NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The second major of 2026 is upon us. The 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink begins Thursday, the year’s second opportunity for someone, anyone to put up a fight against the Scottie Scheffler/Rory McIlroy domination of the sport right now. Scheffler is the defending PGA champion, McIlroy won last month’s Masters, and the two of them are the favorites heading into this week.
But they’re not the only stories. Here are a few we’re watching as the golf world descends on Philadelphia.
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Rory McIlroy
Last year, McIlroy was strangely off-kilter after his epochal Masters victory, finishing T47 at the PGA at Quail Hollow and remaining silent for most of the week. This time around, he’s been more at ease, more willing to talk about his game and the larger issues of golf. Will it translate to a stronger performance in the PGA, where he’s won twice? He’s played just twice in the last two months: the Masters and last week’s Truist Championship, where he finished at -5, well off the lead.
Scottie Scheffler
The defending PGA champion after a bravura performance at Quail Hollow last year, all Scheffler has done in his last three starts is: 2, 2 (playoff loss), 2. An “off” year by Scheffler standards is a career one for anyone else. With four majors in hand, another victory would tie him with Brooks Koepka, second among active PGA Tour players to McIlroy’s six. Scheffler’s been a bit crankier behind the mic of late, but strong scorecards have a way of softening moods.
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Oh, and heads up: he was in Philly before the week even began, getting in reps:
Bryson DeChambeau
Currently the most important figure in golf, if not necessarily the winningest. DeChambeau holds the fate of LIV Golf in his hands — more on that in a minute — and also stands poised to level up as a YouTube/social media player. (DeChambeau: 2 majors. All the other YouTube golfers on earth combined: 0 majors.) There’s still considerable question about whether his iron game is at championship-winning level, but he’s got the talent in every other phase to keep him in contention. The question looming over every round DeChambeau plays from here til December: Where he’ll play next season. Which, of course, leads us to …
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LIV Golf drama
At the last major. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil was under the big oak at Augusta, pressing the flesh and making connections. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley recognized LIV by name at the green jacket ceremony. Days later, news broke that LIV would be losing its Saudi funding at the end of this year, a stunning blow to a league built on excess. O’Neil and the rest of LIV have been trying to put a brave face on this all, but the league will need to find some new funding, pronto, or LIV won’t need to worry about whether or not it prepares its players for the challenge of the majors.
The 2027 Ryder Cup begins now
The PGA of America handles the American side of the Ryder Cup, and that means the Ryder Cup talk will be in full cry early this week. Both European captain Luke Donald and newly named American captain Jim Furyk are scheduled to speak on Wednesday. We’re still 16 months away from the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland, but it’s never too early to start second-guessing the captains.
A general view of the Wanamaker trophy on the 17th hole at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images)
(Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images)
Aronimink Golf Club
The suburban Philly course hasn’t hosted a major since 1962, when a sprightly young Gary Player won the third of his nine majors. But current players do have experience with the course; both Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley have won there. The course’s turtleback greens and numerous bunkers will place a premium on shot selection and putting precision. Someone’s going to clinch a trophy on the greens, and someone — probably several someones — will give it away there, too.
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First-time major winner?
Historically, the PGA Championship has welcomed first-time champions. Since 2010, eight players have won their first (and, in some cases, only) major at the PGA: Martin Kaymer, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Jason Day, Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. There are a whole lot of zero-major players posting some very strong numbers this year, including Cam Young, Jacob Bridgeman, Chris Gotterup, Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood. Any one of them has the game to hoist the massive Wanamaker Trophy next weekend.
The PGA Championship begins on Thursday. Stick with Yahoo Sports for reports all week long from Aronimink.
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