108th PGA Championship
Course: Aronimink Golf Club (7,394 yards, par 70)
Purse: $19,000,000
Winner: $3,420,000 and 750 FedExCup Points
Tournament Preview
The PGA Championship moving from August to May back in 2019 filled what used to be a sizable gap from the first major of the season and the second. Now the schedule is so compact that it feels like you can't really even catch your breath anymore. The Masters was just five weeks ago and in that time since we have had three Signature Events, including each of the last two weeks. This is an extremely busy part of the schedule for the top players, but this should really be what mid-season form looks like. Expect to see some terrific golf this week.
The 108th PGA Championship takes us back to the Philadelphia area and Aronimink Golf Club. This will be the 10th time the PGA Championship has been hosted in Pennsylvania, but the first since 1978 when it was held at Oakmont. Aronimink hosted the PGA Championship back in 1962 when Gary Play emerged victorious. While that is the only time it has hosted a men's major championship, Aronimink has recently hosted three PGA Tour events (2010 AT&T National, 2011 AT&T National, 2018 BMW PGA Championship). It also hosted the 2020 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will be looking to defend his title this week after he won by five shots last year at Quail Hollow. Scheffler will be fresh after electing to skip the Truist Championship last week. Rory McIlroy will be looking to go 2-for-2 at the majors in 2026. The two-time Masters champion is also a two-time PGA Championship winner (2012, 2014). A win this week for McIlroy would move him into an impressive club alongside Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer as players to win seven major championships.
While Scheffler and McIlroy will be the biggest storylines pretty much every time they tee it up, the PGA Championship is known by many to be the best field in golf. Minus the 20 PGA Professionals that made the field, almost any of the 156 players here at Aronimink could end up prevailing. We've seen a number of big names win the Wanamaker trophy lately, but this championship has also seen a number of surprise winners over the years.
Two names who would not be surprise winners are Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick. These two battled down the stretch of THE PLAYERS Championship with Young ultimately winning out. Fitzpatrick has come back with three wins since then, including the RBC Heritage where he outlasted Scheffler in a playoff. Young also grabbed another victory two weeks ago at the Signature Event in Doral. Given the form of both players this year, a Wanamaker trophy would go a long way in in helping them ascend closer to the class that Scheffler and McIlroy reside in.
Speaking of a class that elite players reside in, one player has the opportunity to do what only six men have done before in the game of golf this week. Jordan Spieth is missing just a PGA Championship title from achieving the Career Grand Slam. McIlroy was the last to join the club when he won the 2025 Masters. Scheffler can also join the club in a month's time with a victory at the U.S. Open. Spieth has played good golf in spurts this year, but he hasn't quite put everything together at the same time. Spieth has not won a PGA Tour event since the 2022 RBC Heritage and has not won a major championship since the 2017 Open Championship.
Apart from Xander Schauffele's record-setting score of 21-under-par in 2024 at Valhalla, the PGA of America has done a very good job of setting up a very challenging test for the best players in the world. Over the last five years throwing out 2024, Scheffler is the only player to break double-digits under-par over 72 holes at the PGA Championship. We'll see what Aronimink has in store. It is not the longest golf course by any means, but the greens will be the biggest defense, as they are very large and undulating. Avoiding the 174 bunkers will also be quite the challenge.
Keegan Bradley won at Aronimink in a playoff over Justin Rose back in 2018 at 20-under-par, but there was a significant amount of rain that fell that week. While we are expecting some rainfall on Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, the rest of the forecast looks quite promising. By the weekend I would expect this course to really firm up and the greens to be on the slick side. We are also expecting wind gusts each day to reach up into the 20 mph range, which should also keep scoring somewhat in check.
