Congratulations to Aaron Rai, the much-deserved 2026 PGA Championship winner. What a back nine. What a putt. What moxie. What an incredibly inspirational and likeable victor. England has waited a long time for its second PGA champion, just the 107 years, and when it happened, it proved worth hanging around for. Andy Bull’s report is below; thanks for reading this one.
-9: Aaron Rai
-6: Jon Rahm, Alex Smalley
-5: Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Matti Schmid
-4: Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
-3: Kurt Kitayama, Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Patrick Reed
-2: Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler, Max Greyserman, Ben Griffin
-1: Jordan Spieth, Stephan Jaeger, Padraig Harrington, David Puig, Harris English, Min Woo Lee, Joaquin Niemann, Maverick McNealy
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Aaron Rai’s victory snaps the USA’s ten-year run of wins at the PGA Championship. It’s Europe’s first victory since Rory McIlroy won his second title in 2014, and only the third time an English player has won the tournament. Though of course what really stands out is that Rai has broken England’s 107-year wait to find someone to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Jim Barnes, who won the very first PGA Championship in 1916 and retained his title when the competition was next held in 1919. For the record, Barnes went on to win the US Open in 1921 and the Open in 1925. No pressure, Aaron! Though to be fair, ticking off a box that’s remained unticked for over a century is more than enough achievement for any career.
Then on that birdie putt on 17: “I definitely wasn’t trying to hole that putt! The shadow of the pin gave a really nice line for the last ten feet … that definitely helped with the visual … I was trying to put a good speed on it … it just tracked well on the last half … amazing to see that one go in!”
… and then the Wanamaker Trophy is presented to the winner of the 108th PGA Championship: Aaron Rai! The trophy is a big boy, but Rai still manages to hoick it up and peer around it, his smile shining even brighter than the silver. “It’s very surreal,” he tells CBS. “It’s been a frustrating season so to be stood here is outside of my wildest imagination! Golf is an amazing game … it teaches you so many things … so much humility … discipline … hard work … nothing is ever given … golf teaches you so many amazing life skills … pretty much every guy on tour, they’re all incredible people … the sport should be very proud of the ambassadors that represent the PGA Tour and the PGA of America.”
Schmid and Smalley will of course be disappointed. But that doesn’t stop them both embracing Rai warmly, each man telling the winner that they’re really happy for him. Rai sets about hugging everyone, but in the meantime, the crowd congregate for the prize-giving ceremony. And first up, Ben Kern gets his trophy for finishing as the low club pro. He receives his crystal bowl and holds it to the sky.
Alex Smalley and Matti Schmid finish their rounds. Smalley with birdie for a round of 70 that grabs a share of second, par for Matti Schmid for a 69 and a share of fourth. Both of these previously unheralded players can be proud of their week’s work, and the fact that neither let their standards slip under the weight of business-end-of-major pressure. They played their part.
-9: Rai (F)
-6: Rahm (F), Smalley (F)
-5: Thomas (F), Åberg (F), Schmid (F)
-4: Smith (F), McIlroy (F), Schauffele (F)
.. and to think at the start of the week, some of the bigger hitters were talking about bombing and gouging their way around, planning to bring Aronimink to its knees in base fashion. Well, they’ve all been taken to school by one of the great performances, a textbook display of planning, smart course management, nervelessness, perfect execution, patience … and of course bags of skill and sheer talent.
That is one of the all-time final rounds at a major by Aaron Rai. After bogeys at 6 and 8, the 31-year-old from Wolverhampton had slipped to -3 and looked to be falling out of contention. But that eagle putt on 9 changed everything. A downhill right-to-left swinger from 40 feet, you’d have put good money on that being his putt of the day. But no. After a simply wonderful run of controlled golf between holes 10 and 16 – straight driving, laser irons, birdie putts and staunch par saves – Rai went and did that on 17, another big right-to-left curler, this time over a ridge, this time from 68 feet. And the crowd went wild. His final ten holes: 3-4-3-4-3-3-4-4-2-4. An absolute masterclass. As good as it gets.
While the Is were dotted and the Ts crossed, Jon Rahm made par for a closing round of 68. He’s done very little wrong this week, and it’s good to have the big man back competing at the business end of a major tournament. He briefly lets a look of disappointment wash across his face, but the warm love of the gallery quickly cheers him up. Hopefully this has got him match fit for Shinnecock Hills and Birkdale. He’s -6.
Aaron Rai wins the 2026 PGA Championship!
… Alex Smalley leaves his birdie putt on 17 well short. He misses the par putt, but by then it’s already all over! Aaron Rai is the deserved winner of the 2026 PGA Championship after coming back in 31, the pièce de résistance that outrageous 68-foot birdie putt on 17!
-9: Rai (F)
-6: Rahm (F)
-5: Thomas (F), Åberg (F), Schmid (17), Smalley (17)
… but realistically, we know this is done. Smalley’s tee shot at 17 lands pin high; he’ll have a 25-foot look at birdie to keep this going. Back in the scorer’s tent, Rai finally allows himself an elongated, relaxed smile. A long hug with his caddie, then an even longer one with Gaurika. And then on the 17th …
Aaron Rai embraces his wife, fellow professional golfer Gaurika Bishnoi. They’re not taking anything for granted yet, but it’s an understandably joyous moment. They’ve caddied for each other, her at the Masters par-three contest, he on the Ladies European Tour. It’s so sweet to see them get to enjoy this life-changing event together. Though on 16, Alex Smalley make eagle to keep his faint hopes alive. He’ll need a 1-3 or 2-2 finish, though! What’s more likely? An ace at 17 or a hole-out for eagle from 150 yards on 18?
