

The lead is only four-under-par after 36-holes, and the cut came in just eight strokes adrift at four-over. It means everyone who made the cut theoretically still has a shot at contending for the title come Sunday evening, with a bunched leaderboard set to produce a thrilling final two rounds.

The tournament favorites like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and Jon Rahm are all through, but a surprising number of household names won't have tee times this weekend including three of the world's top 10.

So, which big names missed the 2026 PGA Championship cut? Let's take a look...

Tommy Fleetwood: +5 (72-73)

Fleetwood misses his first PGA Championship cut since 2021 after an uncharacteristic display at Aronimink.

The Englishman did have the tougher of the conditions, playing in the windy Friday morning, but it's not what we expected after his T5 finish last week at the Truist Championship.

His five-over total, comprised of a 72 and 73, sends him home by a single stroke. At 6th in the world, he is the highest-ranked player to miss the cut.

Robert MacIntyre: +5 (70-75)

After his runner-up finish at the US Open last year, MacIntyre looked like a serious contender to become a potential first-time Major winner in 2026, but he has now missed the cut at both The Masters and the PGA.

The Scot opened with a level-par 70 for a solid start in round one but made six bogeys and a double to shoot 75 on Friday, meaning he also misses the cut by a single stroke.

Russell Henley: +5 (72-73)

The World No.9 is one of the most consistent players in the game and has a very good recent Major record with T10-T10-T3 finishes in his last three starts.

He never got it going this week at Aronimink, though, and his five-over-par total means he misses his second consecutive PGA Championship cut.

It was his 13th appearance in the Major, and he has surprisingly never had a top-10.

JJ Spaun: +6 (70-76)

The reigning US Open champion is another big name heading home early after a six-over-par round on Friday.

Spaun opened up with a solid 70 in round one but made five bogeys and a double on the way to his disappointing 76 in round two. It's his second successive MC in a Major after also missing the mark at Augusta last month.

Viktor Hovland: +6 (74-72)

Hovland has had a brilliant PGA Championship record in recent years, with a T2 finish in 2023 and a 3rd-place in 2024.

He misses his first cut in seven PGA starts after rounds of 74 and 72, with a rollercoaster day two featuring six bogeys and two birdies, after making seven bogeys and three birdies on Thursday.

Tyrrell Hatton: +6 (72-74)

Another European Ryder Cupper heading home is Tyrrell Hatton.

The Englishman misses his first Major cut since the 2024 Open and first in the PGA Championship since 2020 after scores of 72 and 74.

He made six bogeys in a scrappy second round to miss the mark by two strokes.

Bryson DeChambeau: +7 (76-71)

Despite two victories in the LIV Golf League this year, Bryson DeChambeau has now missed both the Masters and PGA Championship cuts - his first consecutive MCs in Majors since 2017.

He has had a brilliant run in the PGA Championship lately, going T4-2-T2 in the last three years, but in truth he was never close this time.

He opened with a six-over-par 76 in round one and a messy 71, featuring a double and three bogeys, on day two sends him home. He did finish with three consecutive birdies, though, so he may well be leaving with some positive swing thoughts.

Adam Scott: +8 (72-76)

It will be a week to forget for Adam Scott, who was making his 99th consecutive Major appearance.

He'll make his 100th next month at Shinnecock Hills in the US Open, where he'll hope to play all four days after a disappointing eight-over-par total at Aronimink.

Scott opened with a 72 and followed it up with a 76, which contained just a single birdie.

Max Homa: +12 (75-77)

Max Homa misses the cut at a Major for the first time since the 2024 US Open.

The World No.123 made just one birdie in 36 holes to finish at 12-over-par.

He may have had high hopes after a T9 at The Masters last month but goes home early for the third time in 13 starts this year.

Other notables to miss the 2026 PGA Championship cut:

• Michael Block +5
• Sungjae Im +5
• Akshay Bhatia +5
• Wyndham Clark +5
• Thomas Detry +5
• Sepp Straka +6
• Keegan Bradley +6
• Gary Woodland +6
• Harry Hall +7
• Tom McKibbin +7
• Billy Horschel +8
• Jacob Bridgeman +8
• Michael Thorbjornsen +11
• Marco Penge +12

Stephan Jaeger is still in the hunt at the PGA Championship as we head into the weekend after a brilliant second round at Aronimink.

The German was tied for the lead after day one at three-under, and he walks away after day two on the exact same score, narrowly behind the leaders.

While some players grumbled about challenging pin positions and high winds, Jaeger got stuck in and ploughed through the course in spectacular fashion.

We often see players fluctuate between birdies and bogeys and end up on even-par. What's far rarer, though, is for a player to shoot a perfect par round like Jaeger just did.

The 36-year-old managed to make par on every single one of the 18 holes he played on Friday, in spite of those tricky pin positions and tough conditions.

Incredibly, that's the first time a player has made 18 consecutive pars in a round at the PGA Championship since 2011.

The last man to do so was Richard Green in 2011, during the second round at Atlanta Athletic Club. Despite that impressive feat, Green still missed the cut after shooting nine-over on the opening day.

Thankfully, for Jaeger, he will progress to the weekend rounds and looks to be in the hunt for a top 10 finish, at least.

Speaking after his historic achievement on Friday, Jaeger said: "I actually don't know if I've ever made 18 pars. I just mentioned I think if you do it at John Deere I think you're not going to be too happy because the cut's 5-, 6-, 7-under.

"But at a Major it's often an even par 70. But I actually don't know if I've made 18 pars in a round before... I'm happy to do it at a Major for sure."

Asked about the nature of those pars and whether the score was indicative of his play on the day, Jaeger added: "I think the way I hit it today it could have easily been three or four-under.

"If I made some putts like I did yesterday. I felt like I actually hit it better today than I did yesterday, which I think that's a positive I'm going to take out of it."

It's rare that professionals lose their golf balls on the course, especially as they hit their shots so straight and that there are many ball spotters spread around the hole they're playing.

However, that doesn't mean that they are immune to it, as Sahith Theegala found out at the PGA Championship on Friday, when his second shot on the par 4 10th went missing.

Finding the fairway bunker with his tee shot, the American splashed out the sand and down the left-side.

From the outset, it seemed that no harm was done... that was until Theegala and his playing partners were unable to locate his golf ball in the three-minute allotted time, meaning the PGA Tour winner had to go back to the bunker he played from.

Eventually, after hitting out the sand with his fourth shot, Theegala found the green with his fifth, before two-putting for a double bogey seven.

The three-over score on the 10th dropped him from three-under to level-par, as the 28-year-old fell down the leaderboard.

Under Rule 18.2, the time for a ball search is three minutes. If you can’t find it within three minutes, it is lost.

Because it is lost, you must return to the spot of your previous stroke and play another ball from there for a one shot penalty.

In fairness to Theegala, it's not the first rules debacle we've seen at the PGA Championship, with one player being penalized for being late to his tee time, while one group was put on the clock for slow play.

On Thursday, Garrick Higgo received a two-stroke penalty as he was late for his morning tee time. Justin Thomas, meanwhile, found his group put on the clock on Friday.

Although they weren't holding up the group behind, Thomas, Keegan Bradley and Cameron Young found themselves getting a warning, something the former claimed he "didn't really agree with it."

After making a surge and joining the leaders on three-under after day one, many had expected Scottie Scheffler to push ahead on day two at the PGA Championship.

That wasn't the case at all, though. The World No. 1 actually went backwards slightly, recording a score of +1 on Friday to drop to a tie for seventh as things stand.

Scheffler shot bogey on the 10th (his first hole of the day), and would go on to hit another three bogeys on 12, 13, and the sixth on his way back to the clubhouse.

Much has been made of the tricky course setup at Aronimink already, and Scheffler has added his voice to that particular chorus.

In fact, the 29-year-old insists he has never seen pin positions as intentionally difficult as this in his whole career.

Speaking to the media after his round on Friday, Scheffler highlighted a number of holes around the course where the pin positions were particularly challenging, and how he tried to deal with them.

"The par I made on 14 was extremely good. That was one of the craziest pins that I've seen," he said.

"Your ball wasn't going to roll off 50 yards away, but they put the pin on this high point. I hadn't seen anything like it."

He also wasn't keen on the setup for hole 10, adding: "I'm sitting there, the wind's blowing 20-25 miles an hour right-to-left, and I got a green that goes down right-to-left into a valley, up left-to-right, back right-to-left.

"Then the pin is quite literally, if I hit that chip shot and the pin's here and it goes to there, it goes all the way over the back of the green, and now I have a very, very difficult up-and-down for bogey.

"So you just have to play smart and patient and understand that, I hit good shots on the 10th hole, but there's sometimes, especially around a golf course like this, where you're going to hit some good shots that aren't quite good enough and you get punished pretty severely.

Scheffler claimed these were the "hardest set of pin locations" he's ever seen on the Tour. He even asked Justin Rose's caddie and his own if they had seen anything similar, and they both admitted the only course that comes close is next month's US Open veue Shinnecock Hills.

Scheffler did, rather rationally, admit that sometimes on the golf course, things are simply out of your control. However, he did go on to describe the pin positions at Aronimink as "absurd," too.

He's not the only one who's been criticizing the decisions, though. Justin Thomas, who saw his playing group put on the clock for purported slow play, said: "How can time par on this course be the same, when it's blowing 25 and the pins are tough?"

Meanwhile, Chris Gotterup recorded the lowest score of the week so far, but even he had some complaints.

"I don’t think it’s unfair, but I do think for pace of play and certain aspects, 14 today is probably aggressive," he said.

"You’re hitting a four iron to a 10-foot circle, and if it doesn’t go there, it’s off the green, and if you hit it 40 feet left, you have a very hard two-putt."

Still, all three golfers are comfortably within the projected cut at the PGA Championship. Now, we have to wait and see if adjustments are made tomorrow in light of the critique of the pin positions.

Michael Block looks set to make an early exit from the PGA Championship this year, but he's determined he will get another chance in the future.

The 49-year-old qualified for the Major via the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes, where he recorded a T10th finish.

After shooting even-par in the opening round, Block looked in relatively good shape heading into round two at Aronimink Golf Club.

However, the tricky layout got the better of the veteran on day two, with Block recording a five-over-par round of 75.

A birdie on the par-3 fifth got the American off to a good start on Friday, but he followed that up immediately with a bogey on the sixth.

Two further bogeys (on hole eight and 11) and a double bogey on the 14th hole are very likely to have cost him the chance to make the cut now.

As things stand, it looks like a score of two-over is needed for the projected cut line at the PGA Championship today.

This is Block's third time playing the PGA Championship in the last four years (he missed the event in 2024), but he's determined it won't be his last.

Speaking to Jason Sobel after his round on Friday, Block was asked to reflect on his performance and it was hinted he might never get another chance in this Major.

He replied: "I have to be honest with you — there’s no way on God’s green earth this is my last one. No chance. I will definitely qualify for one more, if not five more.

"Even though I'm going to turn 50, I still get the opportunity because of the PGA of America to go to the National Championship and qualify for the top 20 to come here. I definitely have some more in me, for sure. No doubt about that."

His round may not have gone to plan on Friday, but Block seemed pretty calm about it all when speaking to the press afterwards.

"6:45am, 20mph winds, 49 degrees, that isn't exactly up my alley," he said.

"I tried to grind it out as much as I could, tried to keep it up, and then at the end the wheels just started to fall off. Everything I did I just kind of put it in the wrong spots. It is what it is. I'm just gonna sit back and watch. Have some lunch, an IPA, and watch the afternoon."

