The opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship delivered high drama as a tightly packed leaderboard emerged at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished among seven players tied for the lead after carding a three-under-par 67.
Scheffler shared the top spot with Martin Kaymer, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune and Alex Smalley after a demanding day on one of the toughest major championship setups of the season.
The defending champion recovered strongly late in his round, bouncing back from a bogey on the 14th hole with crucial birdies coming home to stay firmly in contention.
While Scheffler impressed, Rory McIlroy endured a difficult start to his bid for another major title. The Masters champion struggled with driving accuracy and consistency on Aronimink’s punishing fairways and greens, eventually finishing with a four-over 74.
McIlroy’s round unravelled late as he dropped multiple shots over his closing holes, leaving him in danger of missing the cut if he fails to improve in Round 2.
Jordan Spieth also had an eventful opening round in his pursuit of the career Grand Slam. After a promising start, the American slipped backwards with consecutive bogeys and ended the day at one-under-par.
Bryson DeChambeau, another pre-tournament favourite, suffered a disastrous opening round and finished six over par after battling both the difficult conditions and inconsistency off the tee.
The challenging layout at Aronimink tested nearly every player in the field, with swirling winds, deep rough and slick greens making scoring extremely difficult throughout the day.
Despite the brutal conditions, several standout moments lit up Round 1, including Jon Rahm’s spectacular eagle and a series of late birdie runs from contenders trying to position themselves ahead of the weekend.
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