-9: Rai (F)
-6: Rahm (17), Smalley (16)
Rai shoots 65
Aaron Rai tickles his right-to-left birdie slider down to tap-in distance. He tidies up, and that’s a 65. Back in 31. His final ten holes: 3-4-3-4-3-3-4-4-2-4. A run that included an eagle and a 68-foot birdie putt! He acknowledges the crowd, holds up his ball to thank everyone, allows himself a smile, more of relief than excitement, then hugs his caddie and Ludvig Åberg in order. It’s not official yet, but despite something very psychedelic happening, Aaron Rai is going to be the first English winner of the PGA Championship since 1919!
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Rai closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths as he waits for Ludvig Åberg to roll in a birdie putt for a 69 and a -5 finish. That’s a fine putt, somewhat out of keeping with the rest of his flat-stick work this week. Hey, him and Scottie Scheffler, that’s not bad company to be keeping.
Jon Rahm sends a highly decent tee shot into the heart of the par-three 17th. But it’s not going to be enough. Because up on 18, Aaron Rai does what he’s been doing all day. He sends a calm, careful, graceful iron from 170 yards straight at the flag. It bounces 12 feet past. The knowledgable gallery salute Rai, the PGA champion golfer elect, giving him a warm standing ovation as he takes the walk he’ll have dreamed of up the final fairway on major-championship Sunday. He’s stayed in the moment for every shot all week, and he’s clearly not of a mind to get ahead of himself, because while he graciously acknowledges his reception, he keeps his gaze for the most part on the green ahead. Still work to be done. Hey, it’s the attitude that got him here. But we can get excited! What a performance this has been!
Up on the 18th green, Rory McIlroy pars and signs for a 69. He looks drained and not particularly happy, but shares a friendly word with Xander Schauffele, who birdied 16 and 18 to rescue his round. A 69 for the 2024 winner too. They both end the week at -4.
In post-Lord-Mayor’s-Show news, Matti Schmid meanwhile tidies up for his bogey on 15. Then carves his tee shot at 16 towards the gallery down the right. He cops a decent lie in the trodden-down rough. Jon Rahm birdies 16, but that might be too little, too late. Because then Aaron Rai, in the zone, whip-cracks a glorious drive down the left of the 18th fairway. He’s surely one good swing, and a couple of careful putts, away from glory!
-9: Rai (17)
-6: Rahm (16)
-5: Thomas (F), Schmid (15)
Rai makes a 68-footer for birdie on 17!
… Aaron Rai draws his putter back, nearly to the eight-o’-clock mark, then sends his ball up and over the diagonal ridge running across the 17th green. It trundles off on an elegant, smooth roll. Then it seems to be gliding on air as it drifts along its route from right to left, one of those that suddenly seems to be on an inexorable journey into the cup. Twenty feet from the cup … hold on, that’s going in. Ten feet … that really is going in! The shade of the flagstick seems to be guiding it home! And in it drops! Absolutely dead centre! Perfect pace! The perfect putt! One which makes JJ Spaun’s US Open winner look like a tap-in! The crowd go ballistic, and for a minute there’s no reaction from Rai, who can’t quite believe what he’s just done. But he’s done it! And finally, as he walks up to pluck the ball from the cup, he gives his caddie a quick look, exchanges a wee smile and a fist bump, and that is one of the great major-championship moments of all time! He stays calm as he wanders off. A nod to the gallery. Thank you, he mouths. So modest. So brilliant. What a hero!
-9: Rai (17)
Matti Schmid’s long par putt on 15 has plenty of right-to-left swing. But it’s also got a few micro-swerves along the route. So he does extremely well to dribble it down to three feet. It’s some putt … but over on 17 …
Aaron Rai isn’t flirting with the water on 17. He sends his tee shot into the meat of the green, front right, but he’ll have a long, long 70-footer over a ridge from there. We’ve seen plenty of players leaving that putt well short. But he’s dry. And back on 15, Matti Schmid can only find the back-right portion of the green with the pin front-left, a poor wedge from the centre of the fairway. That’s a long look at par, also from 70 feet.
Rai misreads the eagle putt, which stays high on the left side. But it’s a tap in for birdie. Closer and closer. Åberg birdies too. Meanwhile back on 15, Schmid can only take his medicine and splash out of the fairway bunker. And Rory McIlroy pars 17, then with his race run, sends his driver at 18 into the thick rough down the left. It doesn’t really matter any more. He’s -4 and the dream of a calendar grand slam is gone.
-8: Rai (16)
-6: Schmid (14)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (15)
-4: Smith (F), McIlroy (17), Åberg (16), Smalley (14)
Matti Schmid carves his tee shot at 15 into a bunker down the right. That’s a good break, because it was wild enough to disappear into the thick oomska covering the bank. But it’s still out of position on the longest par-four in major-championship history. And it could be a big moment, because up on the par-five 16th, Aaron Rai arrows a four-iron straight at the green from 209 yards, the ball taking a friendly bounce left and rolling up to 16 feet! He’ll have a look at eagle which could come very close to closing this out!
Matti Schmid’s birdie putt from the fringe at the back of 14 isn’t far from dropping. One-and-a-half more turns, let’s say. But the par suffices. He remains one off Aaron Rai’s lead, while the leader himself finds another fairway, this time down the right of the par-five 16th.