Block now has senior competition to look forward to, as he turns 50 in June, but he's clearly loving being involved in the biggest tournaments.

He added: "I got the senior stuff coming up which is cool. But at the same time, I don't feel like I'm done. I'm not going to win one of these but at least I can have fun and mingle with the great players here."

The last time the PGA Championship came from a new venue was 2020 when San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park had the honor for the first time.

However, following the 2026 PGA Championship, which comes from Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania for the second occasion, the 109th edition will come from a course that only opened in 2023.

2027 PGA Championship venue: PGA Frisco

PGA Frisco in Texas will be the center of the golf world’s attention for the Major in May 2027, specifically its Fields Ranch East course.

PGA Frisco is the new headquarters of the tournament organizer the PGA of America, having announced its move to the location in 2018 from its old base of Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.

There are two 18-hole courses at the venue, the other being Fields Ranch West, which was designed by Beau Welling.

The East course is a Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner design. Like many of Hanse’s layouts, he favored a hands-on approach to the work, surveying the land in person before settling on a layout that took account of the natural features and terrain.

As a result, Fields Ranch East incorporates the existing Panther Creek as well as the area's gently rolling hills.

Other things to keep players on their toes include large bunkers on the way to elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

The course, which the public can play, only opened in May 2023, but the PGA of America wasted no time in overseeing some big events there.

The first notable tournament came just three weeks after the layout's opening with the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

Following that, both courses hosted the 2024 PGA Professional Championship, where 20 club pros qualified for that year’s PGA Championship.

In 2025, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was played at the course for the first time.

At that event, the course wasn’t quite to everyone’s liking, with Angel Yin describing it as “quite boring” before adding, "it's just kind of repetitive and there are challenges, but it's very subtle. Stepping up on the tee, what did I start on, the back nine gets really repetitive on the tee.”

Even though the course is not yet universally loved, the big events are set to keep on coming.

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will return to the venue in 2029, with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship heading back there in 2031.

It’s a similar story for the PGA Championship, with the layout also earmarked to host the tournament for the second time in 2034.

PGA Championship future sites

• 2027: PGA Frisco, Texas
• 2028: The Olympic Club, California
• 2029: Baltusrol Golf Club, New Jersey
• 2030: Congressional Country Club, Maryland
• 2031: Kiawah Island, South Carolina
• 2032: Southern Hills Country Club, Oklahoma
• 2033: Bethpage Black, New York
• 2034: PGA Frisco, Texas
• 2035: Oak Hill Country Club, New York

It seems that all it takes is a few big drives during practice, and everyone is quick to make up their mind what kind of test a Major Championship course will provide.

And when Rory McIlroy said "strategy off the tee is pretty non-existent" at the start of the week, many people thought the Donald Ross-designed Aronimink would be a pushover.

However, no one bettered a 67 on Thursday, and just 31 players from the field of 156 broke par.

Could we, therefore, be in for one of the highest-ever winning scores at the PGA Championship?

The early signs are that we won't get to a double-digit winning score, which is more the norm from week to week.

We've seen some very low scores in the PGA Championship over the years. Xander Schauffele carded a 21-under 263 at Valhalla two years ago to set a Major Championship record.

Brooks Koepka had shared that particular record having taken just 264 shots to win the same tournament at Bellerive Country Club in 2018.

However, we've also seen some big winning scores registered in the battle for the famous Wanamaker Trophy - and that's the type of tournament that a lot of golf fans prefer to see.

The biggest winning scores? Let's take a look...

The highest winning total score since the turn of the century belongs to Padraig Harrington, who, in 2008, broke a 78-year European jinx in claiming the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

The Irishman showed his mettle in holding off Sergio Garcia to claim back-to-back Majors at a brutal venue, and it was also his third Major title in six attempts.

However, if you go back a little further, higher scores have won the PGA Championship.

The 1987 edition was an absolute scorcher, with the heat index registering 105, making the greens at the Champion course of PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida, as hard as tabletops.

And it was windy. Combined with the brutally long rough, it was more of a war of attrition. Larry Nelson didn't mind, though, and his one-under-par (287) total was good enough for the win.

Go back even further, to 1987, Dave Stockton's one-over total (281) saw him defeat Raymond Floyd by one shot at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

One over par has won the PGA Championship on three other occasions: Gary Player (1972), Julius Boros (1968), and Jay Herbert (1960).

PGA Championship winning scores since 2001

• 2025: Scottie Scheffler -11 (Quail Hollow)
• 2024: Xander Schauffele -21 (Valhalla)
• 2023: Brooks Koepka -9 (Oak Hill)
• 2022: Justin Thomas -5 (Southern Hills)
• 2021: Phil Mickelson -6 (Kiawah Island)
• 2020: Collin Morikawa -13 (TPC Harding Park)
• 2019: Brooks Koepka -8 (Bethpage Black)
• 2018: Brooks Koepka -16 (Bellerive)
• 2017: Justin Thomas -8 (Quail Hollow)
• 2016: Jimmy Walker -14 (Baltusrol)
• 2015: Jason Day -20 (Whistling Straits)
• 2014: Rory McIlroy -16 (Valhalla)
• 2013: Jason Dufner -10 (Oak Hill)
• 2012: Rory McIlroy -13 (Kiawah Island)
• 2011: Keegan Bradley -8 (Atlanta Athletic Club)
• 2010: Martin Kaymer -11 (Whistling Straits)
• 2009: YE Yang -8 (Hazeltine)
• 2008: Padraig Harrington -3 (Oakland Hills)
• 2007: Tiger Woods -8 (Southern Hills)
• 2006: Tiger Woods -18 (Medinah)
• 2005: Phil Mickelson -4 (Baltusrol)
• 2004: Vijay Singh -8 (Whistling Straits)
• 2003: Shaun Micheel -4 (Oak Hill)
• 2002: Rich Beem -10 (Hazeltine)
• 2001: David Toms -15 (Atlanta Athletic Club)

There may be a newly agreed Code of Conduct in place across all four Major Championships, but the early signs this week suggest it might not make much of a difference.

Justin Thomas was not the only one to show his frustration on the first day of the PGA Championship, as Aronimink showed its teeth.

The two-time PGA champion slammed his club on the 14th tee, and Rory McIlroy delivered an expletive-laden reply to a PGA Championship moderator's inquiry on a day when the subject of player behavior came up once again.

Jon Rahm also smashed the ground and inadvertently struck a volunteer in the face with a divot. Rahm later apologized and admitted it was "inexcusable".

It comes after several players lost their cool at the Masters last month, with Robert MacIntyre's middle-fingered gesture and Sergio Garcia's tee box fit the real lowlights.

Following his opening-round 80, MacIntyre was quietly reprimanded by officials for his behavior, while Garcia was given an official warning.

With complaints rolling in, it seems the powers that be have had enough of petulant behavior on the course.

The PGA of America’s chief championships officer, Kerry Haigh, said that the new Code of Conduct rules came about after several meetings between the PGA, Augusta National, The R&A, and the USGA, as well as the PGA and DP World Tours, in which they discussed "how to come up with a program that we feel is fair and effective".

"If a player does something egregious, then, unfortunately, we would give a warning to that player," Haigh explained. "And if they were to do it again, there would be a two-shot penalty."

Although McIlroy, Rahm, and Thomas were seen thumping their clubs on a fiery first day in Pennsylvania, it's not clear whether any warnings were issued.

Golf Monthly understands it is a three-strike system that carries over throughout the tournament, with a warning moving onto a two-stroke penalty and then disqualification for a third breach.

At the US Open, Joaquin Niemann received a two-stroke penalty for 'serious misconduct' to become the first player to fall foul of the new policy.

At the media day for The Open at Royal Birkdale last month, R&A CEO Mark Darbon said a Code of Conduct was being discussed.

"We've been working closely with the organisers of the other Majors and the tours more broadly," said Darbon. "I would expect to see a similar policy introduced this summer."

It has been reported that there is an extensive player Code of Conduct in the locker room at Aronimink.

"It's really for the good of the game that we're implementing it to try and make sure everyone is behaving appropriately, professionally, and as we would want our children and people watching to see the Major Championship," added Haigh.

PGA Championship player code of conduct

All players participating in the Championship are expected to play in the spirit of the game by acting with honesty and integrity, showing consideration for others, and taking good care of the course.

In accordance with Rule 1.2b of the Rules of Golf, the PGA of America has set forth standards of player conduct in the following Code of Conduct ("Code"), which has been adopted as a Local Rule.

The purpose of this Code is to outline the standards of conduct that the PGA of America expects of all players while participating in the Championship and the Rules of Golf penalties that will apply in this Championship for breaches of this Code.

Examples of Unacceptable Behavior: Below are examples of unacceptable behavior that breach the Code of Conduct:

• Audible obscenity, such as using language that is commonly known to be obscene, profane, or vulgar, and that is spoken loudly enough to be heard by spectators, volunteers, and referees or officials
• Visible obscenity, such as making of signs or gestures by a player with his/her hands that commonly have an obscene meaning
• Abuse of player equipment, such as violently and intentionally throwing or kicking a club in anger, with negligent regard of the consequences, or violently and deliberately destroying or damaging clubs or a golf bag
• Abuse of the golf course, such as deliberately damaging a playing surface through unnecessary force or a swing or repeated swings with a club
• Abuse of event property, such as intentionally and violently destroying a tee marker, microphone, or event signage
• Failing to be honest, such as deliberately providing incorrect, misleading, or untruthful information to a referee
• Verbal abuse, such as making comments that are derogatory, insulting, or abusive to anyone associated with the competition, including but not limited to other players, caddies, spectators, volunteers, referees, or other event personnel
• Physical abuse, such as the unauthorized touching, pushing, or striking of anyone associated with the competition, including but not limited to other players, caddies, spectators, volunteers, referees, or other event personnel
• Failing to show proper consideration and respect for others associated with the competition, including but not limited to other players, caddies, referees, media, volunteers, spectators, and Championship staff
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or marijuana use (unless pre-approved as a treatment for a medical condition) during practice rounds and/or championship rounds
• Listening to music during competition rounds (no headphones)
• Players are not permitted to use devices on the championship course during official practice rounds to test the conditions or slope of the greens or any other testing as determined by the PGA of America
• Using a cell phone during the round
• Failure to adhere to the dress code of both the host facility and the PGA of America. More specifically, at PGA of America Championships:
• - Hats/visors should be worn with the brim forward
• - Tank tops, T-shirts, denim shorts, jeans, gym shorts, and sweatpants are prohibited.
• - Any other conduct deemed to be unprofessional or unacceptable for players competing in a Major Championship (as determined by the PGA of America at its sole discretion).

Martin Kaymer carded a three-under-par 67 on Thursday at Aronimink to co-lead after day one of the 2026 PGA Championship, and he was especially motivated after a comment he received at the champions dinner earlier this week.

The 2010 PGA Champion at Whistling Straits, who went on to win his second Major at the 2014 US Open, has been playing in the LIV Golf League since 2022 as captain of the all-European Cleeks GC team.

He currently ranks 1,160th in the world and has not had a top-10 in a Major since this championship a decade ago.

It appears one PGA member is not a LIV Golf fan after questioning if the former World No.1 was even in the field this week, as Martin Kaymer revealed after his round.

"On Tuesday evening we had the champion's dinner, and there was a gentleman sitting next to me from the PGA of America, and he asked me if I I still play," Kaymer told media after his 67.

"And I said, What do you mean? He said, Well, are you playing this week?

