The 108th PGA Championship, Preview/Predictions
There are 156 players competing for the coveted Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA., 15 miles west of downtown “Philadelphia, PA.,” as the 108th PGA Championship transpires Thursday through Sunday, and features all the best players in the world on an impressive 1928 Donald Ross design , that was redesigned and restored to its original design by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2016-17. There are 174 bunkers at AGC and the rough is thick at 3 1/2 inches. You either hit the fairway or go in the deep rough, placing a premium on driving accuracy. The bentgrass greens will be stimping at 13 1/2, lightning fast, and the weather looks sunny and dry all week/weekend, so they will stay extremely quick throughout the weekend.
The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler won at Quail Hollow in 2025 with a score of 11 under, 6 clear of Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau, the consummate entertainer, will carry his Youtube golf game to Aronimink this week.
The 2026 season has been electric. Rory captured his sixth major championship with his victory at Augusta National over Scheffler by a shot in April. Cam Young was the winner at the Players Championship. The six winners of the Signature events this season are: Collin Morikawa at the AT&T Pebble Beach (he earned $3.6 M); Jacob Bridgeman at the Genesis Invitational (he won $4 M, player sponsored event by Tiger Woods pays more for first); Akshay Bhatia at the Arnie ($4 M- player sponsored event-late Arnie); Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage, ($3.6 M); Young at the Cadillac Championship ($3.6M); and Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan? at the Truist Championship ($3.6 M). The two other upcoming Signature events are the Memorial Tournament, Jack’s tourney, which will take place June 4th-7th at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio ($4 M to winner), and the Travelers Championship on June 25th-28th at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. ($3.6 M to winner). There are 8 signature events this season with 6 down and two left.
The 126th U.S. Open will be played June 18th-21st at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New Yawk. The 154th Open Championship, or British Open, depending on your preference, will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England July 16th-19th. SEC Media Days will commence in Tampa the following week, Monday, July 20th through Thursday, July 23rd.
This 108th edition at Aronimink will not only give a golfer a legacy that can never be replaced, it will also pay the winner roughly $3.4 million. The winner also has a lifetime invitation to play at the PGA Championship, a five year exemption into the three other majors, full playing status on the tour for five years, automatic qualification for the season ending Tour Championship, and the possible $10 M bonus for winning the Tour Championship. And a shot at the $25 M Fed Ex Cup bonus for winning the Cup. So all good if you’re successful this week.
However, the course is challenging and the competition is fierce. Key holes include the 171 yard par 3, 5th, where bunkers form a semi-circle around a heavily sloped green. The 385 yard Par 4, 13th is a 385 yard Par 4, that is the shortest par 4 at Aronimink. But the tight fairway with the 3 1/2 inch rough has bunkers squeezing it too. A forward tee of 285 will be used for the heavy hitters to go for the green, but it brings out of bounds into play on the left. The 546 yard, par 4, 15th is the longest par 4 for four rounds in a major ever. The 16th hole at the Los Angeles Country Club played 558 yards for a par 4 for the 2023 U.S. Open. The fairway slopes to the left and the green is one of the largest on the course. These greens are massive. There is an open front for the players to run it up onto the putting surface. The 229 yard, par 3, 17th has a pond to the left, so any overcooking puts you in the water. The best shot is to the middle of the green. With a front right pin position, possibly on Sunday, the players will have to clear the bunker to get to it if he HAS to have a birdie. The 490 yard, par 4, 18th is a classic. Off the tee, the players will be challenged with trees on both sides of the fairway and three bunkers on the right side of it. The approach is uphill to a tiered green. Will be a “thrilluh in Philluh” on Sunday. The course is 7,390 yards and a Par 70.
The next two PGA Championships will be held at PGA Frisco (in 2027, Fields Ranch East Course, Frisco, TX) and Valhalla Golf Club (in 2028, Louisville).
Here are the key tee times Thursday with odds for each competitor.
7:18 A.M. CT/8:18 ET- Ludvig Aberg, 16/1; Rickie Fowler, 50/1, playing better, but not sure he’s trustable; DeChambois, 20/1.
7:29 A.M. CT/8:29 East-Xander Schauffele, 16/1, possible, 2024 PGA champion at Valhalla. Brooks Koepka, 40/1, three time PGA Championship champion (2018, 2019 and 2023), five time major winner. The 2017 and ’18 U.S. Open champion also. Tyrrell Hatton, 50/1. LIV player who does challenge in majors. LIV players have shown that they can win majors; Koepka, PGA Championship winner in 2023 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. And DeChambeau, U.S. Open 2024, Pinehurst No.2. But it gets harder and harder when you play Member Guests every weekend with 54 holes and no cuts, rock and roll blaring, and then try to play Serious tournaments; tournaments that are at elite levels. The concentration has to be laser focused, and these guys seem to lose their edge playing on the possibly soon to be defunct tour. Koepka is back playing on the PGA Tour. He had had enough and is very fortunate to be back on tour, but there are financial conditions. Patrick Reed is back as well. There should be consequences for defecting and there are. A lot of lost future earnings, many millions, but it could be worse for guys who are already worth 8 figures, some 9.
