Aronimink Golf Club reminded the golf world exactly what a major championship setup looks like on Thursday. Entering the 2026 PGA Championship, conven
Aronimink Golf Club reminded the golf world exactly what a major championship setup looks like on Thursday. Entering the 2026 PGA Championship, conventional wisdom suggested the recently restored Donald Ross layout would be torn to pieces. Instead, cold temperatures, persistent 8–14 mph winds, and heavily contoured green complexes combined to drive the field scoring average to a grueling 2.26 strokes over par.
Amidst the chaos, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler orchestrated a masterclass to seize a share of the first-round lead at 3-under 67.
2026 PGA Championship – Round 1 Leaderboard (Top 3-Under Logjam)
T1. Scottie Scheffler (USA) -3 (67)
T1. Min Woo Lee (AUS) -3 (67)
T1. Stephan Jaeger (GER) -3 (67)
T1. Martin Kaymer (GER) -3 (67)
T1. Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) -3 (67)
T1. Ryo Hisatsune (JPN) -3 (67)
T1. Alex Smalley (USA) -3 (67)
Scheffler’s opening 67 marks a massive departure from his recent tournament trends. While he has dominated the golf world over the last two seasons, his primary obstacle in 2026 has been uncharacteristically slow starts. Earlier this year, a pedestrian opening-round 72 left him chasing the field at The Players Championship. He routinely faced steep weekend deficits at events like the Masters and the Heritage.
Remarkably, despite owning two green jackets and a Wanamaker Trophy, this is the first time in Scheffler’s career that he holds a piece of the first-round lead at a major championship. Scheffler hit his first 11 fairways consecutively, finishing the day 13 of 14 off the tee. Scheffler ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Putting on Thursday, draining long birdie putts on the 7th and 10th holes. Despite a minor speedbump three-putt on the 14th hole, he bounced back to navigate Aronimink’s treacherous edges safely.
Many anticipated that a quarter-inch of overnight rain would soften the course and invite a barrage of low scores. However, Aronimink dried rapidly under the blustery sky. The slopes of the fairways funnelled otherwise decent drives into gnarly, punishing rough, neutralizing the advantage of the field’s longest hitters.
The real protection came from tucked pin locations and rapid, glass-like greens. Only 32 of the 156 players in the field managed to break par, turning the afternoon wave into a survival exercise rather than a birdie fest.
With the course keeping a tight lid on low scores, the leaderboard transformed into a historical gridlock. Scheffler sits in a seven-way tie for the lead alongside an eclectic mix of players, including rising star Min Woo Lee and 41-year-old former PGA Champion Martin Kaymer.
The leaderboard behind them is remarkably compact: 48 players sit within three shots of the 3-under lead. This represents the largest group of players within three strokes of the lead after 18 holes in major championship history. Defending champions and major winners like Xander Schauffele (-2) and Shane Lowry (-2) are directly in the rearview mirror.
While unheralded names climbed the board, several pre-tournament favorites suffered shocking, unforced errors:
Rory McIlroy (+4, 74): Fresh off consecutive Masters titles, McIlroy’s driver completely deserted him. He hit just five fairways all day, fighting a persistent two-way miss before closing his round with four straight bogeys.
Bryson DeChambeau (+6, 76): DeChambeau’s high-variance style backfired heavily against Aronimink’s tucked pins. He spent his afternoon hacking out of thick collars and will now face a steep battle on Friday just to make the 36-hole cut.
With cold morning temperatures and swirling winds locked into the forecast for Friday, Aronimink is poised to extend its brutal defense of par.
Radu Roman
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Photo: Instagram
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