"And I said, Yeah, that's why I'm here. I'm not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys, you know, of course I'm playing.

"And that really motivated me."

Kaymer has struggled with injuries in recent years, undergoing wrist surgery in 2022 after years of pain. He played just three LIV events in 2023 and then only five in 2024.

He also recently struggled with an elbow injury, which forced him to withdraw from LIV's popular Adelaide event.

"For five years, yeah," he said on his injuries, before admitting the lack of practice he was able to put in 'pissed me off.'

"I've been struggling since 2021. And obviously I had a couple surgeries then and other issues came with it the years after.

"And it was quite disappointing for me that playing out there on the LIV Golf league I could never really perform, because I could never really practice, because I was always hurt.

"Obviously we all need to play the tournaments, and I didn't really have enough time and enough rest in between events to rest, to have a fully rest. So I always came into tournaments never prepared.

"The other guys were ready to play. They were playing great. To be honest, it really pissed me off.

"So fortunately last four, five weeks I had great treatments, I have no pain any more. Everything is going the right direction.

"I can practice. It's fun. I have a great passion for the game. Playing those tough golf courses and doing well executing the golf shots the right way, that is really fun."

An eventful and very challenging first day at the PGA Championship is over, and it seems the course at Aronimink has got the better of plenty of top players.

Rory McIlroy slumped to a final score of four-over-par on day one, while Bryson DeChambeau could well miss the cut if he doesn't turn things around.

Indeed, only 33 players in the field ended up with a sub-par score in the first round. The leaders — all seven of them — are sitting on three-under going into Friday.

Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Alex Smalley, and Martin Kaymer are all among the pack at the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, a strong showing from reigning champion Scottie Scheffler has seen him climb the leaderboard and join the rest on three-under, and he's now looking likely to be in contention right down to the wire.

The likes of Xander Schauffele, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Jordan Spieth had solid first rounds and are only a stroke or two off the lead.

Brooks Koepka struggled with his putter, but the three-time winner of the championship is still in pursuit of the leaders at one-under.

With tricky pin placements and sloping greens and fairways leaving players more susceptible to dropped shots, it wasn't an easy day for many.

So, what will day two bring? Warmer weather could well firm up the course and change the complexion of the tournament as we approach the cut.

Those outside the top spots will be hoping to make a push and beat the cut line, while the leaders try to cling onto their slender advantage.

Here are all the tee times for round two of the PGA Championship at Aronimink.

PGA Championship Tee Times: Round Two

All times EDT

1st Tee

• 6:45am: Michael Block, Rasmus Højgaard, Dustin Johnson
• 6:56am: Mark Geddes, Steven Fisk, David Lipsky
• 7:07am: Sungjae Im, Austin Hurt, Casey Jarvis
• 7:18am: Andrew Putnam, Michael Kartrude, Matt Wallace
• 7:29am: Martin Kaymer, Elvis Smylie, Davis Riley
• 7:40am: Jason Dufner, Haotong Li, Jimmy Walker
• 7:51am: Nick Taylor, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Jordan Smith
• 8:02am: Emiliano Grillo, Patrick Reed, Pierceson Coody
• 8:13am: Brian Campbell, Adam Schenk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• 8:24am: Marco Penge, Sepp Straka, Patrick Rodgers
• 8:35am: Aaron Rai, Travis Smyth, Sami Valimaki
• 8:46am: Sam Stevens, Jayden Schaper, Garrett Sapp
• 8:57am: Timothy Wiseman, Matti Schmid, Austin Smotherman
• 12:15pm: Aldrich Potgieter, David Puig, Denny McCarth
• 12:26pm: William Mouw, Chris Gabriele, Taylor Pendrith
• 12:37pm: Tom Hoge, Bryce Fisher, Joaquin Niemann
• 12:48pm: Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Ian Holt
• 12:59pm: Gary Woodland, Jason Day, Sam Burns
• 1:10pm: Wyndham Clark, Cameron Smith, Brian Harman
• 1:21pm: Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegal
• 1:32pm: Si Woo Kim, Derek Berg, Joe Highsmith
• 1:43pm: Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg, Rickie Fowler
• 1:54pm: Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton
• 2:05pm: Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm
• 2:16pm: Daniel Hillier, Ryan Vermeer, Max McGreevy
• 2:27pm: Paul McClure, Mikael Lindberg, Angel Ayora

10th Tee

• 6:50am: Andrew Novak, John Parry, Jordan Gumberg
• 7:01am: Ben Polland, Kurt Kitayama, Nico Echavarria
• 7:12am: Akshay Bhatia, Ricky Castillo, Michael Thorbjornsen
• 7:23am: Luke Donald, Jesse Droemer, Stewart Cink
• 7:34am: Hideki Matsuyama, J.J. Spaun, Max Homa
• 7:45am: Ben Kern, J.T. Poston, Russell Henley
• 7:56am: Adam Scott, Corey Conners, Daniel Berger
• 8:07am: Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry
• 8:18am: Chris Gotterup, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood
• 8:29am: Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas
• 8:40am: Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose
• 8:51am: Zach Haynes, Alex Smalley, Chandler Blanchet
• 9:02am: Bernd Wiesberger, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Andy Sullivan
• 12:10pm: Braden Shattuck, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ben Griffin
• 12:21pm: Francisco Bidé, Harry Hall, Ryan Gerard
• 12:32pm: Johnny Keefer, Rico Hoey, Nicolai Højgaard
• 12:43pm: Shaun Micheel, Michael Brennan, Garrick Higgo
• 12:54pm: Y.E. Yang, Jhonattan Vegas, Matt McCarty
• 1:05pm: Lucas Glover, Tom McKibbin, Stephan Jaeger
• 1:16pm: Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier, Harris English
• 1:27pm: Jacob Bridgeman, Bud Cauley, Alex Noren
• 1:38pm: Chris Kirk, Max Greyserman, Kristoffer Reitan
• 1:49pm: Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry, Padraig Harrington
• 2:00pm: Ryan Lenahan, Ryan Fox, Kazuki Higa
• 2:11pm: Jared Jones, Michael Kim, Ryo Hisatsune
• 2:22pm: Tyler Collet, Kota Kaneko, Brandt Snedeker

Brooks Koepka has a great history of performing well at the PGA Championship, having won the tournament three times in the past decade.

He's enjoyed a relatively successful first day at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday, too, shooting one-under to be just a couple of shots behind the leaders.

However, Koepka was very disappointed with one aspect of his game and, looking at the statistics, it's easy to see why.

The disparity between Koepka's play on the fairways compared to on the greens was huge. So much so, that the 36-year-old actually ranked near the top of the pile for Strokes Gained in ball striking, while he was nearly dead last for Strokes Gained: Putting.

Looking at the numbers, Koepka gained three-and-a-half shots in approach play, but lost two strokes on the greens with the flatstick.

Koepka put a new putter in his bag recently — the TaylorMade Spider Tour F — but it doesn't seem to be paying off as things stand. He registered 32 putts in the first round and ranked 142nd on the day for putting, which leaves him almost dead last in the field in that area.

Still, the man himself was quick to admit his flaws after his round at Aronimink.

Asked by the media about his confidence levels and his overall play on the day, Koepka said: "I feel good. Every round just seems to be the worst I can shoot. Putter is absolutely horrendous. Ball striking is absolutely phenomenal.

"That's been the story of the year. Hopefully we can figure out a way to turn this around."

He was later questioned about his equipment changes in the wake of leaving Srixon behind and how this might have affected his play.

"Everything feels fine. I like the way I'm striking it. I like the flight, the spin; everything's been the same way for the past couple months," he added.

"I feel comfortable with the putter. A little bit of speed, a little bit of confidence. That kind of sums it up. It's just been miss after miss. It's tough to build any confidence when you're not putting well."

It wasn't a bad start to the PGA Championship for Jon Rahm on Thursday, with the Spaniard shooting one-under at Aronimink.

The challenging course got the better of top golfers on day one, with Rory McIlroy struggling and Bryson DeChambeau having a nightmare first round.

For Rahm, however, he managed to play some great golf despite an unsavory moment that stuck with him after the day's play.

After securing an eagle on the second hole, you'd be forgiven for thinking that everything went Rahm's way on Thursday at the PGA Championship.

However, on the seventh hole, Rahm's second shot did not go to plan and he let out his frustrations by swinging his club at the ground. The problem is, he wasn't paying attention and ended up firing a divot at a volunteer working at Aronimink.

Speaking to the media after finishing his round, Rahm was asked about the incident and he was clearly remorseful about what went happened.

"I got a flier on my second shot that went long. It's not a good spot," he said. "Just out of frustration, I tried to make an air swing, just over the grass, and I wasn't looking, took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer."

Explaining further, Rahm insisted he apologized but still feels he has more to do to make amends.

"Unfortunately it hit him in the shoulder and then the face. Which I couldn't feel any worse. That's why I was there apologizing," the 31-year-old added. "I need to somehow track him down to give him a present because that's inexcusable and something that could be completely avoidable.

"Whether it was my intention or not, it was just not good."

In his first Major start since bagging back-to-back Masters titles, Rory McIlroy has suffered a disappointing first round at the PGA Championship.

Going into the event, McIlroy endured pain in his toe and had to cut his practice round short on Tuesday. Still, he stepped up on Thursday ready to make an impact at Aronimink, but things did not go to plan.

While the World No. 2 shot level-par on the back nine, it was his front nine that really let him down and left him frustrated at the end of day one.

McIlroy recorded a four-over score for the day after six bogeys and just two birdies in a very difficult round to start the PGA Championship.

The 37-year-old bogeyed the fourth hole, before bouncing back with a birdie on the fifth. However, he then recorded bogeys on holes six through 10 and saw himself tumble down the leaderboard.

As things stand, The Masters champion is T126th and sits seven shots off the lead going into the second day.

Clearly, McIlroy was not happy with his display, but, he was also unimpressed with patrons at Aronimink who were making noises while he was swinging on the edge of the green on the 13th.

After taking his shot, McIlroy turned to the crowd and said: "With your camera, just [do it] after we hit. Thank you."

Speaking to the media after concluding his round, McIlroy did not hold back when looking back on his performance, which he described as "s***".

Asked to elaborate, McIlroy added: "I started missing fairways. I missed the fairway right on four, the fairway right on six, the fairway right on seven, fairway right on nine. From there, it's hard.

"Then obviously you start missing it just off the edges of these greens, it gets tricky... I made that birdie on five to get back to even-par after the soft bogey on four, then I just got on that bogey train at the end."

McIlroy went on to highlight his driver as one of the big issues, stating: "I'm just not driving the ball well enough. It's been a problem all year for the most part... That's pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well.

"I honestly thought I'd figured it out. Coming in here, I hit it well on Sunday at Quail Hollow, and then hit it good at home on Monday... Just once I get under the gun, it just seems like it starts to go a little bit wayward on me."

The best golfers in the world have descended on Aronimink Golf Club this week for the latest edition of the PGA Championship.

It's the second men's Major of the golfing season, with plenty of prestige and money on offer, as well as the famous Wanamaker Trophy.

This is actually the first time the event has been hosted by Aronimink since way back in 1962, when Gary Player won the tournament.

It's a revered and challenging course, and players this year are going to need to be at their very best if they want to triumph come Sunday.

With long holes and tricky greens, the course record at Aronimink stands at an eight-under 62, which is impressive given the nature of the course, but it's unlikely we'll ever see anyone hit double figures there.

We know that Aronimink won't be among the future venues for the PGA Championship, either — at least not for the next nine years.