-7: Rai (15)
-6: Schmid (14)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (14)
-4: Smith (F), McIlroy (16), Smalley (14)
You’ll have spotted that Rory McIlroy made par on the 16th. He was always out of position down the right; he was always dealing with overly excited, overly relaxed patter merchants in the gallery. In the end his patience snaps, and he points one of them out to the stewards. That’ll be him turfed out on his ear, though you do wonder how much of that scene is down to McIlroy’s irritation with lubricated punters or his chances of victory running out. He remains at -4.
Matti Schmid isn’t done yet! In front of a sadly sparse crowd for the final group in a major, he makes birdie at 13, then holds the back of the green with his tee shot into 14. Meanwhile it’s two putts for par for Aaron Rai at 15, and this is surely going all the way.
-7: Rai (15)
-6: Schmid (13)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (14)
-4: Smith (F), McIlroy (15), Smalley (13)
Justin Rose finishes with a string of pars all along the back nine. A final round of 69 to go with yesterday’s 65. A fine weekend’s work, but though he holed out for an eagle to make the cut on Friday, it was the slow start that day that cooked him: two double bogeys and two bogeys in his first six holes. He’s -3 and it’ll be another top-ten finish at a major. He’s got quite a lot of those.
Rai sends a long iron fading into the 15th. One more bounce, and the ball wold surely be gathered by the slope of the green towards the flag, and it’d be a birdie chance. But it doesn’t take one more bounce, and only just squeaks onto the green. Well, we say only, but he’ll have a putt for birdie from 25 feet.
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Nick Taylor replicates Rory McIlroy’s bogey on 13 almost perfectly. Drive towards the trees on the right, wedge short of the green and into rough, a second chip miles short of the flag, and two putts. He slips to -3 and that’s the end of it for Canada’s hopes. Just the par meanwhile for his partner Jon Rahm, who hasn’t got anything going on the back nine, but he’s not made any big mistakes either, and remains within striking distance at -5. But Aaron Rai’s nerve continues to hold, and he finds another fairway from the tee, this time at the 15th. Rai’s last six holes, starting with his eagle at the 9th: 3-4-3-4-3-3. It’s wonderfully controlled golf.
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Rory McIlroy nearly steers in a sensational 50-foot birdie putt on the monster par-four 15th. One turn away from dropping, otherwise perfectly judged with its huge right-to-left swing. He’d have probably taken par when watching his tee shot disappear into the deep rough. He remains at -4, where he’s joined by Patrick Reed, who very nearly holes out for eagle with a delicate 35-yard wedge from the cabbage on 16.
Aaron Rai clips his tee shot at the par-three 14th pin high, but 30 feet right of the flag. He rolls the birdie putt up to kick-in distance, and that’s another hole negotiated for the leader. England now four holes away from her first PGA Championship winner since 1919. He’s -7. Bogey however for Ludvig Åberg, the result of sending his tee shot over the back. He’s -3.
Aaron Rai keeps on keeping on! His drive at the short par-four 13th disappears into a bunker at the front of the green, but he swishes a long sand shot high over the face, from 39 yards to six feet! In goes the putt, and he’s suddenly two clear. Birdie also for his playing partner Ludvig Åberg, who returns to -4, hanging on. See also Rory McIlroy, who sends a tramliner into the cup on 14 for birdie, and back to -4 again, he’s not yet out of this either!
-7: Rai (13)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (12), Schmid (11)
-4: Smith (F), McIlroy (14), Åberg (13), Taylor (12), Smalley (11)
… but any playoff won’t feature Cameron Smith. His birdie putt on 18 stays stubbornly out on the right, and though that’s a fine closing round of 68, he wanders off in a state of mild disappointment. To be fair, he only hit three fairways all day, so 68 was some achievement. And when the pain subsides, he’ll be proud of this close miss, especially as he’d not made the cut in his previous six majors. He finishes the week at -4. He’s back, baby!
It’s probably time to clarify this, just in case. “In the event of a tie for first place after 72 holes, there will be a three-hole aggregate score playoff on holes 10, 17, 18. If still tied, there will be a sudden death playoff on 18 repeated.”
The wind has dropped. So it’s not beyond the realms for a player to string together a few carpe-diem holes on this admittedly rock-hard closing stretch. Cameron Smith finds the big fairway bunker down the right of 18, but whips a delicious long sand shot over the flag to set up a 15-foot birdie chance to keep his hopes alive. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy knocks his tee shot at the par-three 14th pin high, and will have a look at a bounceback birdie from 25 feet.
… but Rory can’t make it. He stops four feet short, and that’s a bogey on a short par-four where he’d have been dreaming of birdie. At -3, he becomes another player whose hopes are now dangling by a thread. Xander Schauffele also bogeys 13, the result of his failure to get up onto the green from a swale in just one shot, and that’s the 2024 champ’s race run. He’s -2.
Aaron Rai sends a drive down the middle of 12. His second looks destined to go close, but takes a hot bounce through the green and down a bank. His chip back up is a wee bit short, but his nerves hold, and he tickles in the five-footer for par. That’s a big save. And in other big-save news … can Rory McIlroy make one? He can only find greenside rough with his second from the trees on 13, then his chip on stalls on a ridge across the big green and rolls back. He’s left with a 50-footer for par.
Cameron Smith sends a conservative tee shot into 17. It’s only a 171-yard par-three, but it’s playing the second hardest hole on the course today. It’s too conservative, miles from the water on the left, but 80 feet from the pin on the right. He doesn’t give the long putt anywhere near enough, and as the ball slowly rolls to a halt, 12 feet short, a butterfly momentarily lands on it, as if to taunt. That could be costly … and it is. His second putt is sent too far out to the right, doesn’t break back, and that’s a bogey. Now he needs a birdie at the last, and even then the best he could achieve is a place in a play-off. There are surely too many players still out there for that to happen, surely. He’s -4.
