2026 PGA Championship: Ranking favorites, contenders, hopefuls and everyone elseMark SchlabachMultiple AuthorsMay 10, 2026, 08:00 PM ET
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It has been only a month since Rory McIlroy won his second straight green jacket in the Masters on April 12.
But it feels like so much has changed in men’s professional golf as the world’s best players come together at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia, which will host the 108th PGA Championship starting Thursday.
It will be the first time golfers from both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League will play together since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund revealed April 30 that it will not fund the latter circuit beyond this season.
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There are 11 LIV Golf players in the field, including past major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. Two-time PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson is skipping his second straight major this season because of an ongoing family health matter.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion. He ran away with a five-stroke victory at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, last year.
Aronimink Golf Club last hosted a PGA Championship in 1962, when Gary Player won by one stroke.
The last golfer to qualify for the 155-man field was Brandt Snedeker, 45, who claimed his 10th PGA Tour victory in Sunday’s ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic. Snedeker ended a winless drought of more than seven years.
Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, who picked up his first PGA Tour win in the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow on Sunday, had already qualified for the field.
Here’s a look at this week’s field for the second major of the season, from the clear favorites to the sleepers:
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ESPNThe clear favoritesWelcome, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick, to the short list of favorites to lift a Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. While Scheffler and McIlroy have been at the top of the sport seemingly forever, Young and Fitzpatrick have played as well as anyone this season. Young will be trying to win his first major championship this week.
Scottie Scheffler
For all the angst about Scheffler’s form, the world No. 1 golfer has finished second in three straight tournaments, including the Masters. He’s the first golfer since Sergio García in 2014 to accomplish that. Scheffler leads the tour in strokes gained: total (2.056), scoring average (69.37) and birdie average (5.03). He’ll win again soon — maybe this week.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy stated he feels better after his second Masters victory than his first last year, when he didn’t win again on tour. Rory has made only six starts this season. He’s a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, most recently at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2014. For the second straight year, he’ll try to become the first player to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year since Jack Nicklaus in 1975.
Cameron Young
The guy who couldn’t win on the PGA Tour figured out how to putt. He picked up his third win since August in the Cadillac Championship with a wire-to-wire, six-stroke victory. He picked up The Players in March and seems ready to collect his biggest trophy of all.
Cameron Young celebrates after winning the Players Championship. Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesMatt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick is the only three-time winner on tour this season, finishing first in the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with his younger brother, Alex). He has climbed to No. 4 in the world rankings and is looking for his second major.The guys who can winHere are the other legitimate contenders to win the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. They have the games, guts and nerves to handle four pressure-packed rounds.Xander Schauffele
Schauffele, who won the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla, has put together a strong run of finishes since early February. He has climbed back into the OWGR top 10. He loves Donald Ross designs, having won at East Lake and tying for third in the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink. He ranks third on tour in scrambling, which figures to be important this week.
Jon Rahm
The two-time major winner revealed earlier this week that he probably can’t get out of his contract with LIV Golf unless the circuit folds. That’s not good news for his legacy. Rahm won for the fourth time in the LIV League in Mexico City on April 19. He was in contention in last year’s PGA Championship until he fell apart on the back nine.
Bryson DeChambeau
Another LIV Golf League captain who seems uncertain about his future, DeChambeau has already won twice on that tour this season. He finished in the top five in four of the past five PGA Championships, including runner-up in each of the past two. He won the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, which was designed by Ross. DeChambeau has been dealing with a sore wrist.
Ludvig Åberg
Surprisingly, the ultra-talented Åberg missed the cut in each of his past two starts in the PGA Championship. His game has been trending too well for it to happen again. Given his iron play and work around the greens, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see him win his first major.
Ludvig Aberg tied for eighth at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesJustin Rose
Rose still seemed to be battling a post-Masters hangover when he tied for 65th in the Cadillac Championship. He used new McLaren Golf irons, and his initial results weren’t great, losing more than three strokes on approach in the first two rounds. He was runner-up in the 2018 BMW Championship, losing to Keegan Bradley in a playoff, and won the 2010 AT&T National at Aronimink.
Russell Henley
Henley tied for third in the Masters, his best finish at Augusta National. He has yet to finish in the top 10 in 12 starts in the PGA Championship. That might change this week if his iron play improves.
