PGA Championship 2026 - predictions, course guide, preview, will Scottie Scheffler defend title?

Golf's large play continues connected Thursday, arsenic the world's apical stars get successful Newtown Square, Pennsylvania for the US PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club.

A tract of 156 players volition conflict to assistance the Wanamaker Trophy, which Scottie Scheffler won for the archetypal clip successful 2025 astatine Quail Hollow Club.

PGA Championship preview

While respective others person vaulted themselves into golf's apical tier successful 2026, conversations astir apt winners astatine Aronimink inevitably inactive commencement with satellite fig 1 Scottie Scheffler and satellite fig 2 Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler heads to Pennsylvania having taken the erstwhile week off, opting not to vie successful the Truist Championship astatine Quail Hollow Club - the tract of his 2025 PGA Championship triumph by 5 strokes.

While the defending champion has arguably not deed his ain heights from 2024 and 2025 - successful which helium managed 8 and six wins respectively, including 3 majors, helium has a triumph to his sanction successful his 2026 play opener astatine the American Express and heads into the PGA Championship connected the backmost of 3 consecutive second-placed finishes astatine the Masters, RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship.

McIlroy, meanwhile, comes into the 2nd large of the play aiming to get fractional mode towards what would beryllium a first-ever calendar expansive slam, having historically defended his Masters crown past period to gain a sixth major.

He teed it up for the archetypal clip since that Augusta glory astatine the Truist Championship past week, finishing tied for 19th, and volition present look to triumph a seventh major, 3rd Wanamaker Trophy and a archetypal since 2014, having managed 2 top-10 finishes successful the past 4 attempts.

The world's apical 2 look plentifulness of competition, though, including from Cameron Young who comes successful arsenic 1 of the world's signifier players, with 3 wins and 8 different apical 10s successful his past 16 starts, having won The Players Championship successful March and the Cadillac Championship by six strokes successful aboriginal May.

Likewise, Matt Fitzpatrick has won 4 times since November and goes successful hunt of a 2nd large title arsenic 1 of the favourites.

Plenty of absorption has been connected LIV Golf successful caller weeks, with the daze announcement that the Saudi Public Investment Fund volition beryllium cutting backing astatine the extremity of the 2026 season, and aft failing to contend astatine the apical of the leaderboard successful the Masters, two-time large champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm volition some anticipation to unopen retired the sound get backmost to their champion astatine Aronimink.

While Young whitethorn present beryllium regarded arsenic the champion existent subordinate without a large to his name, respective European stars are besides successful the moving to unafraid a maiden large including Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood, who doubly changeable the people grounds of 62 astatine the 2018 BMW Championship astatine this course.

Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka each stay successful the speech with either Thomas oregon Koepka having won 5 of the past 9 Wanamaker Trophies.

Course Guide

The 2026 PGA Championship whitethorn beryllium galore play viewers' archetypal look astatine Aronimink Golf Club, oregon astatine slightest the archetypal since it past hosted a circuit lawsuit - the 2018 BMW Championship.

The people volition play arsenic a 7,394-yard par 70, featuring 4 par-3s and conscionable 2 par-5s.

Three of those par-3s volition enactment up astatine good implicit 200 yards, portion 1 of the 2 par-5s is listed connected the scorecard astatine 605 yards, making it acold from a guaranteed birdie adjacent for the apical stars.

The Donald Ross designed people is defined by its immense and undulating greens, putting an accent connected players uncovering the close spots with attack shots oregon other three-putts volition beryllium precise overmuch successful the equation.

Groups opening of the beforehand 9 volition commencement with 4 consecutive par-4s betwixt 410 and 460, with lone 1 par-4 connected the spot coming successful astatine little than 400 yards, suggesting that astir volition deed operator disconnected the tee astatine astir each opportunity.

Down the stretch, peculiarly with the trophy connected the enactment connected Sunday, players volition person to contend with a pugnacious last 4 holes, opening with a 546-yard par-4 and a par-5 followed by a 229-yard par-3 with h2o information and different agelong par-4 to close.

Accuracy volition besides beryllium astatine a premium with an eye-catching 180 bunkers connected the people for players to avoid, portion h2o lone comes into play connected the 10th and 17th holes.

Prediction

We say: Cameron Young

While it volition instrumentality overmuch much for anyone to instrumentality Scottie Scheffler's crown arsenic the world's champion subordinate successful the coming years, Cameron Young surely has a beardown assertion to beryllium playing the champion play successful the satellite successful 2026.

Scheffler has inactive been a large menace passim the play frankincense far, portion McIlroy volition beryllium a origin having reaffirmed his absorption connected large championships aft his 2nd Masters triumph successful April, but arsenic was seen successful 2025, the Northern Irish prima whitethorn find it pugnacious to travel up glory astatine Augusta successful the adjacent fewer months.

Indeed, it is Young who comes successful in the hottest form, having won the closest happening to a large astatine The Players Championship successful March earlier blowing a beardown tract distant astatine the Cadillac Championship, rapidly taking his triumph tally to 3 having lone got his archetypal connected the PGA Tour past August.

Having notably improved his putting to spell alongside world-class quality disconnected the tee and connected approach, Cameron Young's crippled is present much than acceptable up to triumph the biggest titles successful play and we backmost him to unafraid a archetypal large astatine Aronimink Golf Club.