Recent Champions
2025 - Scottie Scheffler (-11) at Quail Hollow
2024 - Xander Schauffele (-21) at Valhalla
2023 - Brooks Koepka (-9) at Oak Hill
2022 - Justin Thomas (-5) at Southern Hills
2021 - Phil Mickelson (-6) at Kiawah Island
2020 - Collin Morikawa (-13) at TPC Harding Park
2019 - Brooks Koepka (-8) at Bethpage Black
2018 - Brooks Koepka (-16) at Bellerive
2017 - Justin Thomas (-8) at Quail Hollow
2016 - Jimmy Walker (-14) at Baltusrol
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting/3-Putt Avoidance
- SG: Off-the-tee/Driving Distance
- SG: Around-the-Green/Sand Save Percentage
Champion's Profile
The fairways are pretty spacious at Aronimink if you are playing strategically. What I mean by that is there are a lot of pockets of bunkers that jet into the fairways at certain distances. Players will have to decide how far up they want to be on each hole to give themselves the widest landing zones. Distance will definitely help this week, but I don't think you necessarily need to be one of the longest hitters to contend.
Iron play and putting will be the two main separators. A lot of approach shots on these mid-length par-4s should be coming from similar positions. That typically always favors the better irons players. While the greens are large at 8,300 square feet, most of them have a ton of movement. Players will have to be creative with their approach shots to use the slopes to try to get the ball to roll out closer to the hole. Being slightly off with you approach shots could also lead to the ball finding the wrong slope and rolling off the green into a tricky collection area.
I'm very high on putting this week. The last two winners at Aronimink on the PGA Tour both led the field in SG: Putting. Because of the sheer size of the greens and intense undulation, 3-putts will be very common this week. Those that are locked in with their line and speed, however, will definitely be able to separate. Lag putting will be just as critical this week as it is at Augusta.
Lastly we can't overlook sand play. There are 174 bunkers on the course. Many of them are pretty small and finding one of them likely will leave a very challenging shot. The ones around the green are more doable, but all the cross bunkers within 70 yards of the greens on a lot of these holes could certainly compound issues if you get out of position off the tee.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Scottie Scheffler ($14,000)
To no surprise Scheffler is the runaway top option in my model this week. He's coming off three straight runner-up finishes and really seems to have everything working. Scheffler ranks top-15 on Tour in a number of key stats this week including SG: Off-the-Tee, GIR percentage, SG: Putting, 3-putt avoidance and scrambling. His record in the PGA Championship is sensational with five top-8 finishes in six career starts, including that five-shot win a year ago.
Rory McIlroy ($12,800)
McIlroy was a little rusty at Quail Hollow as you might expect after taking three weeks off following his Masters victory. That said, the ball striking is still there as he was first in SG: Off-the-Tee and T2 in GIR. McIlroy just needs to clean up the short game and putting, but both of those were much better on Sunday when he shot a 67 to surge back into the top 20. I'd expect them to be very sharp for the PGA Championship. McIlroy also took a scouting trip during his time off to Aronimink, so he will have a good idea of how the golf course is going to play.
Cameron Young ($11,600)
Young was in position to win again on the PGA Tour last week, but a poor putting performance on Sunday left him in T10. Nonetheless, it's hard to argue with how good his form is right now. He has six top-10 finishes in his last seven starts, including a pair of victories. Young is a truly complete player now ranking top 25 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, SG: Around-the-Green, GIR percentage and scrambling. It would be hard to see a scenario in which he is not in the mix on the weekend.
Bryson DeChambeau ($11,400)
It's hard to go back to DeChambeau after he burned me so bad at The Masters, but his record at the PGA Championship of late is quite impressive. He has finished T4 or better in four of the last five years in this event. DeChambeau, and in particular his short game, looked much better last week at LIV Golf Virginia en route to a solo third finish. He will have a lot of motivation to play well at Aronimink and prove he still deserves to be among the favorites at the biggest events.
The Middle Tier
Tommy Fleetwood ($10,800)
Fleetwood might be a little pricy for The Middle Tier, but I did want to highlight him, as I think he brings quality value with a lot of $11K+ players this week. He is coming off a strong T5 showing at Quail Hollow and he now has five top-10 finishes on the year. What stands out even more is the fact that he has gained strokes on the greens in four straight events. Fleetwood putted so well the second half of 2025 and it led to a ton of great finishes. The Englishman finished T8 at Aronimink back in 2018 and had a very strong putting week.
Justin Rose ($10,500)
I had to do a double-take when I saw how strong Rose's record at the PGA Championship has been over the years. He's got seven top-10s and 13 top-25s in this event, but he has finished T13 or better in five of the last six years at the PGA. Rose also has the best record at Aronimink of any player in this field. He won here in 2010, finished T15 in 2011 and then lost in a playoff in 2018. Rose struggled in his last two starts, but at his age we know all his focus is being put into trying to peak at the majors. I expect another quality showing from the 45-year-old this week.
