The Headline Numbers
Four numbers framing the championship before a ball is struck on Thursday morning:
108th
PGA Championship
1962
Aronimink's Last Major
156
Players in Field
$18m
Purse (estimated)
The 2026 PGA Championship is staged at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, from Thursday 14 May to Sunday 17 May 2026. It is the third major of the men's professional golf season and Aronimink's first major championship since Gary Player won here in 1962. Rory McIlroy arrives as defending Masters champion and the most in-form major performer in golf, chasing a second 2026 major and his seventh career major championship.
The Course — Donald Ross's Aronimink
Aronimink Golf Club opened for play in 1928 to a Donald Ross design that the architect himself called the finest test of golf he had ever drawn. Ninety-eight years on, after a comprehensive 2017–18 restoration that returned the layout and the crowned greens to their original 1928 dimensions, Aronimink hosts only the second major championship in its history.
ArchitectDonald Ross (1928)
RestoredGil Hanse, 2017–18
Par70
Yardage~7,200 yards
GreensBentgrass, crowned
HazardsNo water in play
What makes Aronimink play hard
Aronimink's defence is not water — there are no water hazards in play on any of the eighteen holes. The defence is, in classic Ross style, the greens. Ross's signature crowned and pushed-up putting surfaces shed any approach that misses the safe quadrant; what looks like a simple two-putt par becomes an up-and-down from a tightly mown collection area. Combine that with deep fairway bunkers, tree-lined corridors and a par of 70 (only two par-fives) and you have a venue that rewards iron play more than most modern PGA Championship venues.
The 16th — a long par-three played to a heavily contoured green sitting at the foot of a rise — is widely regarded as the course's most difficult hole and routinely plays to a stroke average comfortably over par in tour events.
Aronimink in Major and Tour History
Aronimink has produced one major-championship winner and a list of tour-event winners that reads like a Hall of Fame class photo:
| Year | Event | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | PGA Championship | Gary Player (−3) |
| 2003 | Senior PGA Championship | John Jacobs |
| 2010 | AT&T National | Justin Rose (−9) |
| 2011 | AT&T National | Nick Watney (−13) |
| 2018 | BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley (−20, playoff) |
| 2020 | BMW Championship | Jon Rahm (−4, playoff) |
| 2026 | PGA Championship | To be decided |
Gary Player's 1962 win was the moment the Aronimink major club began — and ended, until now. Player was 26 years old, a year into a career that would take him to all four major championships and a place among the five men to complete the career grand slam in the post-war era. The 2026 PGA Championship is the first time the men's major championship circuit returns to St Davids Road in nearly two-thirds of a century.
The Field and the Storylines
A 156-player field, the same format used by the PGA of America since the 1995 championship: open to all PGA Tour winners, the top 100 from the Official World Golf Ranking, the top 70 from the previous PGA Championship, the top 15 from the previous PGA Tour Championship, and 20 PGA Club Professional qualifiers. The cut after 36 holes leaves the low 70 and ties to play the weekend.
Defending Masters Champion
Rory McIlroy
Arrives off back-to-back Masters wins and the only career-grand-slam holder under 40 in the field. Two prior PGA Championship wins — Kiawah 2012 (8-shot record margin) and Valhalla 2014. Aronimink would be his seventh major.
Defending PGA Champion
Scottie Scheffler
World number one and 2025 PGA Champion at Quail Hollow. Runner-up to McIlroy at Augusta in April. The two-man Sunday at Augusta will replay in the back of every viewer's mind from the moment the 2026 PGA pairings drop.
Augusta T3
Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Cameron Young
Four players finished tied-third at the 2026 Masters at −10. Rose has previous form at Aronimink — winner of the 2010 AT&T National. Henley enters as one of the best ball-strikers on tour for crowned-green courses.
Major Specialists
Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm
Five PGA Championships between them since 2018 (Koepka 2018, 2019, 2023; Schauffele 2024). Rahm won the most recent tour event at Aronimink — the 2020 BMW Championship in a playoff over Dustin Johnson.
Course Form
Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose
The two players in the field with a previous tour win at Aronimink — Bradley at the 2018 BMW Championship, Rose at the 2010 AT&T National. Bradley has captained Team USA at the Ryder Cup and arrives in a year of established major form.
First Major
PGA Club Professionals (20)
Twenty club pros earned their place via the PGA Professional Championship, the field's only true qualifier route for working PGA of America members. None has ever made the cut in modern PGA Championship history; the 2026 class brings two PPC top-five finishers in genuine form.
What This Week Means for Rory
Eighteen days ago, McIlroy walked off the 18th green at Augusta with a one-stroke bogey that won the 2026 Masters. He became the fourth man ever to defend a green jacket and joined Nicklaus and Woods as the only career-grand-slam holders also to win back-to-back Masters. In the eight tournaments before that, he had a win, two seconds and seven top-tens. The form is the form.
Aronimink would be his seventh major championship — moving him level with Sam Snead, Bobby Jones (counting amateur and professional majors as is conventional in his case) and ahead of Phil Mickelson outright. It would also make him the first player to win the Masters and the PGA Championship in the same calendar year since Tiger Woods in 2002 — Tiger's last back-to-back Masters year, and the most recent of three Tiger same-year Masters/PGA doubles (1997 didn't count, he won the Masters and was second at the PGA; 2000 saw him win three majors but not the Masters; 2002 was the only Masters/PGA same-year double).