7:40 A.M. CT/8:40 East-Rory, 10/1. Six Majors. Getting in rarefied air, but can he win another? Not positive. Has a blister on his foot. Possible problem. Jordan Spieth, 60/1. Still not seeing it. Too much of a head case. Jon Rahm, 12/1. This is a guy who has really fallen off “precipitously” (vocab word for Excedrin) since joining the LIV Tour.
12:32 P.M. CT/1:32 ET-Vik Hovland, 60/1. Kind of gets in his own way like Spieth has for almost a decade. Morikawa, 40/1. Won the PGA Championship at Harding Park in SF in 2020 and the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England. He’s battling a back injury right now, but giving it a whirl. Shane Lowry, 75/1. Won the British Open in 2019 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Made the clinching Ryder Cup winning putt in 2025 at Bethpage “White” Black to keep the Cup with Europe. The next Ryder Cup will be played September 17th-19th at Adare Manor Golf Club in County Limerick, Ireland, so that’ll be a home field for Rory and Shane.
12:43 P.M. CT/1:43 East-Tommy Fleetwood, 25/1. Got a shot. The 2025 Fed Ex Cup winner. Chris Gotterup, 50/1. Has won the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii, and the 2026 Waste Management Open in Phoenix. Bob McIntyre, 75/1. Was a total head case at the Masters. Not as bad as Sergio Garcia, who’s a punk, as he destroyed a tee box at Augusta. But I don’t see Bob with the mental game to handle a major.
12:54 P.M. CT/1:54 East- Cam Young, 11/1. Strong contender. Keegan Bradley, 100/1. Not much of a Ryder Cup captain, but won the 2011 PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club and won the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink, so he’s a possible factor. Justin Thomas, 50/1. The 2017 PGA winner at Quail Hollow, and the 2022 PGA winner at Southern Hills in Tulsa, is playing well now and has a shot.
1:05 P.M. CT/2:05 East-Scottie Scheffler, 5/1. The favorite, as usual. One hundred forty second on the PGA Tour in proximity to hole, so his irons aren’t that sharp heading into Aronimink. Matt Fitzpatrick, 20/1. Hot golfer. Won the Valspar Championship, the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic in N’Awlins with his brother Alex, who has taken full advantage of his 2026 exemption ever since. Justin Rose, 50/1. The 45 year old Englishman seems to always still be in the hunt.
Other key players with shots to win include: Hideki Matsuyama, 40/1; Patrick Cantlay, 50/1; Russell Henley, 50/1; Min Woo Lee, 50/1; Sam Burns, 60/1; Si Woo Kim, 60/1; Adam Scott, 60/1, still playing well; J.J. Spaun, 60/1, defending U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours away from Aronimink near Pittsburgh depending on how fast you’re driving. With my wife that would be 3 1/2 hours. Akshay Bhatia, 75/1; Kurt Kitayama, 75/1, and Sepp Straka, 90/1. Those are pretty good odds for Straka if you pick him to finish in the top 10.
TV
Thursday-11 A.M.-6 P.M. CT/12-7 East. ESPN
Friday-11 A.M.-7 P.M. CT/12-8 East. ESPN
Saturday-Sunday-9 A.M.-12 P.M. CT/10-1 East-ESPN; 12-6 P.M. CT/1-7 East, CBS.
Weather
Thursday, 66, Partly sunny/cloudy, 55% humidity, a little higher, Winds WNW 10-20. 15% chance.
Friday-71, partly sunny, 51% humidity, wind NW 10-15. No rain.
Saturday-83, Mainly sunny. 43% humidity. Very nice conditions. Winds SW 10-15.
Sunday-88, Partly cloudy. Twenty one percent chance of rain. 47% humidity. Winds W 5-10.
The wind will be a factor in this week.
Winner
I’m bullish on Players Championship winners capturing a major the same year they win at TPC Sawgrass. Scheffler won the Players and Masters in 2024, and Rory won the Players and Masters last year. So I’ll take the 28 year old from Scarborough, New Yawk, by way of Wake Forest, and the 2026 Players Championship champion along with the 2026 Cadillac Championship champion. The fifth major and a Signature Event victories resonate with White’s World.
Cameron Young