Rory at the driveable par-four 13th. He flays a 3-wood into the trees down the right. Getting on the green, never mind close to the pin, will be a success from there. Meanwhile Matti Schmid can’t get up and down for his par at 10, and Asron Rai leads the PGA Championship all on his own!
-6: Rai (11)
-5: Thomas (F), Smith (16), Rahm (10), Schmid (10)
-4: McIlroy (12), Taylor (10), Smalley (9)
Aaron Rai rolls in his birdie putt, and he’s suddenly co-leader of the PGA Championship! Things could get even better for him quite soon, because Matti Schmid has found more trouble off the tee, this time down the left of 10, and his lie is bad enough to necessitate a conservative hack out, almost sideways, not wishing to get a flyer that might take his ball into the water on the left. But he’ll now need to get up and down from 63 yards to retain co-ownership of the lead!
-6: Rai (11), Schmid (9)
-5: Thomas (F), Smith (16), Rahm (10)
-4: McIlroy (11), Taylor (10), Smalley (9)
Xander Schauffele’s shenanigans on 11 cost him a shot. He’s -3 and like Åberg now a patron of the last-chance saloon. Especially as Aaron Rai, in the match behind, wedges from 100 yards to four feet. At the moment, the Englishman looks the calmest and most in-control of all the players out there.
Ludvig Åberg has also putted poorly this week. And now he misses a par tiddler on 10 to fall back to -3. Dangerously close to finding himself out of contention. Back on 9, Matti Schmid makes his par, while Alex Smalley isn’t too far away from draining a 33-foot eagle putt. He taps in for birdie, and not for the first time this week, he’s responded to adversity – this time dropping three strokes in as may holes - very well. He’s -4.
“I just couldn’t get anything going on the greens this week.” A statement of the bleeding obvious by Scottie Scheffler on Sky Sports. As for the possibility of completing the career slam at the US Open next month: “I really don’t look that far ahead. I was never the guy growing up saying I was going to win all the majors. I dreamed of playing golf on the PGA Tour.”
Xander Schauffele finds a fairway bunker down the right of 11, then smacks his second into the face of it. The ball squirts out, but only into nearby rough. Work to be done there. He wedges his third into the green, but the ball takes a hot hop, and nearly topples off the back. It’s a long way for par. Meanwhile from the bottom of the swale front-right of 10, Aaron Rai underhits his chip up, the ball only just getting over the top of the bank. But he rolls in the 15-footer that remains. What a momentum saver after his eagle! Meanwhile Matti Schmid takes his medicine from the rough on 9, and finds the back of the green with his third. Rai Country. After a fairly lengthy lull, there’s suddenly a lot of movement going on.
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… and on the long par-four 15th, Cameron Smith scrambles his par for the fourth time in six holes. Up and down from the bunker at the front of the green. What he’d have given for that after sending a wild hook miles left off the tee. Justin Thomas will still fancy this.
-6: Schmid (8)
-5: Thomas (F), Smith (14), Rai (9), Taylor (9), Rahm (9)
-4: McIlroy (10), Schauffele (10), Åberg (10)
“Wunderbar! Sehr gut!” A couple of wags in the gallery holler after Matti Schmid takes his tee shot at 9. A bit prematurely, so it turns out, as the ball disappears into the rough on the left. Meanwhile up on the green, Nick Taylor’s birdie effort stops one dimple short of dropping. Frustration as he pars to hit the turn in 34. He’s at -5, as is his partner Jon Rahm, who underhits an eagle effort from Aaron Rai Country, but tidies up from four feet for birdie.
Does anything rattle Matti Schmid? He’s on the edge of the 10th green, with a swale in between him and the 8th green he’s actually playing. He opts to putt through it, down and up, from 50 feet to three. That’s an astonishing save! But it’s a bogey for Alex Smalley, who drops further behind to -2. It’s beginning to get away from Smalley, but Schmid appears to be holding things together impressively. Of course, neither man have any experience of winning on tour, and this is Sunday afternoon at a major, so anything could happen. We have no data set. But for now, Schmid is going along nicely.
While Rory was disappointingly parring 9, his playing partner Xander Schauffele made birdie to hit the turn in 34; the 2024 champion is -4. And then some proper action on the hole from the pair coming behind! Ludvig Åberg very nearly rakes in a 50-footer for eagle; Aaron Rai makes his eagle putt, though, a 40-foot left-to-right downhill slider that gets the gallery going again! Åberg returns to -4; Rai’s back in serious contention at -5.
Should Matti Schmid close this out, he’d become the second German to win the title, after Martin Kaymer in 2010. But there’s plenty of slip between cup and lip, and he whistles his tee shot at the par-three 8th over the back of the green, the ball disappearing down a swale at the back and nearly reaching the nearby 10th green. Cameron Smith, meanwhile, would become the sixth Australian winner, after Jim Ferrier (1947), David Graham (1979), Wayne Grady (1990), Steve Elkington (1995) and Jason Day (2015). But he might need a birdie or two, and lets a good chance on 14 slip by from 15 feet. After three good scrambles in a row, Smith has missed a couple of makeable putts. All pars, but is that enough? Maybe. Maybe not. It still might be!
