The season’s second major is upon us as Aronimink Golf Club hosts the PGA Championship, the first major championship to be contested at the Newtown Square, Pennsylvania club.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the reigning PGA champion, having won last year at Quail Hollow, though Scheffler enters this week fourth on Data Golf’s trend table behind Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg.
Young has won twice in his last five starts, including The Players, while also tying for third at the Masters. He’s the strongest bet to win among players currently without a major title.
Aronimink has hosted three previous PGA Tour events, most recently the 2018 BMW Championship, as well as the AT&T National in 2010 and 2011. From what we’ve learned, it’s a ballpark that rewards length and strong approach play (shockers!) but also one where putting is perhaps more important and driving accuracy is less important than typical major venues. The par-3s at Aronimink are particularly difficult, there are 180 bunkers in play and the undulating Donald Ross greens are comprised of bentgrass.
Without further delay, let’s get into ranking the entire field, with the last 20 spots reserved for the Corebridge Financial Team because club pros rarely make the cut – and are even less likely to do what Blockie did at Oak Hill:
Nos. 1-10
1. Cameron Young: The hottest player in the world who has two wins plus a T-3 at the Masters in his last five starts. He also is the Tour’s leader in par-3 scoring while ranking top 5 in strokes gained off the tee and proximity. It’s time for him to score his first major title.
2. Scottie Scheffler: Could be a touch lower, though he’s still posted three straight runner-up finishes. He’s third in strokes gained off the tee and around the green, with only his iron-play proximity posing a concern.
3. Jon Rahm: Has continued to dominate LIV with two wins and a second in his last four starts, but his T-38 at the Masters shows it’s not all translating to majors. Still, he’s one of the best all-around players in the world and competing on a golf course that should be set up to reward complete players.
4. Ludvig Åberg: Had cracked the top 5 in four of his last six starts, and he’s top 10 in total driving, proximity, approaches over 200 yards and par-3 scoring, among other categories. Could be another guy who could have his first major title come Sunday night.
5. Rory McIlroy: The best driver of the golf ball in the world also is top 10 in strokes gained approach. The putting hasn’t been great, which will probably cost him. His inconsistent play at Quail is worrisome, too, as that is a place that he’s owned. He was fifth at Aronimink in 2018.
6. Matthew Fitzpatrick: Perhaps the momentum is wearing off, but any player who has won three of his past five starts can’t be ignore, especially considering the putting is improving to go along with some career ball-striking numbers.
7. Patrick Reed: Has cracked the top 20 at three of his last six PGAs and did the same here in 2018. Drove it great at Augusta, and if he does that here, he contends.
8. Adam Scott: Has put together a lot of great rounds in recent months, and has a pair of top-4s to show for it. Leads the Tour in strokes gained approach and is second in par-3 scoring.
9. Xander Schauffele: Had been so great since Pebble with five top-12 finishes, but struggled at Quail, a recent PGA venue, and hasn’t been good on the par-3s. That said, he was third here in 2018 and placed high on my model, which he typically doesn’t do yet always outperforms.
10. Rickie Fowler: Displaying some of the best golf of his career right now, riding elite iron play to three straight top-10s on Tour. The putter has been there all year, and he’s even got a top-10 finish to his name at Aronimink in 2018.
Nos. 11-20
11. Collin Morikawa: Gutted out a T-7 at the Masters and then T-4 at RBC Heritage. He took Truist off after struggling at Doral. If he’s healthy, he’ll be fine, though the putter could cost him.
12. Jake Knapp: Yet to make a cut in two career PGA starts, but his solo 11th at the Masters shows he’s ready to be a regular contender at majors. Top 10 in both total driving and strokes gained putting, which is a lethal PGA combo.
13. Brooks Koepka: His season-long stats don’t tell the full story. He’s striking it at a very high level and the putter continues to slowly get more reliable. He’s in a great headspace, and if he starts seeing putts fall, he’ll be a factor.
14. Bryson DeChambeau: Nice to see him get back on track at LIV Virginia, and he’s been top 4 in four of his past five PGA starts, but it just feels like there is too much noise surrounding him, both on and off the course. He can’t afford to hit his irons like he did at Augusta here.
15. Patrick Cantlay: Riding a run of four straight top-12s. His waywardness off the tee should be mitigated a touch, and even then, he’s still top 20 in strokes gained off the tee. Plus, he plays the par-3s at a top-10 rate on Tour and chips it well.
16. Si Woo Kim: Always a statistical darling going into majors, and this week is no different as he popped fifth in the model thanks to some elite approach numbers. But he has rarely contended in majors, and when it comes to the PGA, he missed three of four cuts before his T-8 last year. Also, the T-65 at Quail scares me.
17. Thomas Detry: A strong play for low LIV player, as he’s finished top 10 in four of his last five LIV appearances. Was T-4 at the 2024 PGA at Valhalla.
18. Min Woo Lee: Another guy who the model seems to always love way more than he performs in majors, but maybe this time is the charm. Top 10 in total driving and no real glaring weaknesses. Closed strong at Truist for a second straight top-20 finish.
19. Alex Smalley: Ranks top 10 on Tour in proximity and trending, with seven top-25s in his last nine starts. Has a couple top-30s already in three career PGAs, too.
20. Russell Henley: Overall, hasn’t been elite with the long irons this season, but he turned in one of his best iron weeks at the Masters and was T-3. Owns just one top-20 finish in a dozen career PGA starts.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 15: Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Canada plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship 2026 at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on March 15, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Nos. 21-30
21. Tyrrell Hatton: He’s been T-16 or better five times in majors since joining LIV, including last month’s T-3 at the Masters. Fits this golf course well. Probably should be higher than this.