However, it's not like Aronimink hasn't had the chance to host more often. In fact, the venue was lined up to be the host of the PGA Championship back in 1993, but things didn't go to plan at all.

In 1988, the Philadelphia club was awarded hosting duties for the 1993 tournament. A couple of years later, a complicated chain of events changed everything.

Pat Rielly became the 26th President of the PGA of America in 1990, and he was determined to make a difference in the game of golf.

Rielly recalled witnessing racial exclusion during his involvement in his high school basketball team during the 1960s, and he did not want to see the same thing happening in golf under his leadership.

At the time, Shoal Creek Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, was scheduled to host the PGA Championship; however, when Rielly insisted golf clubs around America change their policies on membership and inclusion, venues lined up to host big events like the PGA Championship were told they must allow women and racial minorities to join their club or be excluded from the biggest tournaments.

Interestingly, Aronimink Golf Club decided to pull out of hosting duties as a result of these rule changes.

Jim Awtrey, the PGA’s executive director at the time, said: "The discussion was that we have a contract and we plan to honor it but if you’re not willing to take in women and minorities as we’ve defined, you better be prepared for protesters to be camped out on your front door. Make sure you’re willing to face that and if not we’ll try to come back some day when we can."

While the club had Black junior members, representatives insisted the players would not be ready to move up to a full membership by 1993 and the club was not prepared to jump them ahead of other players on the waiting list.

Aronimink, therefore, asked to be relieved of hosting responsibilities and the agreement was instead handed to Inverness Club in Ohio.

Around the same time, both Butler National in Oak Brook, Illinois, and Cypress Point in Pebble Beach, California also gave up their hosting rights after declining to conform to open membership policies.

On the tumultuous period of upheaval, Awtrey also said: "The game was changing and the public image was changing. Nobody questioned the new standard we set; they questioned the timing."

Thankfully, all of that is very much a thing of the past now and this great venue is back among the Major tournaments once more.

A rarely-seen moment occurred on Thursday at the PGA Championship, when Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes after being late for his first round tee time.

Now, following his round, where the South African battled back for a credible one-under-par score, the man himself has explained what happened.

"I always cut it fine and this morning was pretty cold, and I never want to get to the tee 10 minutes before and get cold," stated the two-time PGA Tour winner to Sky Sports.

"Usually, I hit five putts before I go to the tee. My caddie dropped my TrackMan in the locker and I went to the putting green thinking I still had five minutes. I obviously did not.

"I hit one putt and then I heard my name (being called). My caddie was yelling at me and I ran down (to the tee) and got a two shot penalty.

"The rules official had my card and he said 'you've got a two shot penalty,' so I knew I needed to get myself ready. There was nothing I could do about it there and then."

In fairness to Higgo, who opened with a double bogey six, he did fire four birdies and a bogey over his 17 remaining holes for a one-under 69, which put him just outside the top 10 at the time.

Adding to his explanation, the 27-year-old revealed that it was the first time he's ever been penalized for being late, as Higgo then went into more detail about how the series of events unfolded as he walked the first hole speaking to a rules official.

"I was just trying to get evidence. I feel like any of you would have done the same.

"It's kind of -- I was there on time, but the rule is, if you're one second late, you're late. So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean...

"I don't want to be there (at the tee) ten minutes early. I know that five minutes is fine. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual.

"I could have added maybe five minutes for the walk from the range to the tee, but everything is kind of here.

"I did everything on time, like I worked out my warmup from seeing my physio at 5:15, to being in the gym at 5:30, to being on putting green at 6:00, to then being on the range at 6:30.

"I left the range at... I don't know when I left. There's probably video of that. Yeah, I don't know. I just cut it a little fine."

Claiming the coveted PGA Championship title is one of the four steps any golfer needs to take if they want to become a Grand Slam winner.

The second Major of the golfing season is unique in that it's the only Major that only allows professionals to compete, giving it an extra air of prestige.

The event has been running since way back in 1916, when a match play format was used, before converting to strokeplay in 1958 and becoming the tournament we know and love today.

Of course, with great prestige comes great payouts, and the PGA Championship purse is naturally among the biggest in the golfing world.

Winning the Wanamaker Trophy is one thing, but landing a share of the huge purse is a very nice bonus indeed.

While Jack Nicklaus holds the records for the most wins at the PGA Championship (during the strokeplay era), he doesn't come close to featuring on the all-time list of top earners from the event.

Interestingly, when we look at the top 10 earners in PGA Championship history, there are two golfers who haven't actually won the tournament.

Justin Rose takes tenth place, with earnings of $3,540,011 across a whopping 23 events. The British star's best finish at the PGA Championship was a tie for third back in 2012, which earned him $384,500.

Bryson DeChambeau is also on the list in seventh with earnings of $4,636,217. He's racked up that impressive amount from just eight involvements in the PGA Championship, with back-to-back second place finishes in 2024 and 2025 earning him $2,837,332 alone.

It probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, at least when you really think about it, that Brooks Koepka is at the top of the PGA Championship money list. He's won the tournament more than anyone else in the past couple of decades with three triumphs coming in 2018, 2019, and 2023.

Koepka is clear out in front, too, with earnings of $9,456,726 from 13 events putting him well ahead of Tiger Woods, who comes in second place with winnings of $7,354,862 from 23 events.

Woods did win the tournament four times (in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007), but the money on offer back then is nothing compared to where the game of golf is now.

With 32 involvements, Phil Mickelson is the golfer in the top 10 who has featured in the PGA Championship the most, and his earnings of $6,510,066 put him third in the all-time list.

That's not much of a shock considering Lefty also made the cut in 27 out of those 32 events with two victories.

He's followed by another two-time winner, Rory McIlroy. His wins in 2012 and 2014 earned him a combined $3,245,000 towards his total of $6,349,228 over the years.

Rounding out the top five is 2025 PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler. That win secured Scheffler $3.42m last year, and he's already earned $6,152,768 from just six events.

The rest of the top 10 includes Justin Thomas ($5,672,581) thanks to his two victories at the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022.

2015 champion Jason Day ($4,369,608) is in eighth place and Xander Schauffele, who won in 2024, comes in ninth with earnings of $4,363,822 across nine involvements in the PGA Championship.

Another triumph this year for McIlroy or Scheffler would send them to the top of the pile ahead of Koepka, but that man will be desperate to add a fourth title to his name and extend his lead at the top of the money list.

Aronimink Golf Club, designed by renowned course architect Donald Ross, opened a century ago in 1926 on the current Newtown Square plot. This year, the Philadelphia suburb layout is hosting the men's second Major on the calendar, the PGA Championship.

It is the 108th edition of the Championship, and the first time in 64 years Aronimink plays host.

The course was also the venue for the 2020 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, following on from the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as several PGA Tour and USGA events, including the US Amateur Championship.

Aronimink is a par-70 on the card with just two par-fives, the ninth and 16th, making it harder for pros to go low, forcing the game's best to be aggressive on the two-shotters.

Moreover, there is just one par-four under 400 yards off the championship tees, and three of the four par-threes stretch out to over 200 yards. This makes it even more impressive when someone goes low around the Pennsylvania course.

So who holds the course record, for both the men and the women, and what scores have been posted?

Aronimink Course Record

The men's course record at Aronimink Golf Club is 62, eight-under par.

However, this is not held by just one golfer; it has been recorded six times, including twice by the same player in consecutive rounds.

Nick Watney was the first to shoot the remarkable total back in 2011 when the AT&T National was played there on the PGA Tour. 30-years-old at the time, Watney fired the course record in the third round en route to victory. The Sacramento native notched five career PGA Tour wins and made over 500 starts on the US circuit.

Watney would hold the record on his own for seven years, until the PGA Tour returned to Aronimink for the 2018 BMW Championship, as the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

On that weekend in September eight years ago, the elusive 62 was shot five times. In the opening round, it will come as no surprise that Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, two generational talents, fired eight-under to get their tournament underway.

American Kevin Na then followed suit on Friday, before Tommy Fleetwood also matched them not just once but twice. The Englishman shot back-to-back 62s on Friday and Saturday, but all were unable to surpass Watney's original mark.

PGA Championship lowest 18-hole score

In terms of the PGA Championship, 62 is also the benchmark for the single-round course record.

This occurred twice at Valhalla in 2024, where Xander Schauffele (first round) and Shane Lowry (third round) both achieved the lowest score ever in a PGA Championship round, carding nine-under-par 62s.

Expect this year's PGA Championship at Aronimink to show its teeth, as a Major always plays tougher than a regular PGA Tour event. This makes the course record 62 seem out of shot, but with the power and prowess of the modern golfer, nothing is off the cards.

Women's Course Record At Aronimink

On the women's side, there is a smaller sample size, as the only professional tournament that has been held at Aronimink was the 2020 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. The tournament was moved from July to October due to the ongoing pandemic, but the course record remains a special one.

Sei Young Kim went into the final round with a two-shot lead over Brooke Henderson and Anna Nordqvist. The South Korean then blew the field away with a majestic 63 (7-under) to sail to her first Major title by five strokes.

Her 14-under winning score was one of just eight under-par for the week.

For the course record holder to shoot the lowest ever score, in the final round, to win her maiden Major title, is pretty special.

The question is, will anyone come close to the course record this year at Aronimink, or will Watney et al's 62 stand the test of time and remain the elusive figure everyone at the club is yearning to match or beat?

Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania hosts the PGA Championship in 2026, the latest big event in a string of high-profile occasions it has been at the heart of through the years.

The 2026 edition of the Major is actually the second time it has been held at Aronimink, with the 1962 tournament, which was won by Gary Player, also coming from the layout.

Other notable events it has hosted include two editions of the PGA Tour’s AT&T National, the BMW Championship in 2018 and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2020.

It’s not just those big tournaments that have given Aronimink prestige, with the layout itself carrying some serious clout.

The course opened in 1928 and was designed by the legendary Donald Ross.

That’s not entirely unusual, with the Scottish-born designer having had a hand in over 400 courses throughout his career. However, it’s undoubtedly one of his best, and something the man himself agreed with.

In 1948, he said: “I intended to make this course my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew.”

In 1996, a plaque was unveiled behind the first tee that bears the quote.

With almost 100 years of history behind it, some of the world’s biggest tournaments and a renowned designer, it won’t come as a big surprise to learn that playing Aronimink is neither straightforward nor inexpensive.

Aronimink is also a private club, and an exclusive one at that, with only around 300 members. Because of that, it does not make its initiation fees public or the process of how to become a member.

Like many private golf clubs, there is likely a long waiting list and membership is either via invitation only or after being introduced by multiple current members.

It is reported that the initiation fees start at $100,000, with annual dues of $40,000. These figures seem believable for an historic and revered club like Aronimink.

For comparison, that’s significantly more than another iconic course, Augusta National, with the home of The Masters reportedly charging initiation fees of $40,000 with $10,000 in annual dues.

However, it is by no means the most expensive around.

For example, Liberty National in New Jersey reportedly has initiation fees of between $450,000 and $500,000 plus annual dues, with another New Jersey venue, Pine Valley, reportedly in a similar ballpark, with an initiation fee said to be around $500,000.

Those who are lucky enough to play the course are in for a treat, with the layout restored by Gil Hanse in recent years to something more in keeping Ross’ original design.

As a result, golfers will find his trademark turtleback greens, complex bunkering and wide fairways – and all with the knowledge that they’re playing at one of the most historic and revered courses the US has to offer.