Rory opts to take Texas wedge from off the front of 9. He overhits the putt up over the ridge, and leaves himself a seven-footer coming back. He doesn’t make it, over-reading the left-to-right curl. He twirls his putter in the air in frustration. That’s just a par, on the easiest hole on the course, after a perfect 379-yard drive. He won’t get many easier chances to eat into the lead.
There’s a bit of a lull. Aronimink subdued. Everyone treading water at the moment. Cameron Smith tries his best to crank it up on 13, but his 20-foot birdie effort rolls harmlessly by. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy batters a 379-yard drive down the par-five 9th, but from the centre of the fairway, hits the false front of the green, and his ball topples backwards. He’s now got work to do if he’s to get up and down and make the birdie he requires.
Scheffler ends his week at -2
Scottie Scheffler isn’t able to defend his trophy. He follows birdie at 16 with bogey at 17 and par at 18. The sort of erratic behaviour that’s pock-marked his week’s play. A final round of 69. Over to his US Open bid at Shinnecock Hills, where he’ll attempt to join Rory and pals on the career-slam roll of honour.
… and while Smalley faffs around, his playing partner Matti Schmid finds the green in regulation, then rolls in a 20-footer for birdie! Two putts for Smalley, and it’s a double bogey. A three-shot swing in matchplay terms between the players in the final group. All change! And tell you what, with Jon Rahm likely to bogey 7, having sent his tee shot into waist-high nonsense, and Cameron Smith clinging on by his fingernails, scrambling pars at 10, 11 and 12 despite some wild driving, clubhouse leader Justin Thomas won’t be leaving the property just yet.
-6: Schmid (6)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (6), Smith (12), Taylor (6)
-4: McIlroy (8), Åberg (7), Rai (7), Smalley (6)
Trouble for Alex Smalley again. But it doesn’t look as though he’s going to wriggle out of it this time. He sends his tee shot at 6 into thick rough down the left … then can only advance his second further along the rough. He tries to bundle his third into the front of the green, like the course architect Donald Ross wants you to … but underhits it, and the ball dies off to the right of the fairway. He then thins his chip, and will be looking at a 20-footer coming back for bogey.
Apart from Cameron Smith, none of the contenders still out on the course are more than one under for their round. Given they’re all, other than Smith, still on the supposedly easier front nine, where you need to make hay, this suggests the slightly stronger wind, along with the pressure of major-championship Sunday, is making its effect felt. Accordingly, there’s currently a 25.9 percent chance of this finishing in a play-off. Can anyone make a break from the peloton?
The 2008 champion Padraig Harrington, now a 54-year-old veteran, still knows how to entertain a crowd. He holes out from a greenside bunker at 16 for eagle … then on 18, trundles in a wedge from the fringe for valedictory birdie! That’s a round of 69 and he finishes the week in red figures at -1.
A much-needed birdie for Justin Rose at 9. That’s a response to dropping a shot at 8, and he’s hitting the turn in 34 strokes, at -3 overall. Meanwhile back on 6, Nick Taylor is this close to making it two birdies in a row, but his right-to-left swinger from the front of the green stops one turn short. That would have got him a share of the lead.
Scottie Scheffler finds the heart of the par-five 16th in two mammoth strikes. But his eagle putt stops one inch shy of the hole. He’s -3. Bogey meanwhile for Aaron Rai on 6, and he slips back to -4. His playing partner Ludvig Åberg makes a meal of the hole, zig-zagging his way up it, but rattles in a 12-footer to escape with par and remain at -5. And he’s joined there by Matti Schmid, who has responded well to that opening bogey with birdies at 2 and 4. It’s bunched at the top again.
-6: Smalley (4)
-5: Thomas (F), Smith (10), Åberg (6), Taylor (5), Rahm (5), Schmid (5)
-4: McIlroy (7), Rai (6)
Back-to-back bogeys for Harris English at 14 and 15. That’s now no pars in eight holes. At -2, his race is run.
There aren’t so many trees around Aronimink. But Cam Smith finds himself behind a couple down the right of 10, after a wild slice from the tee box. He sends his draw around them through the green and down a swale to the left. Trouble here. But then a feat of amazing escapology, a wedge back up to five feet, using the backstop on the green to his left to bring the ball round. Then a putt rolled in for par. He remains -5.
It looks like trouble for the leader Alex Smalley at 3. He finds the deep bunker guarding the front right of the green, and finding himself short-sided, opts not to go straight for the flag with his splash out. But he takes an ultra-conservative route, and he’s a good 25 feet wide left of the hole. However it doesn’t cost him! He trundles in the long par effort, and holds a steely expression for a couple of seconds before he holds up his hand, almost in mock apology. That was sensational, and the 29-year-old from Greensboro – a member of Sedgefield CC, home of the Wyndham Championship Greater Greensboro Open – is beginning to look the real deal here. He did so well to recover after making three bogeys in his first four holes yesterday … and he dealt with that incredibly calmly as well. He stays a shot clear at -6.
Three birdies in a row for Harris English: 11, 12 and 13. That’s a more-than-decent response to double bogey at 8 and another dropped shot at 10. Throw in another birdie at 9 and he’s not made a par in six holes. He’s in credit over the stretch, and is nicely placed at -4.
If there was any hope of Scottie Scheffler winning, it’s all but extinguished now. A careless three-putt bogey on 14, and the flat stick has cost him dearly this week. In fact, he’s been putting in the slightly skittish manner he was known for, in those early days before Rory McIlroy suggested an equipment change, and the rest became history. Anyway, we digress, and Scottie slips back to -2. He’ll always have Quail Hollow.