Patrick Reed
The 2018 Masters champion isn’t eligible to play on the PGA Tour until Aug. 25, so he hasn’t teed it up competitively since tying for 12th at Augusta National. He has the short game to be a contender this week.
Collin Morikawa
Morikawa withdrew from last week’s Truist Championship. He has battled a back injury since his opening hole of The Players. The two-time major winner was able to grind out a tie for seventh in the Masters. If his back holds up this week, he’s capable of winning a second PGA Championship.
Harris English
English’s results have been feast or famine during the past couple of months. He was runner-up in last year’s PGA Championship, finishing five strokes behind Scheffler. He might be a contender again if his putter heats up.
Tommy Fleetwood
The reigning FedEx Cup champion has five top-10 finishes this season. His work on the greens has prevented him from winning; he ranks 97th on tour in strokes gained: putting (-.128). He had lost strokes on approach in consecutive events before the Truist Championship.
Robert MacIntyre
The Scottish golfer’s form has cooled off since tying for second at the Valero Texas Open. If he flips a bird at Aronimink Golf Club this week, he might become a fan favorite outside Philly.
Tyrrell Hatton
Last week, Hatton validated that he also has a multiyear contract with LIV Golf, in which he’s arguably one of the three or four best golfers. He finished 60th or worse in the past two PGA Championships.
Chris Gotterup
Gotterup picked up two victories in Hawaii and Phoenix at the start of the season, and the law of averages caught him in the past few events. He tied for 24th in his Masters debut, which is no small feat.
Viktor Hovland
It looked as though Hovland was turning the corner with a tie for 18th in the Masters, but then he tied for 42nd in the RBC Heritage and 38th in the Cadillac Championship. As good as he was three years ago, it’s surprising he hasn’t won a major yet.
Akshay Bhatia
Bhatia got back on track after missing the cut, tying for 16th in the RBC Heritage and 23rd in the Cadillac Championship. He ranks 15th in approach (.528) and third in putting (.848).
Hideki Matsuyama
The PGA Championship hasn’t been much fun for the 2021 Masters champion. He missed the cut last year and hasn’t finished in the top 25 since tying for 23rd in 2021.
Brooks Koepka
Remember when Koepka would show up at a PGA Championship and say that the majors were sometimes the easiest tournaments to win? Ah, those were the days. Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour has been up and down. A fourth PGA Championship victory would tie Tiger Woods for third most in history (Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen won five).
Ben Griffin
After struggling in the Florida Swing, Griffin seems to be turning things around. He tied for 10th in the Zurich Classic team event and was solo third in the Cadillac Championship. He tied for eighth at Quail Hollow last year.
Here are the sleeper candidates to win the PGA Championship. This tier includes a few previous major champions, winners on tour this season and a handful of players who have made comebacks this season.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler stacked up top-10s in his past three starts in the RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship and Truist Championship. His last PGA Tour victory came in the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Ross-designed Detroit Golf Club. He ranks 20th on tour in putting (.484) and 19th in driving accuracy (63.2%).
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay’s game finally showed some signs of life with three straight top-12 finishes in the Valspar Championship, Masters and RBC Heritage. His putting has held him back from doing more; he’s 110th in strokes gained on the greens (-.219).
Jake Knapp
Knapp withdrew from the past two signature events because of a sprained left thumb. He was red-hot during the West Coast swing and finished 11th in the Masters. If Knapp is healthy, he might be a contender this week.
Jordan Spieth
This will be Spieth’s ninth attempt to complete the career Grand Slam; he’d become the seventh golfer to do it. His last major championship victory came in the 2017 Open Championship. Spieth doesn’t have a top-10 finish this season.
Jordan Spieth would complete the career Grand Slam with a win at the PGA Championship. Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesSepp Straka
Straka posted 68-66 on the weekend to tie for fourth in the Cadillac Championship at 11 under. It was his second top-five finish this season. He didn’t play well in the majors last season and tied for 41st in the Masters.
Shane Lowry
Lowry doesn’t have a top-20 finish since blowing a late lead in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches on Feb. 26. Maybe the golf gods will throw him a bone this week. He had top-12 finishes in his past seven PGA Championship starts.
Joaquín Niemann
Niemann is a seven-time winner in the LIV Golf League, but he finished outside of the top 10 in six of his first seven starts in 2026. He tied for eighth in last year’s PGA Championship, his only top-10 in 26 starts in majors.