Garrick Higgo fell foul of a rookie error on day one at the 2026 PGA Championship after arriving to the tee late.

It resulted in the South African receiving a two-stroke penalty, the 'general penalty' under Rule 5.3a, meaning his par on the opening hole was upped to a double-bogey six.

He followed the starting double with six pars and two birdies to go out in a level-par total of 35 before a one-under back nine to shoot 69 (-1).

"Usually, I hit five putts before I go to the tee. My caddie dropped my TrackMan in the locker and I went to the putting green thinking I still had five minutes. I obviously did not," Higgo said when explaining the penalty.

"I hit one putt and then I heard my name (being called). My caddie was yelling at me and I ran down (to the tee) and got a two shot penalty.

"The rules official had my card and he said 'you've got a two shot penalty,' so I knew I needed to get myself ready. There was nothing I could do about it there and then."

Higgo was due to tee off at 7.18am alongside Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan, and he was on the practice putting green but was "not within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time" according to the PGA of America.

The PGA of America’s 'Local Rules and Terms of the Competition' states the following with regard to defining the starting point of a round:

• 8. Starting Point Defined: For the purpose of applying Rule 5.3a, the starting point for hole #1 and hole #10 is defined by the rope, gallery stakes, green bike fencing and/or blue stakes, blue dots or blue lines.

With regard to when a player is late to the tee, Rule 5.3 states in part:

a. When to Start Round - A player’s round starts when the player makes a stroke to start their first hole (Rule 6.1a).

The player must start at (and not before) their starting time:

• This means that the player must be ready to play at the starting time and starting point set by the Committee
• A starting time set by the Committee is treated as an exact time (for example, 9 am means 9:00:00 am, not any time until 9:01 am)

Penalty for breaching Rule 5.3a can result in disqualification but if you're within five minutes of your time you only receive the general penalty, two strokes, which is what Higgo received.

In match play, the general penalty is a loss of hole, so if your opponent arrives to the tee a couple of minutes late or even tees off slightly early from your allotted time, you can consider yourself 1-up.

Higgo currently ranks 85th in the world, and has a best finish of T40 on the PGA Tour this year at the Cognizant Classic.

The 27-year-old, who has won twice on the PGA Tour and three times on the DP World Tour, is playing in his fourth PGA Championship this week.

He'll be hoping to recover from a tricky start.

The PGA Championship faced suggestions it is lacking an identity in the build-up to the 2026 tournament at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.

One proposal to strengthen the Major’s identity is to return it to its original slot in August, when its tagline was Glory’s Last Shot.

Another is to restore it to its original iteration as a match play event, while for some, there is only one answer: discard the idea that it needs to stay in the US and take it to other territories around the world.

That’s something PGA of America CEO Terry Clark pushed back on in his press conference before the 2026 tournament, saying: “I don't see that being a real focus as far as right now."

Even if taking the PGA Championship global were at the top of his to-do list, it would stay right where it is for at least the next nine years, with the US venues up to and including the 2035 edition already confirmed.

Two of the upcoming venues will make their PGA Championship debuts, while others have hosted it multiple times, and some in recent years.

Here are the details of all the confirmed venues for the PGA Tour in the next nine years.

PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas (2027 and 2034)

Following the Aronimink Golf Club event, the PGA Championship heads south to Texas and the new headquarters of the PGA of America.

PGA Frisco has two championship courses, the Gil Hanse-designed Fields Ranch East and Fields Ranch West, which was designed by Beau Welling.

The tournament will be held at the first of those courses, which was also the venue for the 2023 Senior PGA Championship and the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Opened in 2023, Fields Ranch East incorporates the existing Panther Creek as well as the area's gently rolling hills. There are also large bunkers as well as elevated greens and steep run-off areas.

The PGA Championship returns to the venue in 2034.

The Olympic Club, Lake Course, San Francisco (2028)

San Francisco’s Olympic Club has hosted the US Open five times, most recently in 2012, when Webb Simpson won his first and only Major title to date.

It has also hosted the US Women’s Open once, as well as several other big events including the 2025 US Amateur, but it has never been the setting for a PGA Championship.

That will change in 2028, with the 110th edition of the Major coming from the venue.

The Olympic Club has three courses, the Lake, Ocean, and Cliffs, with the action coming from the Lake Course.

It is known for its narrow, tree-lined, sloping fairways and difficult greens.

Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course, New Jersey (2029)

The Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club will host the PGA Championship for the third time in 2029.

The first time it welcomed the Major was in 2005, when Phil Mickelson won the title.

In 2016, the tournament returned to the course, when Jimmy Walker beat Jason Day by a shot.

More recently, it was the host of the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which was won by Ruoning Yin.

Baltusrol was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, and, four years later, Gil Hanse began restoring the Lower Course to bring it closer to A.W. Tillinghast's original design, including removing many trees and adding fairway bunkers.

Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland (2030)

Congressional was the venue where Rory McIlroy famously won the US Open by eight in 2011 – the third time the Maryland course had hosted the Major.

However, it has only hosted the PGA Championship once, in 1976. Back then, Dave Stockton beat Raymond Floyd and Don January by one to give him his second PGA Championship title.

Over half a century after that event, it will finally host the PGA Championship for the second time in 2030.

The course, which also hosted the 2025 Senior PGA Championship, is known for its rolling terrain and tree-lined fairways.

The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina (2031)

History was made at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in 2021 when, at the age of 50, Phil Mickelson became the oldest Major champion in history with his second PGA Championship title.

A decade later, the tournament returns to the links-style layout, known for its exposed fairways and huge dunes, for the second time.

It’s not just the PGA Championship the course is famous for, with the 1991 Ryder Cup, two editions of the World Cup, and the 2007 Senior PGA Championship all held there too.

Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma (2032)

Another venue hosting the PGA Championship 10 years after its most recent visit is Southern Hills.

The 2032 edition of the PGA Championship will actually be the sixth occasion it has been held there.

The first time was in 1970, when Dave Stockton won his first PGA Championship title. Raymond Floyd took the honors in 1982, with Nick Price winning at Southern Hills 12 years later.

In 2007, Tiger Woods beat Woody Austin by two for his fourth Wanamaker Trophy, which included equaling the course record with a 63 in the second round.

In 2022, there was drama as Mito Pereira let it slip with a double-bogey on the 72nd hole while leading, allowing Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris to contest a playoff, which Thomas won.

Bethpage Black Course, Farmingdale, New York (2033)

Bethpage Black needs little introduction to present-day golf fans, given it was the host venue of the 2025 Ryder Cup, but it’s not just the biennial match that made it famous.

It has also hosted the US Open twice, in 2002 and 2009, before it was the venue for the PGA Championship for the first time in 2019.

On that occasion, Brooks Koepka beat Dustin Johnson by two.

The public course is notorious for its difficulty, even featuring a famous sign, which reads: “WARNING The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers”

Anyone playing the course will immediately see why, with its narrow fairways, deep rough and brutal bunkers.

Oak Hill Country Club, East Course, Rochester, New York (2035)

Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship for the third time at Oak Hill Country Club in 2023, which was the fourth time the PGA Championship has been held there.

In 1980, Jack Nicklaus won by seven, before Shaun Micheel claimed the title there in 2003. In 2013, Jason Dufner won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, beating Jim Furyk by two.

Like the 2026 venue, Aronimink Golf Club, it is a Donald Ross design, and includes narrow fairways and plenty of elevation changes. Players will also encounter doglegs and a creek, which appears at various points.

PGA Championship future venues

• 2027: PGA Frisco, Texas
• 2028: The Olympic Club, California
• 2029: Baltusrol Golf Club, New Jersey
• 2030: Congressional Country Club, Maryland
• 2031: Kiawah Island, South Carolina
• 2032: Southern Hills Country Club, Oklahoma
• 2033: Bethpage Black, New York
• 2034: PGA Frisco, Texas
• 2035: Oak Hill Country Club, New York

The PGA of America and the PGA Tour are sometimes mistaken for the same organization. However, they are entirely separate. But what’s the difference between them?

Before getting into exactly what separates them, it’s worth noting that they are linked historically.

The PGA of America was formed in 1916 to support golf professionals in the US while growing the game nationally. That included touring professionals.

However, in 1968, touring professionals fell into a dispute with the PGA of America over the distribution of prize money and the control of tournament golf.

As a result, in December that year, the PGA Tour was spun off from the PGA of America into a separate organization for touring professionals.

That’s why both organizations have “PGA” in their name, which is arguably the main source of confusion.

What Does The PGA Of America Do?

Nowadays, the PGA of America, whose headquarters are at PGA Frisco in Texas, has around 29,000 members.

It primarily serves the interests of golf professionals outside the touring ranks. They include club pros, coaches and directors of golf, among others.

Its remit is to ensure the growth of the game while supporting and developing golf professionals across the US.

However, confusion remains because the PGA of America still oversees several elite events featuring the world’s top touring professionals.

The PGA of America organizes its own flagship tournaments, including the PGA Championship, KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship.

In other words, despite featuring many of the world’s best PGA Tour players, the PGA Championship is organized by the PGA of America rather than the PGA Tour.

The PGA of America also operates the US side of the Ryder Cup (with the DP World Tour responsible for the European side of the biennial match).

What Does The PGA Tour Do?

Following the separation from the PGA of America in 1968, it was originally known as the Tournament Players Division, until it became the PGA Tour in 1975.

The PGA Tour is concerned with running tournaments on the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour Americas and the PGA Tour Champions.

It also has responsibilities including managing player memberships, TV rights and distributing prize money, as well as setting out rules regarding suspensions and eligibility.

Unlike the PGA of America, the PGA Tour does not organize a Major. However, its jewel in its crown is its flagship event, The Players Championship

That is considered by some to be the unofficial fifth Major and is held annually at its headquarters, TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

So, while the names are similar, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour are very different.

We’re well and truly into Major season with the PGA Championship coming hot on the heels of The Masters.

At this time of year, it’s not unusual to compare the four Majors in men’s golf, with one regular debate being which is the biggest and best of them all.

The answer is entirely subjective, with each having prestige and characteristics that appeal to some more than others.

While the PGA Championship has some elements that make it unique, such as the absence of amateurs and inclusion of PGA professionals, one criticism leveled at it in recent years is that it still lacks the clear identity of the other three.

Indeed, many fans struggle to define exactly what the PGA Championship represents, with some even finding it difficult to distinguish it from a regular PGA Tour event.

It’s not just golf fans either, with one player who believes the PGA Championship currently lacks a clear identity being two-time winner Rory McIlroy.

Before the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Northern Irishman even went as far as to say that a non-Major has a stronger identity than the PGA Championship.

When asked about whether it was time for The Players Championship to attain Major status, he responded: “I think The Players is one of the best golf tournaments in the world. I don't think anyone disputes that or argues that.

"I think from a player perspective it's amazing. I think from an on-site fan experience it's amazing. It's an amazing golf course, location, venue.

"But it's The Players. Like it doesn't need to be anything else. Like I would say it's got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute.”

One theory on what’s to blame for the PGA Championship’s apparent identity crisis is its shift in the schedule from August to May, which came in 2019.

That’s a school of thought McIlroy subscribes to. Asked what the identity of the tournament should be, he was adamant: “I think glory's last shot. I think it needs to go back to August.”

It’s not the first time McIlroy has suggested the PGA Championship should be moved forward three months.

Back in 2023, when the event was held at Oak Hill Country Club, he made a similar point, saying: “I always liked in August that this was glory's last shot and there was a real identity there.