The PGA Championship is McIlroy's most successful major statistically — two wins in fifteen starts, three top-fives. His 8-shot win at Kiawah 2012 remains the largest margin of victory in PGA Championship history.
"The PGA has always been a championship I felt comfortable at. The setup rewards being able to move the ball both ways and being aggressive when the chance is there. Aronimink will reward that more than most."
— Rory McIlroy, post-Masters Augusta press conference, 13 April 2026
For the swing-mechanics breakdown that produced the back-to-back green jackets, see our McIlroy Swing deep-dive. For the gear most likely going into the bag at Aronimink, see Rory's 2026 Masters bag check.
Tournament Schedule (Local Eastern Time)
The PGA of America has confirmed the following tournament-week schedule for Aronimink. Tee times for rounds one and two are typically released the Tuesday of championship week.
MON 11 MAY
Practice Day 1
Course officially opens to the field for practice. Long-game drills on the closed-off back-nine practice areas. Most top contenders arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.
TUE 12 MAY
Practice Day 2
Featured practice groupings on the front nine. Media day for top players begins. Pin sheets and yardage books finalised.
WED 13 MAY
Final Practice + Long Drive
Final practice round. Champions' Dinner equivalent for the PGA — past champions gather in the clubhouse. Tee times for round one announced afternoon.
THU 14 MAY
Round 1
First round. Two-tee start, threesomes, 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. ET. ESPN coverage 1:00–7:00 p.m. ET.
FRI 15 MAY
Round 2 & Cut
Round two. Cut after the round to the low 70 and ties. ESPN coverage 1:00–7:00 p.m. ET.
SAT 16 MAY
Round 3
Moving day. Pairings off in twos in reverse leaderboard order. ESPN early window 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. ET, CBS 1:00–7:00 p.m. ET.
SUN 17 MAY
Round 4 — Final
Final round. Last group expected on the 18th green between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. ET. CBS final-round coverage 1:00–7:00 p.m. ET. Wanamaker Trophy presentation immediately on the 18th green.
Where to Watch — Broadcast Guide
In the United States, the 2026 PGA Championship splits coverage between ESPN (Thursday and Friday all day, plus Saturday morning) and CBS (Saturday and Sunday afternoons). ESPN+ streams featured groups all four days. International rights:
- USA · ESPN, CBS, ESPN+ (featured groups, marquee groups, holes 13 and 16)
- UK and Ireland · Sky Sports Golf (live on the dedicated PGA Championship channel)
- Canada · TSN
- Australia · Fox Sports / Kayo
- Latin America · ESPN International
- Worldwide highlights · PGA Championship YouTube channel and PGA.com
For a fuller breakdown of every 2026 major's broadcast windows, see our where-to-watch guide for the 2026 majors.
What Comes After Aronimink
Three majors remain in the 2026 men's calendar after Aronimink. The U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills (June 18–21), The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (July 16–19), and — although not a major — the FedEx Cup playoffs and the East Lake Championship at season's end. McIlroy has won all four professional majors at least once. Aronimink puts a second 2026 major and a place in the same-calendar-year-Masters-and-PGA club back on the table.
For the wider 2026 major-season calendar, our weekly golf-news digest tracks every leaderboard, every cut and every move toward the FedEx Cup. For tournament-cycle reminders, our 2026 majors viewing guide lays out every broadcast window from the Masters through East Lake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the 2026 PGA Championship being held?
The 2026 PGA Championship is being staged at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles west of Philadelphia. Tournament dates are Thursday 14 May through Sunday 17 May 2026.
Has Aronimink hosted a major championship before?
Yes. Aronimink Golf Club hosted the 1962 PGA Championship, won by 26-year-old Gary Player — his first major on US soil and the third leg of what became his career grand slam. The 2026 edition marks Aronimink's first major championship in 64 years.
Who designed Aronimink Golf Club?
Aronimink was designed by Donald Ross and opened for play in 1928. Ross himself called it "the best test of golf I have ever designed". The course has been restored to Ross's original drawings — most recently a comprehensive 2017–18 restoration that returned the routing and crowned greens to their 1928 dimensions.
Who is the defending PGA Championship champion?
Scottie Scheffler is the defending PGA Champion, having won at Quail Hollow Club in May 2025. Scheffler arrives at Aronimink as world number one and recent runner-up at the 2026 Masters, where he finished one stroke behind Rory McIlroy.
How many PGA Championships has Rory McIlroy won?
Two. Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship in 2012 at Kiawah Island (by a record 8 strokes) and in 2014 at Valhalla. Aronimink would be his third Wanamaker Trophy, lifting his career major total to seven.
When is the 2026 PGA Championship and how can I watch?
The 2026 PGA Championship runs 14–17 May 2026. In the United States, ESPN carries early-round coverage with CBS picking up weekend rounds (Saturday and Sunday). ESPN+ streams featured groups all four days. Sky Sports holds UK rights.
What kind of golf course is Aronimink?
Aronimink is a parkland course playing to a par of 70 at roughly 7,200 yards for the championship setup. Donald Ross's signature crowned and pushed-up greens place a premium on iron play and short-game creativity. There are no water hazards, but deep fairway bunkers and tree-lined corridors give Aronimink its teeth. Total elevation changes are modest by major-championship standards.
Could McIlroy win two majors in 2026?
Yes, mathematically. With the back-to-back Masters wins in April 2026, McIlroy now has three remaining majors in 2026 — the PGA at Aronimink, the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June, and The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July. Three players have won two-plus majors in a single calendar year since 2000: Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008), Jordan Spieth (2015) and Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018, 2023).
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