Thomas shoots 65 and sets -5 target
… and the two-time Wanamaker winner rolls in the putt! He clenches his fist as he turns to soak up the hoots and hollers from the delighted gallery. He’s the new clubhouse leader. In truth, he’s probably a stroke or two shy, but if the leaders stumble in more troublesome winds, all bets are off. Meanwhile Alex Smalley chips delicately from the side of 2 to kick-in distance, Matti Schmid makes bounceback birdie on the same hole, Aaron Rai also bounces back with bird at 5, and Cam Smith birdies 9 … but Jon Rahm can’t get up and down from the sand at 3, short-sided, and it’s fair to say it’s all happening.
-6: Smalley (2)
-5: Thomas (F), Rahm (3), Smith (9), Åberg (3), Rai (4)
Updated
Mistakes by the leaders. Alex Smalley pulls his approach at 2 into greenside rough; Jon Rahm goes straight for the flag at 3, tucked behind a bunker on the right, and finds that sand. Meanwhile on 18, Justin Thomas is forced to hack out back to the fairway from the thick rough. Having taken his medicine, he looks likely to cough a shot at the last, because his thin chip trundles hysterically past the cup, and he’ll need to make a 16-footer to save his par.
The wind is beginning to pick up, so we might have seen the best of the scoring conditions. That will please Justin Thomas … but his drive at 1 won’t, disappearing as it does into the thick cabbage down the left of 18. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Aaron Rai on 3, and the 31-year-old from Wolverhampton, bidding along with Justin Rose to become the first English winner since Jim Barnes in 1919, drops back to -4. And Scottie Scheffler rolls in a 25-footer on 13 to keep his flickering hopes aflame! He’s -3. Not finished yet. Not finished yet. Is he ever? Scottie, we never doubted you.
Matti Schmid isn’t OB down the left of 1. Indeed he’s able to find the green with his second. But a downhill 25-foot putt rolls six past, and he can’t make the one coming back. A garden-variety par for Alex Smalley, meanwhile, who is joined at the top by Jon Rahm, the Spaniard following up his opening birdie with another at 2. Par meanwhile for Justin Thomas at 17, and things are beginning to get real at the top.
-6: Rahm (2), Smalley (1)
-5: Thomas (17), Rai (2), Åberg (2)
-4: Smith (7), Niemann (6), McIlroy (3), Taylor (1)
-3: Kitayama (F), English (12), Matsuyama (9), Gotterup (9), Rose (6), Schauffele (3), Schmid (1)
Birdies flying in. Joaquin Niemann at 6; he’s -4. Ludvig Åberg at 2; he’s -5. And on 18, a 40-footer from the fringe from Jordan Spieth! The 2015 Masters and US Open champion, and 2017 Open winner won’t be joining the career-slam club this week, but he’s finished with a 68, and smiles warmly anyway as the crowd go wild. He finishes the week at -1. Next year, perhaps, Jordan. A home winner at the PGA Frisco near Dallas? Perhaps it is written. Fingers crossed!
Scottie Scheffler nearly drains an uphill 35-footer on 12 for birdie. Nearly, but not quite, the story of his defence. He remains -2, and wears the look of someone who knows the jig is up. But that’s not the case for the two-time champion Justin Thomas, who gets up and down from a greenside bunker at 16 for his sixth birdie of the day! He’s a shot off the lead at -5: if he can snatch something at 17 and/or 18, and the wind gets up, you never know. You never know. He was six behind the lead at start of play, and as we’ve already discussed, has already been there and purchased the t-shirt.
The final group take to the course. The leader Alex Smalley splits the fairway with his opening drive; Matti Schmid, who is in the best position after 54 holes at a major for a German player since Martin Kaymer won the US Open at Pinehurst in 2014, nearly sends his ball out of bounds down the left. He might have just stayed in. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile up on the green, Jon Rahm makes his birdie putt to move to -5, but Nick Taylor doesn’t. And Maverick McNealy’s devil-may-care attitude from the tee box costs him on 3. He finds the thick rough down the left, and that’s a bogey that slips him back to -3.
McIlroy makes his first move of the day. An almost casual birdie at 2. He joins the group at -5. Meanwhile back on 1, in the penultimate match, Nick Taylor and Jon Rahm take turns to set up birdie chances from Rai Distance. This is going to get quite hectic. Buckle up, and I might need you all to cut me some slack. Let’s go for a ride!
Updated
Aaron Rai did well to scramble a bogey on 18 last night. That effort’s been rewarded immediately this afternoon, as he screeches his iron into 1 to five feet, and makes the birdie putt! He becomes the first player to eat into Alex Smalley’s two-stroke lead at the top, moving to -5.
Back-to-back bogeys for Hideki Matsuyama, at 7 and 8, illustrate how quickly things can go south here, west of Philly. He’s back to -2. Joaquin Niemann also takes a step backwards, thinning his approach at 3 through the green then duffing the chip back. He does well to limit the damage to bogey by making an eight-foot putt, and he’s -3.
A couple of big putts by big players drop. Justin Thomas rolls in a 30-footer on 15 to join the pack at -4. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy tickles in a very missable ten-footer on 1, having muscled his second from the thick rough to the edge of the green, only to leave his bump up well short. That’s a big save and he remains at -3. But he doesn’t half like making a meal of these 1st holes at the majors, does he?