“Not saying that it's lost any of that identity in terms of it's still a Major championship, but I feel like having it be the last Major of the year maybe just gave it a little bit of something that it doesn't quite have right now.”

Do you think McIlroy is correct? Or is there something else that could be done to give the PGA Championship a stronger identity? Let us know in the comments.

As ever, the PGA Championship, which in 2026 comes from Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, features 156 professionals all competing for the Wanamaker Trophy.

However, while everything may appear normal on the surface, in the background, one key figure of the tournament organizer, the PGA of America, will be absent.

PGA of America president Don Rea won’t be at the event, but why is that?

Rea, who was elected the 44th PGA of America president in November 2024 on a two-year term, but within a year, he had proved a divisive figure.

Perhaps the first sign that Rea’s tenure would be controversial came before the 2025 PGA Championship, where he received criticism for answering questions intended for then-CEO Derek Sprague and CCO Kerry Haigh during the PGA of America press conference.

However, the biggest controversies were to come.

The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was marred by crowd abuse of the European players, which Rea played down by comparing the New York crowd to the European fans in Rome two years earlier.

Rea’s reaction drew criticism, but he initially doubled down, writing on his LinkedIn profile that he was “not bothered" by it, before later issuing an apology for his comments.

That wasn’t the only controversy involving Rea during the week.

After Europe beat the hosts 15-13, Rea congratulated the visitors for "retaining" the Ryder Cup at the trophy presentation – a description that would have only been correct had the two teams tied the match.

That led to further criticism, including from Team Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who said there had been "a little bit of bitterness” from the president during his speech.

Adding to the fallout was footage that later emerged showing Rea on the Saturday night of the contest performing Lose Yourself by Eminem on karaoke.

The timing of Rea’s performance was hardly ideal, because, before rallying brilliantly in the Sunday singles session, the US team faced the prospect of a heavy defeat.

By February 2026, Rea’s remit had changed, with the PGA of America issuing a statement to the Golf Channel explaining his responsibilities would be “aligned to member-first priorities for the remainder of his term.”

It added that “he will focus on board leadership, governance, section engagement and initiatives that directly support PGA of America Golf Professionals and reinforce the grassroots foundation of the Association.”

Two months later, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Rea's chances of attending the PGA Championship, with Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal reporting that he was “not expected to be on site" at the tournament.

In the press conference before the event, PGA of America CEO Terry Clark clarified Rea's current role, saying: "Specifically, what we've asked is for Don to keep his focus on the member side, and we've tried to keep the right responsibilities across our distinct leaders in here. So that's it."

While questions linger about the current identity of the PGA Championship, it has various elements that make it unique, one of which is the inclusion of 20 club pros in its field of 156.

The players qualify via the annual PGA Professional Championship. In 2026, the event was held at Bandon Dunes, where 312 professionals representing the 41 sections of the PGA of America competed over 72 holes for the chance to earn their place at the PGA Championship.

There, the likes of winner Jesse Droemer and 2023 PGA Championship hero Michael Block all qualified for the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, thanks to their finishing positions.

But how many of the club pros at the PGA Championship usually make the cut?

Another element of the PGA Championship that sets it apart from other tournaments is its strength of field, with the Major widely regarded as having the strongest line-up in the game.

Indeed, it is the only one of the four men’s Majors that doesn’t include amateurs, while the top 100 in the world are generally invited to compete each year.

Given the stiff competition, it is not surprising that the number of club pros who typically make it beyond the first two rounds is relatively low.

In the last 10 editions of the PGA Championship, only nine club pros have progressed as far as the weekend, while on four occasions, none made the cut.

The most productive year for the club pros in that period was 2019, when three made the cut at Bethpage Black - Rob Labritz, who finished T60, Ryan Vermeer, who placed T80 and Marty Jertson in 82nd.

The 2024 PGA Championship, at Valhalla, saw two club pros make it beyond 36 holes – Braden Shattuck, who finished 72nd, and Jeremy Wells, who placed 77th.

That left four occasions where one club pro progressed to the weekend. One came in 2017, when Omar Uresti finished T73 at Quail Hollow.

A year later, Ben Kern finished tied for 42nd at Bellerive Country Club, while in 2021, Brad Marek placed 78th at Kiawah Island.

By far the biggest success story in recent years came in 2023 at Oak Hill, when Michael Block was the one club pro to make it to the weekend.

Incredibly, he was still in contention to win the event heading into the final round, when he was paired with Rory McIlroy on his way to a T15.

To make his unforgettable week even more memorable, during the final round, he stole the limelight from his playing partner with a brilliant slam-dunk hole-in-one at the 151-yard 13th.

Success stories like that are few and far between, and in four of the last 10 editions, none have made it as far as the weekend, with all 20 heading home early in 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2025.

While it's relatively rare to see club pros progress beyond 36 holes, as well as Block's heroics in 2023, there have been some remarkable finishes from the players through the years.

Here are the best performances from club pros at the PGA Championship.

Best Club Pro Performances At The PGA Championship

Watch the PGA Championship first round from wherever you are in the world as the second Major of the 2026 season takes place at Aronimink Golf Club, with Golf Monthly bringing you all the information on TV channels, live streaming, free coverage, and how to watch the PGA Championship.

This is the first men's Major at Aronimink since 1962, when Gary Player lifted the Wanamaker Trophy. The South African is one of just six men to win the career Grand Slam and the most recent entrant into that exclusive club, Rory McIlroy, arrives in Pennsylvania still feeling the warm embrace of a second successive Green Jacket following his Masters victory last month.

Like London buses, McIlroy had to wait a long time for his first Green Jacket before two came along at once. After the emotion of completing the career Grand Slam at Augusta 13 months ago, he was perhaps understandably off the pace at last year's PGA Championship, so it will be interesting to see how he fares this time around.

One man you can usually rely on to produce his best is Scottie Scheffler, who lifted the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time in 2025 after a dominant performance which saw him win by five shots. The world No 1 will be among the favourites in an extremely strong field, with this the only Major that is explicitly for professionals.

Behind Scheffler and McIlroy, plenty of players will fancy their chances, including the in-form Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick, now ranked third and fourth in the world respectively.

Read on for our guide on how to watch the PGA Championship first round online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch the PGA Championship 2026 Round 1 for FREE

While you cannot strictly watch the PGA Championship for 'free' anywhere, US viewers can watch the action on ESPN via YouTube TV, which offers a 10-day free trial.

Streaming is geo-restricted, so it will only work in the States, but if you're out of the country right now you can still get your usual access while abroad by using a VPN – more on that below.

Watch the PGA Championship Round 1 from anywhere

You can still access your usual streaming services even when you're away from home, thanks to a handy piece of software known as a VPN.

Our expert colleagues over at TechRadar have tested loads of VPNs and they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN provider out there right now.

Watch the PGA Championship Round 1 in the US

ESPN holds the broadcast rights in the US for round 1 of the PGA Championship 2026.

ESPN and ESPN2 will be your go to channels for the majority of the coverage. The easiest way to access these is via an ESPN Unlimited subscription ($29.99/month) which carries the main channels as well as featured groups and holes.

You can also access the ESPN and ESPN2 channel via cord-cutting services like DirecTV Stream (free trial), YouTube TV (free trial), Hulu+Live TV (free trial) and Fubo (free trial).

Watch the PGA Championship Round 1 in the UK

It's all a lot simpler in the UK, with golf fans able to watch Round 1 of the PGA Championship 2026 on Sky Sports. Every other day will also be available on the platform.

Prices for Sky Sports start at £22/month, but you can also get access through NOW Sports for £14.99/day.

If you’re a Sky Sports subscriber who’s currently outside the UK, you can still stream the coverage provided you use a VPN, such as NordVPN.

More info ► How To Watch Golf In The UK: TV, Streaming, Pricing For Sky Sports Golf And More

How to watch the PGA Championship Round 1 in Canada

In Canada, Round 1 of the PGA Championship will be broadcast by TSN, which also holds the rights for the PGA Tour in Canada.

You'll need the standard TSN subscription, which costs $19.99 per month. This is available as a streaming package so it's flexible and ready to go, and includes TSN+.

How to watch the PGA Championship Round 1 in Australia

Golf fans in Australia can watch round 1 of the PGA Championship 2026 on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.

Fox Sports will carry TV coverage on channel 503, with Kayo Sports the streaming home of Fox's coverage of the tournament. You can get a 7-day free trial or pay just $1 for your first month, making it a cost-effective option for the PGA Championship.

PGA Championship First Round Tee Times

Time is EDT (BST).

1st Tee

• 6:45am: Braden Shattuck, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ben Griffin
• 6:56am: Francisco Bide, Harry Hall, Ryan Gerard
• 7:07am: Johnny Keefer, Rico Hoey, Nicolai Højgaard
• 7:18am: Shaun Micheel, Michael Brennan, Garrick Higgo
• 7:29am: Y.E. Yang, Jhonattan Vegas, Matt McCarty
• 7:40am: Lucas Glover, Tom McKibbin, Stephan Jaeger
• 7:51am: Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier, Harris English
• 8:02am: Jacob Bridgeman, Bud Cauley, Alex Noren
• 8:13am: Chris Kirk, Max Greyserman, Kristoffer Reitan
• 8:24am: Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry, Padraig Harrington
• 8:35am: Ryan Lenahan, Ryan Fox, Kazuki Higa
• 8:46am: Jared Jones, Michael Kim, Ryo Hisatsune
• 8:57am: Tyler Collet, Kota Kaneko, Brandt Snedeker
• 12:15pm: Andrew Novak, John Parry, Jordan Gumberg
• 12:26pm: Ben Polland, Kurt Kitayama, Nico Echavarria
• 12:37pm: Akshay Bhatia, Ricky Castillo, Michael Thorbjornsen
• 12:48pm: Luke Donald, Jesse Droemer, Stewart Cink
• 12:59pm: Hideki Matsuyama, J.J. Spaun, Max Homa
• 1:10pm: Ben Kern, J.T. Poston, Russell Henley
• 1:21pm: Adam Scott, Corey Conners, Daniel Berger
• 1:32pm: Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry
• 1:43pm: Chris Gotterup, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood
• 1:54pm: Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas
• 2:05pm: Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose
• 2:16pm: Zach Haynes, Alex Smalley, Chandler Blanchet
• 2:27pm: Bernd Wiesberger, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Andy Sullivan

10th Tee

• 6:50am: Aldrich Potgieter, David Puig, Denny McCarthy
• 7:01am: William Mouw, Chris Gabriele, Taylor Pendrith
• 7:12am: Tom Hoge, Bryce Fisher, Joaquin Niemann
• 7:23am: Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Ian Holt
• 7:34am: Gary Woodland, Jason Day, Sam Burns
• 7:45am: Wyndham Clark, Cameron Smith, Brian Harman
• 7:56am: Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala
• 8:07am: Si Woo Kim, Derek Berg, Joe Highsmith
• 8:18am: Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg, Rickie Fowler
• 8:29am: Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton
• 8:40am: Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm
• 8:51am: Daniel Hillier, Ryan Vermeer, Max McGreevy
• 9:02am: Paul McClure, Mikael Lindberg, Angel Ayora
• 12:10pm: Michael Block, Rasmus Højgaard, Dustin Johnson
• 12:21pm: Mark Geddes, Steven Fisk, David Lipsky
• 12:32pm: Sungjae Im, Austin Hurt, Casey Jarvis
• 12:43pm: Andrew Putnam, Michael Kartrude, Matt Wallace
• 12:54pm: Martin Kaymer, Elvis Smylie, Davis Riley
• 1:05pm: Jason Dufner, Haotong Li, Jimmy Walker
• 1:16pm: Nick Taylor, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Jordan Smith
• 1:27pm: Emiliano Grillo, Patrick Reed, Pierceson Coody
• 1:38pm: Brian Campbell, Adam Schenk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• 1:49pm: Marco Penge, Sepp Straka, Patrick Rodgers
• 2:00pm: Aaron Rai, Travis Smyth, Sami Valimaki
• 2:11pm: Sam Stevens, Jayden Schaper, Garrett Sapp
• 2:22pm: Timothy Wiseman, Matti Schmid, Austin Smotherman

PGA Championship First Round: TV schedule and timings

Thursday 14th May - Round One:
US (ET): 6.45am-8pm (ESPN Select) / 12pm–7pm (ESPN), 7pm–8pm (ESPN2)
UK (BST): 12.30pm-12am (Sky Sports Golf)
Australia (AEST): 8.45pm–9am (Fox Sports 503 / Kayo)
Canada (ET): From 7am (TSN4)

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The 2027 PGA Championship comes from Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania for just the second time in the tournament's history.