Justin Thomas
Other than a tie for 23rd in the Cadillac Championship, it has been a tough stretch recently for Thomas since he tied for eighth in The Players. He is 121st in strokes gained: total (-.465), 103rd in approach (-.142) and 152nd in putting (-.605). The two-time PGA Championship winner still seems to be figuring things out after undergoing back surgery in November, although he played much better at Quail Hollow.
Sam Burns
Burns is playing better in the majors with three top-10 finishes in his past seven starts. He tied for seventh in the Masters.
Wyndham Clark
Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, came out of a difficult stretch with three straight top-25s, including a tie for 21st in the Masters. Will he putt well enough to contend?
Jacob Bridgeman
Bridgeman has cooled off after his torrid start to the season, and that was to be expected. He still ranks No. 1 on tour in putting (1.106), so he could be a real sleeper.
Jason Day
Day seemed to break through a rough stretch by tying for sixth in the Texas Children’s Houston Open and for 12th in the Masters. Hopefully, Malbon doesn’t get too crazy with his outfits this week. Those Philly fans can be rough.
Keegan Bradley
This year’s results haven’t been great for Bradley, who didn’t finish higher than a tie for 12th in his first 10 starts. At least he has fond memories of Aronimink, where he outlasted Rose to win the rain-plagued FedEx Cup Playoff event in 2018.
J.J. Spaun
The reigning U.S. Open winner won the Valero Texas Open after an awful start this season. He missed the cut in the Masters, but then had three consecutive top-25s.
Maverick McNealy
McNealy has been getting better and better in the majors. He tied for 23rd in last year’s Open Championship and for 18th in the Masters.
Corey Conners
The Canadian golfer is still a ball-striking machine, but his short game and putting have been problems this season. He doesn’t have a top-10 in 11 starts.
Si Woo Kim
Kim tied for eighth in last year’s PGA Championship; his lone top-10 finish in 35 starts in majors.
Alex Noren
The Swedish golfer finished in a tie for 17th or better in each of his past two PGA Championships.
Gary Woodland
Woodland’s remarkable victory in the Texas Children’s Houston Open is still the biggest highlight of the PGA Tour season. He tied for 12th in the 2018 BMW Championship.
Daniel Berger
Berger lost in a playoff in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and missed the cut in the Masters. He tied for 23rd in the Cadillac Championship.
Adam Scott
Scott, 45, proved he still has some game with a tie for 24th in the Masters. His last top-10 finish in the PGA Championship was a tie for eighth in 2019.
Sahith Theegala
Theegala has bounced back from a dreadful 2025 season with four top-10s.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson is a two-time PGA Championship runner-up but hasn’t done much in the event since his last one in 2020.
Matt McCarty
McCarty’s form has been great for the past few events, and he produced back-to-back top-25s in the Masters.
Denny McCarthy
McCarthy tied for eighth at Quail Hollow last year. He hasn’t been very accurate off the tee this season.
Min Woo Lee
“The Chef” hasn’t been cooking in the majors recently, missing the cut in five of his past six starts.
Alex Fitzpatrick
The younger Fitzpatrick is already making the most of his PGA Tour card, finishing fourth in the Truist Championship. He won the Hero Indian Open on the DP World Tour in March.
Kristoffer Reitan
The PGA Tour rookie rode a hot putter to a surprising victory in the Truist Championship, collecting a $4 million winner’s purse. He joined Hovland as the only Norwegian golfers to win on tour. The 28-year-old won twice on the DP World Tour and once on the Challenge Tour.
Nicolai Højgaard
Højgaard won three times on the DP World Tour and almost picked up his first PGA Tour victory in the Truist Championship, tying for second at 13 under, two strokes behind Reitan.
They are the long shots. Everything would have to fall perfectly in place over 72 holes in four days at Quail Hollow Club for someone from this tier to win. There have been more than a few underdogs who have hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy. Remember Y.E. Yang, Shaun Micheel and Rich Beem? It can be done.