Patrick Cantlay ($9,900)
Cantlay has really been rolling of late with four straight top-12 finishes, including at The Masters where he was among the leaders in SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green. The model really likes Cantlay this week as he is 22nd in SG: Off-the-Tee, 20th in GIR percentage, 22nd in SG: Around and 20th in scrambling this season. Cantlay doesn't have the best major record for as accomplished of a player as he is, but he does have a T3 and a T9 at the PGA Championship since 2019. He was also in the field the last two times Aronimink hosted a PGA Tour event.
Rickie Fowler ($9,400)
Fowler nearly won last week at Quail Hollow, but ultimately settle for a T2 finish, his third straight top-10 result. He certainly took just missing out on the Masters to heart and has really dedicated himself to getting better. Fowler is now up to 12th in the DataGolf rankings, which gives him exceptional value this week at just under $9.5K. His game across the board has been quite impressive and he lands second on Tour in par-4 scoring average. Fowler has six top-25s at the PGA Championship, and was T8 the last time Aronimink hosted a PGA Tour event in 2018.
The Long Shots
Alex Smalley ($8,500)
Smalley is really in great form having finished top 25 in his last five starts. The 29-year-old has also missed just one cut in 2026. Smalley has been a very well-rounded player this season ranking 62nd or better in all strokes gained metrics. He also is top 15 on Tour in GIR percentage, proximity and par-4 scoring. Smalley is a player you can rely on down here to at minimum make the weekend, and he has proven his ceiling to be pretty high as well.
Nick Taylor ($8,400)
Taylor is more than likely going to beat his best career PGA Championship finish of T68 this week. The confidence is up following a T9 at the Cadillac Championship and a T14 at the Truist Championship the last two weeks. He also has just one missed cut on the entire season. The lack of distance won't hurt Taylor as much at Aronimink as it might have at some other major championship courses. The Canadian makes up for it by ranking 28th in SG: Approach, sixth in SG: Around-the-Green, 22nd in scrambling and 17th in 3-putt avoidance.
Alex Fitzpatrick ($8,300)
While Fitzpatrick was unable to hold onto the 54-hole lead last week, it was still a very impressive fourth-place finish in which he led the field at a Signature Event in SG: Approach and GIR's. That was on a course that hosted the PGA Championship just last year as well. The form is simply too good for the price Fitzpatrick is at this week as he has gone T14-T6-Win-Win-T9-4th in his last six starts. He is clearly a deserving player that should should have full PGA Tour status and be in these big events. This will be just Fitzpatrick's second ever major start. The first was a T17 back at the 2023 Open Championship.
Matt McCarty ($8,200)
McCarty is another player who has been on a heater in the low-$8K range this week. After a T24 at The Masters, McCarty has gone T12-T10-T9-T10 all in consecutive weeks. There's a chance the lefty could run out of gas at the PGA, but he profiles very well for Aronimink. McCarty is a tremendous putter and has really started trending with his approach play. He now sits 15th on Tour in proximity to the hole this season.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
I mentioned earlier in the article that the PGA Championship is now the best field in golf and that really allows for a number of different lineup construction options. I'm usually pretty high on the $9K range, but there wasn't a lot of options there that really stood out in great form. Given how deep the low-$8K and upper-$7K ranges are, along with the elite form of the top options, it really does feel like more of a "Stars and Scrubs" build. In saying that I do feel like a lot of those guys in the "scrub" range will have very strong weeks as well on this golf course given the importance of putting.
A few players who feel overvalued to me this week are Jon Rahm ($11,900), Brooks Koepka ($10,600) and Viktor Hovland ($10,100). On the other end of the spectrum, a few players who feel undervalued not mentioned above would be Kristoffer Reitan ($8,300), Sudarshan Yellamaraju ($7,900) and John Parry ($7,500). Remember Top 70 and ties will make the cut this week at the PGA Championship, up from the Top 65 and ties we normally see from week-to-week on the PGA Tour.
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