The layout, which was the scene of Gary Player's maiden PGA Championship title in 1962, may not have been in the men's Major spotlight for some time, but it is revered.

That's in no small part due to the work of its legendary designer, Donald Ross.

So, who is he and why is his work so celebrated in the world of golf?

Ross was a Scottish-born professional golfer who achieved a T5 at the US Open and a T8 at The Open, but it was as a designer that he really made his name.

He had an apprenticeship at Royal Dornoch, before heading to America, initially taking a role at Oakley Country Club in Massachusetts. He then became the golf professional at Pinehurst in 1900.

That was the place where he found his true calling. And what a legacy he left there, with Pinehurst No.2 regarded by many as his masterpiece.

Accentuating that, a bronze statue of Ross (alongside one of Richard S. Tufts, who wrote the Creed of the Amateur in 1968 to define the spirit of amateur golf), stands near the 18th green of Pinehurst No.2.

The notion that Pinehurst No.2 is Ross' masterpiece is one USGA's John Bodenhamer subscribes to, who said before the 2024 US Open, which was held there: "This was his masterpiece. He refined it. He took it from sand greens to turf grass and kept improving it over and over again."

While that may be the consensus, Ross - at least at the end of his life - wasn't so sure, with Aronimink holding a particularly special place in his heart.

He completed the work in 1928, but it wasn't until two decades later that he fully appreciated what he had created.

In 1948, the year of his death, Ross said: “I intended to make this course my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew.”

In 1996, a plaque was unveiled behind the 1st tee that bears the quote.

In the decades that followed the opening of Aronimink, alterations were made by Dick Wilson, George Fazio and Robert Trent Jones, but nowadays, the course is not dissimilar to Ross' vision.

That's thanks to the work undertaken by Gil Hanse, who used aerial photographs to bring the course closer to its original design.

Some trees were removed, while the number of bunkers was doubled, including breaking up some of the larger greenside bunkers into smaller clusters. Fairways were also widened and greens were expanded.

Hanse discussed the work with PGA.com, saying: “The restoration of that bunker style and those configurations is definitely the most dramatic part of what we did.

"It’s the visual, the character of these clusters and how they sit in the landscape, that stands out. Plus, you have a wonderful set of Ross greens.”

The layout has many of the hallmarks that Ross became famous for. For example, it includes the same kind of turtleback greens that are so well-known at Pinehurst No.2.

Other elements typical of Ross include complex bunkering and an adherence to the use of the natural terrain.

Ross may be best known for his work at Pinehurst No.2 and considered Aronimink one of his best, but they were far from the only courses that he designed.

In fact, he was responsible for the design of over 400 courses in his career, although surprisingly, not in Scotland.

Instead, the bulk of his work came in North America, while he has inspired the designs of countless other architects.

His courses have hosted countless Majors and big events across both the men’s and women’s games.

He is responsible for Oak Hill Country Club and Oakland Hills, which, between them, have held 16 Majors. Four US Opens and two PGA Championships have been played over Ross' Inverness Club, while Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted the US Open four times.

Ross also designed the highly acclaimed Seminole and East Lake, home of the FedEx Cup finale each year.

What Famous Courses Did Donald Ross Design?

• Aronimink Golf Club (1962, 2026 PGA Championship)
• Brae Burn (1919 US Open)
• Charlotte Country Club
• East Lake Golf Club
• Englewood Country Club (1909 US Open)
• Essex County Club
• Inverness Club (1920, 1931, 1957, 1979 US Open; 1986, 1993 PGA Championship)
• Interlachen Country Club (1930 US Open; 2008 US Women's Open)
• Oak Hill (1956, 1968, 1989, US Open; 1980, 2003, 2013, 2023 PGA Championship)
• Oakland Hills (1924, 1937, 1951, 1961, 1985, 1996 US Open; 1972, 1979, 2008 PGA Championship)
• Pinehurst No. 2 (1936 PGA Championship; 1999, 2005, 2014, 2024 US Open; 2014 US Women's Open)
• Plainfield Country Club
• Scioto Country Club (1926 US Open; 1950 PGA Championship)
• Seminole
• The Minikahda Club (1916 US Open)
• Wannamoisett Country Club
• Worcester Country Club (1925 US Open; 1960 US Women's Open)

Winning the PGA Championship means a spot in the championship for life, with those who lift the Wanamaker Trophy earning unlimited exemptions back into the tournament each and every year.

Throughout the history of the Major, a total of 74 players have won and, for 2026, several former champions will be teeing it up at Aronimink Golf Club, but some won't be.

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion and, under that exemption category, 14 former champions will be present in the field in Pennsylvania.

Those 14 are part of the 156-man field, which also includes 20 PGA professionals, but a number of former champions won't be playing in the second men's Major of 2026.

The reasons for their absence vary, including retirement, injury or other factors, and we've listed five notable past winners who won't be present this year...

Tiger Woods

Woods missed the PGA Championship in 2025 after rupturing his left Achilles while training at home, and had been working towards a competitive return to action at the start of this year.

Regularly claiming he was eyeing a return at The Masters, Woods' prep work came to a halt at the end of March, when he flipped his car onto its side after a failed overtake.

After being charged with driving under the influence, the four-time PGA Championship winner announced that he would be "stepping away" from the game indefinitely in order to "seek treatment and focus on my health."

Last lifting the Wanamaker Trophy in 2007, he also claimed the PGA Championship in 2006, 2000 and 1999.

It's currently unclear as to when Woods will return to professional golf as he continues his rehabilitation treatment.

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson is famed for his 2021 PGA Championship victory, when he became the oldest Major winner in history.

Despite playing in the championship last year, missing the cut in the process, the six-time Major winner won't be present in Philadelphia, citing family health matters.

Teeing it up at LIV Golf South Africa, that's the only tournament Mickelson has played this year, with the left-hander missing The Masters and six of the seven 2026 LIV Golf events.

Prior to Augusta National in April, Mickelson suggested his absence would extend beyond the Major.

Having missed just one PGA Championship since 1993, we'll hope to see Mickelson back in action soon.

Vijay Singh

At the start of 2026, Singh made headlines when, at the age of 62, he returned to the PGA Tour, using his standing on the PGA Tour career money list to restore full status.

Although he's only played one tournament on the circuit since then, the Sony Open in Hawaii, he has played regularly on the PGA Tour Champions, registering a best result of T12th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

A two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming victory in 1998 and 2004, Singh last played the Major in 2018, when he finished 78th after rounds of 71, 69, 71 and 72.

He did enter the 2025 PGA Championship, but withdrew the Sunday prior. Although he hasn't played the event for nearly a decade, the Fijian continues to play in The Masters, making the cut in 2024 at the age of 61.

John Daly

Daly's victory at the 1991 PGA Championship is one of the most famous in golf, with the American only getting into the competition as the ninth and final alternate.

Since then, he has regularly competed in the Major, but hasn't been present since withdrawing in 2024.

Struggling with injury in 2026, Daly has played a handful of PGA Tour Champions tournaments, but withdrew in his last start at the Insperity Invitational. His best result is a T21st at the Hoag Classic.

Last year, Daly opted to play the Regions Tradition on the senior circuit instead of the PGA Championship.

Prior to the tournament, the American criticized the scheduling, stating: "I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor, (but) why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks (Koepka) and all the guys?"

Rich Beem

Possessing one of the most bizarre Major records in professional golf, Beem claimed the PGA Championship in 2002, the only Major top 10 in his career.

Last teeing it up at the championship in 2024, Beem skipped Quail Hollow in 2025, explaining to AP News’ Doug Ferguson: "I got my (butt) handed to me last year. Even though I had success at Bethpage (2019), you lose 10 yards, you might as well lose 100."

Working as an analyst with Sky Sports, the American hasn't played a competitive tournament since The Senior Open in July 2025, with Beem also teeing it up at the Senior PGA Championship that same year. He missed the cut at both tournaments.

He is expected to return to the PGA Championship in 2027, when the Major visits his home state, Texas.

It's PGA Championship week and I've already shared the Bazza's Best Bets column, with five top picks for the second men's Major of the season, but there is still plenty of time to take a look at another interesting market - the first round leader!

I successfully tipped the first round leader at The Masters and backed that up with another outright winner (Cam Young at the Cadillac Championship) a few weeks ago, so confidence is high about keeping that run going with another stab in the first round leader market.

To work out who might contend on the opening day, we need to explore the course characteristics, specific stats and fully analyse the field - which is exactly what I've done for you below...

PGA Championship First Round Leader Betting Tips 2026

It goes without saying I am high on Cameron Young in just about every market you can get for the 2026 PGA Championship - so I'd start there, but for the purposes of not sounding like a broken record let's look elsewhere on the odds board for some special bets.

My first selection in this market is Russell Henley. The five-time PGA Tour winner is not someone who you might instantly think of for a long, gruelling Major test - but Henley is a fairways and greens man and that could be invaluable here.

Henley has played Donald Ross designs well in the past, particularly in the opening round, and ranks 23rd for round one scoring in 2026 so far.

The American has banked opening rounds of 61, 65 and 67 at East Lake, a respectable 70 at Pinehurst No.2 (a Ross designed Major Test) and a pair of 62s in his last three starts at Sedgefield Country Club - which uses similar pedestal style Ross greens.

Henley was 3rd at the Masters last month, which also shares some small correlation to the Aronimink test, and started the season with opening rounds of 65, 65, 66 in his first three events. He is a very interesting option at a great price in this market.

My second selection in the first round leader market is Nick Taylor. The Canadian might not seem the perfect candidate to contend here, in a similar way to Henley, as he isn't the longest off the tee - but there is more than one way to win here.

Nick Taylor ranks 4th for first round scoring on the PGA Tour this season and opened with 66 last week (and 66 the week before) to contend early in big signature events.

Also a five-time PGA Tour winner, Taylor ranked 12th for first round scoring at East Lake last season (another Ross design with great correlation), plus he already posted a pair of 65s and a 62 in opening rounds this season.

Taylor also started with a 63 at Sedgefield Country Club in his last start at the Wyndham Championship, with a pair of 65s present in his course history on that particular Donald Ross design.

The 2026 PGA Championship tee times are now out and it looks like both Henley and Taylor are out in the afternoon, so they will know exactly what they need to beat in order to take an early lead.

While I am not sure either of these players have the length required over four rounds to win the PGA Championship this year, despite being great value each-way options, I do like their chances of navigating and building a strong start to the event this week.