22. Sudarshan Yellamaraju: Last guy in, but hear me out: He stripes it. He’s the best long-iron player on Tour right now and nearly top 10 in total driving, too. Checks a ton of boxes other than experience.
23. Alex Fitzpatrick: Call me crazy, but I’m riding the hot hand. He doesn’t have nearly enough rounds to qualify, but he’d lead the Tour in strokes gained off the tee right now if he did. He flushes his irons. And he’s hot, with top-10s in two straight tournaments since winning Zurich with his brother.
24. Nicolai Højgaard: Loved what I saw at Truist, as he now has a pair of runners-up in his last five starts. Has been above average statistically this season and really good with his irons, especially the longer ones.
25. Tommy Fleetwood: Bumped him up a few spots after his T-5 at Truist, his fifth top-10 in his last nine starts. He only boasts one career top-15 at the PGA, a T-5 in 2022, but he was eighth at Aronimink in 2018.
26. Viktor Hovland: He doesn’t have a top-10 finish since Phoenix as he’s struggled mostly with the putter and short game, but he has managed to show up usually in the majors. He has missed just four major cuts in his career and has cracked the top 30 in four of his last five while being T-33 or better in five of six career PGA starts.
27. Chris Gotterup: His T-14 at Quail gives him a little momentum back after a rough ball-striking week at Doral, and he’s still top 10 in strokes gained off the tee. He’ll need to hit his long irons a little better, but he’s been sneaky good on the greens since Bay Hill.
28. Sepp Straka: Completely folded after an opening 66 at Truist, and he was looking like a great pick following a T-4 at Doral. That said, he’s top 5 in par-3 scoring and approach proximity from outside 200 yards. The iron play will show up, it’s just a matter of what else does.
29. Hideki Matsuyama: He’s fallen off mightily since his T-12 at the Masters, but Matsuyama typically finds a way when you least expect it. He’s so good with the long irons and on par-3s, that this could be one of those weeks. I just wish he didn’t beat only one guy at Truist because I initially had him as high as seventh.
30. Akshay Bhatia: Still has no top-10s since winning API, and the driving has been a struggle. Add in that the Tour’s third-ranked putter was 49th in strokes gained putting at Truist, and he should be nowhere near the top 25. But he’s one of the best scramblers in the world and the approach play has been top 15 this season. He’ll figure it out this week.
Nos. 31-40
31. Maverick McNealy
32. Shane Lowry
33. Nick Taylor
34. Daniel Hillier
35. Casey Jarvis
36. Ryo Hisatsune
37. J.J. Spaun
38. Sam Burns
39. Kurt Kitayama
40. Ryan Fox
Nos. 41-50
41. Jacob Bridgeman
42. Robert MacIntyre
43. Michael Thorbjornsen
44. Keegan Bradley
45. Gary Woodland
46. Jason Day
47. Sahith Theegala
48. Harris English
49. Ben Griffin
50. Wyndham Clark
Nos. 51-60
51. Kristoffer Reitan
52. David Puig
53. Justin Thomas
54. Jordan Smith
55. Daniel Berger
56. Joaquin Niemann
57. Bud Cauley
58. Matt McCarty
59. Keith Mitchell
60. Ryan Gerard
Nos. 61-70
61. Justin Rose
62. Jordan Spieth
63. Alex Noren
64. Harry Hall
65. Andrew Putnam
66. Corey Conners
67. Brian Harman
68. John Parry
69. Pierceson Coody
70. Steven Fisk
Nos. 71-80
71. Rasmus Højgaard
72. Sam Stevens
73. Michael Kim
74. Stewart Cink
75. Michael Brennan
76. Matt Wallace
77. Denny McCarthy
78. Angel Ayora
79. Stephan Jaeger
80. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Nos. 81-90
81. Max McGreevy
82. Chris Kirk
83. Haotong Li
84. Dustin Johnson
85. William Mouw
86. Aaron Rai
87. Ricky Castillo
88. Emiliano Grillo
89. Austin Smotherman
90. Patrick Rodgers
Nos. 91-100
91. Andrew Novak
92. Adrien Saddier
93. Sami Valimaki
94. Max Homa
95. Sungjae Im
96. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
97. Brandt Snedeker
98. Billy Horschel
99. J.T. Poston
100. Jayden Schaper
Nos. 101-110
101. Rico Hoey
102. Lucas Glover
103. Taylor Pendrith
104. Daniel Brown
105. Matti Schmid
106. Bernd Wiesberger
107. Max Greyserman
108. Marco Penge
109. Aldrich Potgieter
110. David Lipsky
Nos. 111-120
111. Johnny Keefer
112. Mikael Lindberg
113. Chandler Blanchet
114. Jhonattan Vegas
115. Joe Highsmith
116. Garrick Higgo
117. Nico Echavarria
118. Adam Schenk
119. Tom McKibbin
120. Cameron Smith
Nos. 121-130
121. Ian Holt
122. Kota Kaneko
123. Brian Campbell
124. Davis Riley
125. Elvis Smylie
126. Andy Sullivan
127. Travis Smyth
128. Martin Kaymer
129. Kazuki Higa
130. Jordan Gumberg
Nos. 131-140
131. Pádraig Harrington
132. Luke Donald
133. Jimmy Walker
134. Jason Dufner
135. Shaun Micheel
136. Y.E. Yang
137. Tyler Collet
138. Braden Shattuck
139. Ben Kern
140. Jesse Droemer
Nos. 141-156
141. Zach Haynes
142. Michael Block
143. Jared Jones
144. Ryan Lenahan
145. Ben Polland
146. Michael Katrude
147. Garrett Sapp
148. Ryan Vermeer
149. Mark Geddes
150. Timothy Wiseman
151. Austin Hurt
152. Paul McClure
153. Derek Berg
154. Bryce Fisher
155. Chris Gabriele
156. Francisco Bide