Aronimink Awaits: The Contenders Who'll Define the 2026 PGA Championship
There's something about a Donald Ross design in late May that makes the blood quicken. Aronimink Golf Club, that stately Pennsylvania masterpiece, will host the 2026 PGA Championship this week, and the field assembling in Newtown Square reads like a who's who of modern golf's finest. But let's be honest with ourselves—not everyone teeing it up has a realistic path to hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday evening.
The Two-Horse Race at the Top
Strip away the noise, ignore the depth charts, and you're left with a simple truth: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have combined to win four of the last five majors. That's not a trend—that's dominance.
Scheffler arrives as defending champion, though his recent form tells an interesting story. Three consecutive runner-up finishes since Augusta suggest a man playing exceptional golf without quite closing the deal. At Aronimink, where Ross's subtle contours will reward precision over power, Scheffler's ball-striking could prove decisive.
McIlroy, meanwhile, is playing with the freedom of a man unburdened. His Masters victory last month—finally ending that decade-long major drought—has transformed him. He's collecting hardware like a kid collecting trading cards, and the confidence radiating from his game is palpable. When Rory plays free, Rory plays his best.
The Third Wheel Who Might Steal It
Cameron Young has quietly assembled one of the most impressive springs in recent memory. Consider the résumé: third at Arnold Palmer's event, a Players Championship victory, third again at the Masters, and a Cadillac Championship triumph. His tie for tenth at the Truist Championship—powered by a Sunday 74—feels like nothing more than a brief exhale before the major grind.
Young possesses the length to overpower Aronimink's 7,400 yards, but more importantly, he's developed the short-game touch that Ross designs demand. This might be his week.
The Fourth Musketeer
Matthew Fitzpatrick has climbed to that rarified air just below the Scheffler-McIlroy stratosphere. The U.S. Open champion won three of his last four starts before a pedestrian tie for 52nd at the Truist. One major title feels almost criminally inadequate for a player of his caliber—a wrong that Aronimink could help right.
Fitzpatrick's precision game translates beautifully to championship setups. He finds fairways. He controls distances. He putts with the cold efficiency of a surgeon. On a course that will punish wayward approaches with collection areas and runoff slopes, those attributes become invaluable.
The LIV Contingent Lurking
Don't sleep on Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. Both arrive somewhat under the radar—a rarity for players of their stature—and both possess the firepower to tear apart any course on the planet. After the drama that consumed last week's headlines, one imagines they're grateful to let their clubs do the talking.
Brooks Koepka demands mention whenever the PGA Championship appears on the calendar. Three victories in this event. Three. The man treats the Wanamaker like a personal possession he occasionally loans to the PGA of America. Meanwhile, Patrick Reed—another former LIV player now back in the fold—remains the wildcard he's always been: capable of brilliance, prone to chaos, never boring.
What Aronimink Will Ask
Donald Ross designed Aronimink in 1928, and the course has aged like fine bourbon. The greens feature his trademark false fronts and subtle ridges that turn confident approach shots into three-putts. The rough will be penal. The fairways will be firm. Strategy will matter as much as strength.
This is a thinking player's course hosting golf's deepest major field. Somewhere around 156 professionals believe they have a chance. Realistically, perhaps a dozen do. But that's the beauty of major championship golf—certainty is a fool's currency.
The Takeaway
Scheffler and McIlroy occupy their own tier, but Young and Fitzpatrick have earned seats at the table. The LIV contingent—current and former—possesses too much major pedigree to dismiss. Aronimink will reveal its champion by Sunday, and whoever hoists that Wanamaker will have earned it on one of Ross's finest canvases. Pack your patience, find your spots, and enjoy the show.