-6: Smalley
-4: Thomas (15), Smith (5), McNealy (2), Rai, Åberg, Taylor, Rahm, Schmid
-3: Kitayama (F), Matsuyama (7), Gotterup (7), Rose (4), Niemann (4), Reed (2), McIlroy (1), Schauffele (1)
Ben Kern was the only one of the 20 club professionals to make it to the weekend. A superb second round of 67 allowed him to bodyswerve the cut, and the 41-year-old general manager from Hickory Hills GC in Ohio finishes his week with a very respectable 72. He finishes the week at +10, and while that’s in 80th place of the 82 who made it through to the weekend, it’s a full eight shots better than the 82nd-placed Brian Campbell, a player good enough to win twice on the PGA Tour last year and has just finished in a tie for 24th at the Masters … so that’s no mean feat. Hats off to Ben … but then he’s finished as the Low PGA of America Golf Professional in this tournament once before, at Bellerive in 2018, so he’s an old master at this.
Scottie Scheffler sends his second at 10 to eight feet. A chance to make back-to-back birdies and send a message around the course. But it’s the same story as it’s been for the rest of the week, with the flat stick letting him down. This time it’s an overly conservative prod that never looks like reaching the cup. He taps in sadly, knowing the sands are running out. He remains at -2, and unless he can somehow gain and, for the first time this week, maintain some momentum, and go on a heater very soon, it could be all over for the pre-tournament favourite.
Here comes Rory! The reigning Masters champion is looking to become the only the fourth player in history to win a Green Jacket and lift the Wanamaker Trophy in the same calendar year. For the record, the others are Sam Snead (1949), Jack Burke Jr (1956) and Jack Nicklaus (1963 and 1975). Could a 51-year wait come to an end in the next few hours? Well, maybe, though McIlroy sending his opening tee shot into thick oomska down the right of 1 isn’t the idea start. Meanwhile up on the green, Maverick McNealy walks in a monster from downtown to move up to -4 immediately. One thing is sure about Maverick: he’s not going to die wondering. Attack, attack, attack. Promises some wild-driving fun.
Cameron Smith had missed the cut at his previous six majors. The LIV tour seemingly blunting his edge. But he snapped that miserable run this week, and he’s now officially back, baby, with birdies this morning at 2 and 4. Smith shot 64 at the Old Course to win his Open Championship four years ago, so he knows how to get it done on day four. Smith is too good to have been out of form for this long; is he about to return to the winner’s circle today? He joins the lads at -4.
Scottie Scheffler finally finds some forward momentum. But he needs the generous par-five 9th to source it. It’s played the easiest hole on the course this week, so the world number one will have expected the birdie he makes. As such, there’s no real celebration as he hits the turn in 34, moving up the standings to -2. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Hideki Matsuyama, at 4 and 5, and he really should make it three, but tugs nervously at a short putt on 6. Still, that’s whipped the 2021 Masters champion up to -4, where he’s joined in short order by Joaquin Niemann, who birdies 1 and 2.
-6: Smalley
-4: Matsuyama (6), Niemann (2), Rai, Åberg, Taylor, Rahm, Schmid
-3: Kitayama (F), Thomas (13), Gotterup (5), Smith (3), Rose (2), Reed, McNealy, McIlroy, Schauffele
Parish noticeboard. Shane Lowry finished his week as he started it, with a fine round of 68. He never really got over the top into the water at 17 on Friday; that Cognizant Classic collapse cuts deep. He’s +2 for his week’s work. Matt Wallace won’t become the first Englishman to win since Jim Barnes in 1919, but he ends his tournament with a 68 as well; he’s +2 too. A final round of 74 for last weekend’s nearly man at the Truist, Alex Fitzpatrick, who departs his maiden Stateside major at +8. And Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald finishes a very respectable week in style, with a 69 that puts the 48-year-old veteran at +7.
While we’re on the subject of tournament records, let’s give fair measure to Kurt Kitayama. His round of 63 ties the lowest final-round score at any PGA Championship, set by Brad Faxon at Riviera in 1995. Faxon stays top of the list, however, on account of Riviera being a par 71, so his round was eight under par, compared to Kitayama’s seven. But we’re splitting hairs here. Kitayama deserves his flowers.
Justin Thomas knows a thing or two about chasing down a big 54-hole lead at the PGA Championship. He won from seven back at the 54-hole mark in 2022, breaking the heart of Mito Pereira and tying a record set by John Mahaffey, who overhauled Tom Watson in 1978. He only had six players between himself and glory that day, mind; Mahaffey just had four. JT started just six back today at level par, but would have to scoot past 31 players if he’s to win. So statistically that’s pretty unlikely. But still, a stat’s a stat’s a stat, ain’t that the truth. Anyway, after bogey at 3, he’s bounced back with birdies at 5, 7, 9 and 11 to move into a tie for seventh, whatever that’s worth currently, at -3. Yesterday’s 72 almost certainly going to cost him on a week of small margins.
Matt Fitzpatrick cards 65
It didn’t quite click for the 2022 US Open winner and reigning Heritage champion on the first three days. Never quite in it, never completely out of it, with rounds of 70, 72, 71, a slightly underwhelming performance by one of the pre-tournament favourites. But he’s found some form just in time, if not for a tilt at the title, then a good wheech up the leaderboard. A blemish-free final round of 65, with birdies at 6, 7, 10, 13 and 16, and Sheffield’s finest (sorry Danny Willett, apologies Brother Alex) ends the week at -2.