The PGA Championship is widely considered to be the fourth of the four men's Majors, with many fans and commentators calling for changes to the grand old championship.

With The Masters, US Open, The Open and even The Players Championship all growing in stature, the PGA Championship appears to be losing ground at the top of the sport.

So, what can be done?

I've already listed my plan to revive the PGA Championship's identity, and we've debated what the best change may be, with one common fix being its format.

The PGA Championship actually started life with a match play format, before switching to stroke play in 1958.

While match play is arguably the most entertaining format to watch, as seen in the likes of the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, it has struggled in individual professional tournaments.

There are a number of reasons why match play is no longer on the schedule. Firstly, the final match can sometimes be underwhelming, especially if it is between two lesser names or one player has a big lead.

TV networks like to be able to show the big names like Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau on Sundays, and match play risks that not happening.

A tightly fought McIlroy vs DeChambeau final is the dream scenario but the chances of that happening are slim.

Then there's the on-site experience. Tens of thousands of fans watching one group does not make for great viewing.

These are a couple of reasons that have led to match play essentially vanishing from the professional tours.

The WGC-Match Play ended in 2024, while the World Match Play Championship, founded in 1964 and played at Wentworth for 45 years, was last played in 2014. The DP World Tour also no longer hosts a match play tournament, while the LPGA is the only elite circuit still using the format.

It clearly hasn't worked in recent years, but is that really a reason to just completely abandon it? I don't think so.

Match play is how the PGA Championship started and it is arguably the most-played format at grassroots and club level. What does the PGA of America stand for? Grassroots and club golf.

It would also be a genuine identity of the PGA Championship. The Masters is The Masters, the US Open is the extremely hard one, the Open is the old, historic one in the UK played on links golf and the PGA Championship is the match play one. That could work, right?

The golfing calendar is crying out for a big match play tournament following on from the HSBC World Match Play and WGC-Match Play, so this really could be an open goal, if done correctly.

"I think match play is the purest form of the game," Rory McIlroy said this week.

"I think it's a shame that we don't have any match play really in the schedule apart from the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. It would be nice to get some more match play on the schedule for sure."

So, how could it work? Here are some of my ideas, and let me know yours in the comments section below, I'd be interested to see if you agree or disagree.

What could a match play PGA Championship look like?

Match play brings some challenges, but that does not mean it should not be considered. There are plenty of clever brains in the golfing world that could bring a genuinely excellent and additive match play Major back.

While it hasn't been done correctly in recent years, it works very well in tournaments like the US Amateur Championship so completely ignoring it is a touch lazy.

Firstly, a match play PGA Championship would require the field size to decrease from 156 players to 128. This would accommodate a knockout bracket that could either be done via a random draw or via a seeding system, worked out by world ranking.

A way to increase ticket sales and allow for fans to see more golf would be to turn it into a five-day tournament, with matches starting on Wednesday.

It's an extra day of 'work' for the pros and those going deep into the tournament would have a couple of 36-hole days, but it is a Major Championship and it is supposed to be demanding.

Here's how I would propose it working:

To increase the amount of golf for fans to watch, I would also propose a PGA professional event running concurrently. The 20 club pros struggle in the main event and realistically show no real chance of winning.

Last year, all 20 missed the cut and none of the professionals finished within seven strokes of the total needed to make the weekend. In 2024, two of the 20 made the cut with finishes of 72nd and 77th from the 78 who progressed through to the final two rounds.

Michael Block in 2023 is certainly an outlier, with his remarkable T15 finish a brief moment of joy for what the PGA of America calls the Corebridge Financial team. He was the lone club pro to make the cut at Oak Hill, with the next-best finisher three adrift of the mark.

Robbing them of a chance to play in a Major seems harsh, but the PGA Championship needs to innovate, and a 16-man PGA Championship Professional Match Play could be a good compromise.

It would award the winning pro with a 'mini' Wanamaker Trophy, perhaps even an exemption into next year's main PGA Championship, and give fans on-site more golf to watch. There would also be plenty of highlights to show on TV.

Here's how I would propose including that:

This would allow for a 36-hole final (two loops of 18), a third-place playoff and a club pro final all on Sunday, which would be four (up to) 18-hole rounds to watch for on-site fans vs just one or two in previous match play events.

The losing quarter- and semi-finalists could also feed back into a separate six-man bracket to decide positions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, with significant prize money on the line and a larger gap from 8th to 9th-place to reward players for making it into the last eight. The last eight could also earn exemptions back into the following year's PGA Championship.

They would certainly need to work some things out and approach it with some innovative eyes, but the PGA Championship going back to match play could be a huge success.

What do you think? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments section below. Could a match play PGA Championship actually work?

Rory McIlroy enters the 2026 PGA Championship expected to contend for yet another Major title, with the now six-time Major champion high in confidence after winning The Masters.

McIlroy has had great success in the PGA Championship, finishing T3rd in his 2010 debut at Whistling Straits and then again at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011.

He won his second Major title at the 2012 PGA, storming to an eight-stroke victory, before beating the likes of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler at Valhalla in 2014 for his second Wanamaker Trophy.

Since then, his record in the championship has been good - but it trails his form in the other three Majors.

Rory McIlroy's PGA Championship record vs the other majors

Since 2015, McIlroy has managed three top-10s in his 11 PGA Championship appearances compared to eight in The Masters (from 12 starts, including two wins and a runner-up), seven in the US Open (including two runner-ups) and six in The Open from just nine tournaments, having missed 2015 with injury and the 2020 edition being cancelled.

His best finish in the event since winning is T7th, in 2023, a result he has bettered 12 times in the other three Majors.

The closest he has got to winning a third Wanamaker came in 2022, when he ended the week three strokes back of the playoff between Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris.

Seven players beat his two-under-par total at Southern Hills, where Thomas won his second PGA Championship.

He has only missed one cut in the PGA since winning in 2015, though, which is actually better than the other three.

Since 2015, he has missed the cut at The Masters twice, three times at the US Open and twice at The Open.

So the PGA Championship has been more of an event when he has a 'run of the mill' week to finish comfortably inside the cut line but short of contention.

Why has Rory McIlroy 'struggled' in the PGA recently?

There could be a few reasons for his somewhat lack of success in recent years.

One of those could be down to the course setup, with the PGA Championship venues resembling more of a standard PGA Tour setup compared to the other Majors, which are usually more exacting tests and allow the best players to rise to the top easier.

Another could be down to the fabled Green Jacket.

Since 2019, the PGA Championship has taken place just five weeks after The Masters - which was the only thing McIlroy truly desired since winning the third leg of the slam in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

He may have arrived at PGA Championships slightly fatigued and on a comedown from another pressure-filled attempt at Augusta, but that is over now.

We can scrub last year's T47 at Quail Hollow as he clearly was struggling with the case of 'what next' after finally getting his shoulders into the Green Jacket, but his second Masters triumph has him in a fantastic head space right now.

"It feels a lot different," he said of winning at Augusta for the second time.

"Even winning felt different. I guess, you know, and I've spoke about this a lot, I felt like winning the Grand Slam was like this, was going to be this life-changing thing and in some ways it was, but in other ways I had to remember like, no, I still have a lot of my career left and I want to keep playing and keep competing.

"So this year was I think winning was validation for all the work that I've put in over the last few years to get myself back to this place where I'm winning majors.

"I'm excited for the road ahead. I'm excited for this week, I'm excited for Aronimink next week, Shinnecock, Birkdale, you know, like I feel like if anything I'm more motivated after what happened at Augusta this year than I've ever been."

Another reason may be because he had already won the PGA twice so he perhaps wasn't as motivated to win it again versus the other Majors.

He missed three consecutive US Open cuts from 2016-2018 and that kick-started something in him to become a better, more resilient US Open competitor on the USGA's brutally difficult setups.

He has publicly said a big goal of his is to win a US Open on one of the tough setups like Oakmont and Shinnecock Hills after dominating the 2011 US Open at a soft Congressional.

Whatever he has done, it has worked. He followed those MCs with six straight top-10s, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024, with a T19 last year at Oakmont amid his post-Masters blues.

He also has a fantastic Open Championship record, with six top-10s in his last nine starts. The Northern Irishman grew up playing links golf and is always buoyed by the home support in the the UK.

So while his PGA Championship record falls short of his performances in the other Majors since 2015, it does feel like this new Rory McIlroy 2.0 is set on nothing but more Major titles.

He is not in a post-Masters funk, is competitively sharp after dusting off the rust at Quail Hollow last week and is well overdue another challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy. It could well be this week in Pennsylvania.

Aronimink Golf Club hosts the 2026 PGA Championship and the course is looking stunning after closing for play all the way back in November.

The famous Donald Ross design on the outskirts of Philadelphia hosts the championship for just the second time after Gary Player's 1962 triumph. It's a tricky parkland layout that plays to a par 70, but what will conditions be like this week?

In short, the weather looks good and favorable for the 2026 PGA Championship.

It isn't going to be extremely hot and sunny and there may be a few showers prior to the action getting underway, but overall it should be favorable.

Let's take a day-by-day look...

PGA Championship 2026 weather forecast at Aronimink

Tuesday May 12 - Practice day

Tuesday is set to be mostly sunny with a 0% chance of rain, which will allow the course to continue firming up for the championship.

Wednesday May 12 - Practice day

The final practice day could be a little wet and even see a little disruption later in the day with scattered showers and possibly even some lightning expected in the evening. Depending on the levels of rain, currently expected at less than 0.25", it may well lead to a soft course for round one and result in low scores.

Thursday May 13 - Round one

The course may be on the soft side on Thursday and there is a 35% chance of rain, although less than 0.10" is forecast. Temperatures will get up to around 68 fahrenheit, with winds at 8-14mph and gusts of 22mph from the NW.

Friday May 14 - Round two

From here on in, there *should* be no rain. The temperature will be fairly mild around the 69F mark on Friday, with similar winds to the opening round.

Saturday May 15 - Round three

We're set for a beautiful weekend in Pennsylvania with temperatures rising to 77F on Saturday and winds of 8-14mph, gusting to 22mph, from the W to SW. The course should be firming up and rain probability stands at just 10%.

Sunday May 16 - Final round

Sunday's final round will feature the hottest temperatures, with up to 83F expected. Winds will be from the west at a steady 8-12mph with gusts of up to 20mph. Rain probability is currently just 15% so we should have a beautiful Sunday and a nice, firm course to really challenge the leaders coming down the stretch.

Jake Knapp has been forced to pull out of a third consecutive big tournament due to injury.

The 31-year-old officially withdrew from the 2026 PGA Championship on Monday evening, with his thumb sprain injury keeping him on the sidelines.

It has been a difficult few weeks for the 2024 Mexico Open champion, who has been one of the best players on the PGA Tour so far this year.

His injury forced him out of back-to-back $20m Signature Events at both the Cadillac and Truist Championship, and has now sidelined him from a Major. It's a huge setback and results in a large loss of potential points and money right when he was playing some of the best golf of his life.

Knapp ranks 2nd in Scoring Average this season on the PGA Tour and 3rd in Strokes Gained: Total, with five top-10s from nine events.

The Californian, who now calls Scottsdale, Arizona home, has been replaced in the field by Tom Hoge.

It means the PGA Championship is now missing two of the world's top 100, with Knapp ranked 39th and LIV Golf Virginia champion Lucas Herbert also missing at 89th in the world.

Kevin Yu is now the first-alternate for the field, with the tournament getting underway on Thursday morning at Aronimink Golf Club just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.