Michael Brennan
Brian Campbell
Bud Cauley
Thomas Detry
Ryan Fox
Ryan Gerard
Lucas Glover
Max Greyserman
Harry Hall
Brian Harman
Joe Highsmith
Ryo Hisatsune
Max Homa
Sungjae Im
Michael Kim
Kurt Kitayama
Tom McKibbin
Keith Mitchell
Andrew Novak
John Parry
Taylor Pendrith
Marco Penge
J.T. Poston
Aldrich Potgieter
David Puig
Andrew Putnam
Aaron Rai
Alex Smalley
Cameron Smith
Brandt Snedeker
Sam Stevens
Nick Taylor
Michael Thorbjornsen
Jhonattan Vegas
Matt Wallace
Bernd Wiesberger
Will Zalatoris
Glover, Harman and Smith are former major championship winners. Smith hasn’t been the same golfer since he jumped to the LIV Golf League. The 32-year-old Australian missed the cut in each of his past six starts in the majors.
Harman and Glover are more than capable of putting together four good rounds this week, but they’re fighting their swings (and putters) this season.
Homa, who has fallen to 118th in the world rankings, got into the field after two-time PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson withdrew because of an ongoing family situation. He tied for ninth in the Masters, his third straight top-12 finish at Augusta National, but hasn’t done much else.
Zalatoris was one of the best ball-strikers in the world until a back injury derailed his career. He is playing through lingering back pain and has dropped to 326th in the world rankings.
This group includes a few aging golfers who are trying to hang on to their cards, and several newcomers who are attempting to get more access to the tour. They aren’t expected to be among the contenders unless something truly magical happens, as it did for Micheel more than two decades ago.
Angel Ayora
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Chandler Blanchet
Dan Brown
Ricky Castillo
Stewart Cink
Pierceson Coody
Luke Donald
Nico Echavarria
Steven Fisk
Emiliano Grillo
Jordan Gumberg
Kazuki Higa
Garrick Higgo
Daniel Hillier
Rico Hoey
Rasmus Højgaard
Ian Holt
Billy Horschel
Stephan Jaeger
Casey Jarvis
Kota Kaneko
John Keefer
Chris Kirk
Haotong Li
Mikael Lindberg
David Lipsky
Max McGreevy
William Mouw
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Davis Riley
Patrick Rodgers
Adrien Saddier
Jayden Schaper
Adam Schenk
Matti Schmid
Jordan Smith
Austin Smotherman
Elvis Smylie
Travis Smyth
Andy Sullivan
Sami Välimäki
Riley tied for second at 6 under in last year’s PGA Championship, which was his first top-10 in a major championship. However, he hasn’t been nearly as good this year, missing the cut in six of his first 11 starts. He posted 82-80 in the first two rounds of the Masters.
Horschel tied for third in the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink, missing a spot in the playoff by one shot. He missed three of four majors last season while he was sidelined for six months following hip surgery.
These are past PGA Championship winners who aren’t included in the tiers above. Past champions receive a lifetime exemption into the major. The list included 1991 winner John Daly and 2002 winner Rich Beem, as well as Woods, who stepped away from golf following his DUI arrest in March.
Jason Dufner
Padraig Harrington
Martin Kaymer
Shaun Micheel
Jimmy Walker
Y.E. Yang
It’s the 10th anniversary of Walker’s one-shot victory over Day in the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. He made three birdies on the back nine to finish 3-under 67 in the final round. The leaders were forced to play 36 holes on Sunday after nearly four inches of rain fell the day before.
Harrington, 54, tied for fourth in the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, a tournament Mickelson won to become the oldest major champion at age 50. Harrington missed the cut in three of his past four starts in the event.
Derek Berg
Francisco Bidé
Michael Block
Tyler Collet
Jesse Droemer
Bryce Fisher
Chris Gabriele
Mark Geddes
Zach Haynes
Austin Hurt
Jared Jones
Michael Katrude
Ben Kern
Ryan Lenahan
Paul McClure
Ben Polland
Garrett Sapp
Braden Shattuck
Ryan Vermeer
Timothy Wiseman
There will be another Block party in the PGA Championship. Block, 49, will be making his eighth start in the tournament after carding a final-round 69 in the PGA Professional Championship in Bandon Dunes, Oregon.
Two years ago, Block stole the show in the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. He started the final round tied for eighth and made an ace on the par-3 15th while playing with McIlroy.
Droemer, a teaching pro at Riverbend Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas, won the tournament in Bandon Dunes to qualify for his third PGA Championship.
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