PGA Championship – so full of storylines
Scottie Scheffler talks to the media on Tuesday – image PGA of America
This week’s PGA Championship will see world number one Scottie Scheffler chasing his second PGA Championship title, world number two, Rory McIlory, his third, world number three Cameron Young, his first, and Brooks Koepka, his 4th.
These are but a few of the intriguing stories surrounding the Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia this week, Jordan Spieth’s bid for victory, also a bid to complete the Grand Slam and join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy as the six golfers to win the professional Grand Slam of major titles.
Scottie Scheffler’s five-shot win over Bryson De Chambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley at Quail Hollow last year is one of four majors the still only 29-year-old has to his name, and like Spieth, he will attempt to complete the Grand Slam, although that must wait till next month’s US Open.
Scheffler has not only won this title but also been runner-up when second to Brooks Koepka in 2023. The Texan’s recent form suggests another major title is very much on the cards, having finished runner-up in his last three PGA Tour starts.
“I think it was last week my wife was like, Hey, Scottie, you’re like the first guy in PGA TOUR history to have three solo runner-ups in a row,” said Scheffler when asked if those finishes were glass half full or half empty.
“I’m like, yeah, it’s probably because the guy that was playing that good figured out a way to win one of those, he didn’t come second in all three.
“A little bit of it is bittersweet. Finishing second in a golf tournament is not bad, but, I mean — especially in the way I did it in a couple of them. I was spotting guys so many strokes going into the weekend.
“So just different things. Overall, yeah, I’d say a little bit bittersweet. You know you’re playing good golf, and you’d love to get some wins. Finishing second hurts, but I think when you reflect and you’re looking at things to work on, there’s a lot less to clean up when you’re finishing 2nd than there is when you’re finishing 30th.”
Rory McIlroy during his Tuesday presser – image PGA of America
McIlroy won his second major title and first PGA Championship when winning by eight at Kiawah Island in 2012 and won again at Valhalla in 2014, but in the past 11 years, he has had a best of only 7th. In the form he is in at present, including his second Master’s title, another showdown between he and Scheffler is a mouthwatering prospect.
McIlroy has played sparingly since the Masters, a 19th-place finish at Quail Hollow enough to get his game ticking over again.
“It’s a much more condensed schedule than it used to be,” said McIlroy, explaining his schedule. “We used to go from April to the end of August. It’s now April to the middle of July.
“So it’s condensed, and you have to — I think that’s why I need to — especially after the last couple of years, I need to take the time after the Masters to reset and decompress and get myself in the right mental space again to get myself up for this tournament and keep going for the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
“Obviously, there’s some tournaments in between those as well. Yeah, I think I came into this tournament last year a little bit sort of uncertain of what my future was — just like I conquered this thing that I wanted to conquer for so long, and I was a little bit — you know, I still hadn’t really reset goals or found whatever that motivation was to keep going or go forward and set myself goals for the rest of my career. It probably took me a good few months to get to that point.
“As I’ve said, like last week, coming into this tournament feels a lot different than what it did last year. I feel like I’ve got some nice clear road ahead to try to get some more of these majors.”
Cameron Young – during practice this week – image PGA of America
Cameron Young has become almost Scheffler-like, given his amazing run since the start of 2026. He has jumped from 19th to 3rd in the world ranking, courtesy of wins at the Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship and third-place finishes at the Masters and the Arnold Palmer Championship.
Young has yet to win a major championship, but he has been runner-up in two and 3rd placed in two, and given the manner in which he has been playing of late and the associated confidence it brings, it would be no surprise to see him collect a ‘major’ breakthrough this week.
Young’s father was a long-serving member of the PGA, and as such, the event has even greater meaning for him
“The PGA Championship, for our family is a great week. My dad was a PGA of America professional forever. I kind of embraced the whole package of that. He was at a great club in New York, worked on the rules committee. So, yeah, this week is special for us.
Unfortunately, he never qualified for the tour, but he was a very good player and had a number of chances to throughout his career. Yeah, it’s a cool one for us just given his connection.”
Young was asked his feelings about his current success; “I think any time you have to wait for something, it makes it better, you know. I think it would be — in a sense, it would be harder if I had won a couple times early and then went a long time without winning.
“Now I feel like to have kind of had several years build up to now, winning a couple times pretty quickly, it makes it feel pretty good.
“I mean, to have gotten through what was at times quite frustrating and come out on the other side of it a better golfer and to have my name on a couple trophies to show for it definitely feels good.”
Jordan Spieth – a PGA Championship away from a Grand Slam – image PGA of America
One player on whom there will be a lot of attention this week is Jordan Spieth, whose previous wins at the Masters, the Open Championship, and the US Open leave him on the verge of a Grand Slam if he were to find a way to contend. Admittedly, that might be easier said than done, given there has not been a top ten in PGA Tour events for over a year, but he has missed only one top ten in 12 starts this season, so his game appears to be coming around after a long time in the relative wilderness.
“I feel good about where my game is at,” said Spieth. “I wish I got a little bit more out of the last couple weeks, but I kind of know what got off now and how it fix and I’m spending the next few days working on that.
“I feel like I’ve been driving the ball really well which is a nice premium. I feel like that puts me in a position to contend here versus maybe when I hadn’t been in other PGAs. The driver has to be a weapon in the PGA Championship. So if I can continue on the path that I’ve been on, then that leaves me with plenty of opportunities.”
“So as far as the career Grand Slam, this tournament’s always highlighted. If I can win one more tournament in my life, it would obviously be this one for that reason. But the easiest way to do that is to not try to, in a weird way, you know.
“My game has been getting better and better. It’s plenty good to have a chance to win. It’s about working my way into contention. I was able to do that a couple of weeks ago. Being in the last couple of groups this weekend, the first time this season. Glad I was there, and hopefully I can do that week and do better.”
Brooks Koepka – chasing an amazing 4th PGA Championship – image PGA of America
Brooks Koepka is chasing a remarkable 4th PGA Championship title in his last nine starts, having won in 2018, 2019 and 2023. Since his return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf at the start of 2026, he has shown enough to suggest a 4th PGA Championship title is not the long shot it might have been a few months ago, and few would deny the already five-time major champion, another.
