Ten Scenes from Aronimink That Still Haunt Me a Week Later

A week has passed since Aaron Rai lifted the Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink, and I still find myself replaying moments from those four days in suburban Philadelphia like a favorite song on repeat. Some tournaments fade quickly from memory—this one refuses to let go.

The Eternal Dreamer at 54

I've watched Padraig Harrington compete in major championships for over two decades now, and something about seeing him charge around Aronimink on Sunday stirred emotions I wasn't prepared for. Starting the final round tied for 31st, half a dozen shots adrift on a packed leaderboard, the three-time major champion was dreaming out loud on Saturday evening about an impossible chase-down victory.

He didn't get the fairytale, but what he delivered was perhaps more meaningful. After a workmanlike first 15 holes, Harrington holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle at the par-5 16th. The roar that went up from the gallery—that particular mix of surprise and reverence reserved for beloved veterans—carried across the property.

Then at 18, a bladed wedge from just off the green tracked toward the hole and disappeared. Birdie. A closing 69. A tie for 18th.

The numbers tell a remarkable story: This was Harrington's best major finish in five years, dating back to his fourth-place run at the 2021 PGA Championship. He became just the third player aged 54 or older to crack the top 20 at a PGA Championship, joining Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen in that particular club of distinguished gentlemen. Over his final 54 holes—remove that opening 74 and Harrington shot 69-67-69, five under par, a clip bettered only by Ludvig Aberg and the champion himself.

On to Shinnecock for the U.S. Open, where Harrington will keep dreaming. God bless him for it.

The Mullet's Magic Returns

There's a particular joy in watching Cam Smith when he's on, and at Aronimink, he was gloriously, chaotically on. Six consecutive missed cuts at majors had quieted even his most ardent supporters, but Smith arrived in Pennsylvania with a new swing coach—Claude Harmon III—and immediately rediscovered the iron play that had gone missing.

Paired with a putter that's been supernatural his entire career, Smith found himself back in major contention for the first time in what felt like ages. His driving remained an absolute adventure—one tee shot would find the fairway, the next would threaten a hospitality tent—but somehow that added to the theater of watching him play.

After the tournament, Smith spoke about the bittersweet nature of finding success with a new coach, acknowledging the difficulty of change while expressing pride in how he competed. There was vulnerability in his words, a reminder that even the most talented players on earth wrestle with doubt and reinvention.

What Aronimink Revealed

Walking Aronimink's corridors each day, I was struck by how the course demanded everything from its contestants. Donald Ross designed these grounds over a century ago, but the routing felt impossibly modern—strategic options off every tee, greens that rewarded precision and punished anything less, rough that swallowed loose shots without mercy.

The par-5 16th became the tournament's pivot point, where dreams were both made and destroyed. Harrington's bunker eagle there was just one of countless dramatic moments on that hole, where going for the green in two required equal parts courage and calculation.

And then there was Aaron Rai, who played his final 54 holes at nine under par—the best stretch of golf anyone managed all week. His victory felt both surprising and inevitable, the work of a player who had been building toward this moment for years.

The Takeaway

Some PGA Championships blur together over time. This one, I suspect, will remain vivid. Harrington defying age and expectation. Smith rediscovering his magic. Rai emerging from a crowded field to claim his first major. Aronimink proved itself a worthy stage for all of it—a classic American course that extracted honest golf from everyone who played it.

I'm already counting the days until we return.