Harris English was one of the form horses in the majors last year. Second place at the Open, a tie for second in this Championship, both behind Scottie Scheffler, both admittedly a fair distance back. But second place is second place, and you can throw in a tie for 12th at the Masters as well. This year he tied for 30th at Augusta, and he’s keeping this pleasing trend going here. Early birdies at 2 and 3, and now on 6 he sends his drive down the left of the fairway, allowing him the opportunity of attacking a pin tucked away on the right. Which he does, stroking an iron to five feet. It’s something of a disappointment when he then misses the putt, and yes I did start writing this entry in full expectation of his making it, and joining the group in second place. As is, he tidies up for par and remains at -3. But it’s nevertheless still a fine start from the 36-year-old from Georgia.
Scottie Scheffler hasn’t had the start he wanted. The world number one started the day at -1, in a tie for 23rd, and no player has ever won a major from outside the top 20 after 54 holes. A flyer out of the blocks was almost essential, and birdie at 2 helped his cause, but his tee shot at the par-three 5th toppled into the fringe at the back of the green, and he hit a slightly hot chip coming back out. The ball rolled ten feet past, and he couldn’t make the par saver coming back. He’s now level for his round through 6, still at -1 with a third of his round – and two-thirds of the theoretically easier nine – gone.
… so this is where Kitayama currently sits on the current leaderboard. A fine morning’s shift.
-6: Smalley
-4: Rai, Åberg, Taylor, Rahm, Schmid
-3: Kitayama (F), English (4), Lindberg (2), Matsuyama (2), Reed, McNealy, McIlroy, Schauffele
-2: M Fitzpatrick (16), Thomas (10), Hillier (8), Gotterup (2), Lee (1), Greyserman (1), Griffin, Smith, Kaymer, Cauley, Rose, Niemann, Reitan, Kirk
-1: Young (9), Harrington (7), Scheffler (5), Puig (5), Fowler (5), Burns (3), Harman (2)
Kitayama shoots 63
It was once the holy grail in the majors. Now it’s one off the men’s record of 62. But it’s still quite the feat, even if Aronimink is only a par 70. Kurt Kitayama went out in 30 this morning, illustrating the aforementioned benefit of an early start in calm conditions, then came back in 33, a birdie at the last the final flourish. Finishing his week at -4, it’s probably not going to be enough to better his PGA Championship best, a tie for fourth in 2023, but it’s been a great week for the 33-year-old Californian, who has an outside chance of finishing in the top ten at a major for only the second time. How he’ll rue yesterday’s collapse around the turn: a run of 7-5-5-6 between holes 9 and 12 that cost him six strokes. The ifs and buts of a major championship.
Let’s start with the weather report. It’s going to be the warmest day of the week, so expect the course to get firmer and faster as the day goes on. Given the contours and kinks of the fairways and greens, that’ll be a double-edged sword. The wind has been pretty benign so far today, but it’s expected to get up as we progress, so the earlier starters have had an advantage. All in all, similar to yesterday, when scoring became progressively harder. Goodness knows how this is likely to pan out as a result, but if someone breaks from the pack and posts a score mid-afternoon, things could get interesting for the final pairings.
Preamble
At the risk of becoming a hostage to fortune, there’s a fair chance this is going to end in a play-off, isn’t there. So with 47 players starting the day within seven shots of the lead – and the record comeback from a 54-hole deficit by a winner at the PGA Championship is seven – let’s not concern ourselves too much with the possible outcomes, narratives and permutations. Instead, let’s just go with the flow. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 54 holes …
-6: Alex Smalley
-4: Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm, Aaron Rai, Ludvig Åberg
-3: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed, Maverick McNealy
-2: Kristoffer Reitan, Chris Kirk, Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann, Martin Kaymer, Bud Cauley, Ben Griffin, Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman, Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup
-1: Brian Harman, Mikael Lindberg, Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler, David Puig
… and this is when everyone has gone / will go out. All times BST. It’s on!
1240 Casey Jarvis, Brian Campbell
1249 Luke Donald, Ben Kern
1258 Collin Morikawa, Elvis Smylie
1307 Kurt Kitayama, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
1316 Ryan Gerard, Jason Day
1325 Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt Wallace
1334 Rasmus Hojgaard, Sami Valimaki
1343 Shane Lowry, John Parry
1352 Christiaan Bezuidenhout, William Mouw
1401 Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
1410 Corey Conners, Ryo Hisatsune
1419 Matt Fitzpatrick, Sahith Theegala
1428 Keith Mitchell, Sam Stevens
1437 Daniel Berger, Daniel Brown
1446 Michael Brennan, Johnny Keefer
1455 Ryan Fox, Jhonattan Vegas
1515 Denny McCarthy, Chandler Blanchet
1525 Haotong Li, Kazuki Higa
1535 Jordan Spieth, Rico Hoey
1545 Stephan Jaeger, Taylor Pendrith
1555 Justin Thomas, Aldrich Potgieter
1605 Si Woo Kim, Cameron Young
1615 Andrew Putnam, Andrew Novak
1625 Dustin Johnson, Daniel Hillier
1635 Padraig Harrington, Tom Hoge
1645 Nicolai Hojgaard, Michael Kim
1705 Scottie Scheffler, David Puig
1715 Rickie Fowler, Harris English
1725 Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka
1735 Brian Harman, Mikael Lindberg
1745 Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup
1755 Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman
1805 Ben Griffin, Cameron Smith
1815 Martin Kaymer, Bud Cauley
1825 Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann
1835 Kristoffer Reitan, Chris Kirk
1855 Patrick Reed, Maverick McNealy
1905 Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
1915 Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg
1925 Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm
1935 Alex Smalley, Matti Schmid
