Tour Confidential: Aaron Rai's PGA win and a bizarre week at Aronimink

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Aaron Rai shot a final-round 65 to win the PGA Championship and claim the Wanamaker Trophy.Getty Images

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Aaron Rai’s PGA Championship victory, grade Aronimink as a venue and more.

Aaron Rai emerged from a crowded field to win the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday, claiming the first major title of his career. How did Rai, who won by three, run away from the field so easily when others couldn’t?

Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): When you look at the strokes-gained stats, you can see Rai made his hay in two areas: approach play and on the greens. For the week, he ranked second in the field in SG: Approach and fifth in SG: Putting. With the way Aronimink played all week, dominating in those two categories turned out to be the recipe for success. He may not have been one of the longest players in the field (66th for the week), but when you are hitting it close and making putts, you can afford to give away a little distance. As a fellow short hitter, I respect the hell out of it. 

Josh Sens, senior writer, (@joshsens): He was also *checks stats* fourth in fairways hit, which was crucial this week, what with the juicy rough and those feisty greens and not-to-mess with hole locations. Distance control was crucial. That’s hard to do when you’re playing approaches from the spinach. Rai was mostly in the short grass off the tee.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): All those stats are nice but what will stick with me from a Sunday where Aaron Rai did what Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others couldn’t, are three shots. First, the bunker shot on No. 13. I watched all day as guys went into that bunker and left the shot out of the sand short as they tried to run it up the slope. Rai flew it onto the back shelf and stopped it. Made par. Next came the 15th hole when he pulled 3 wood off the tee, knowing he’d have a long second shot in. He stuck to his game plan that hit a tight draw into that green. On the 16th hole, he worked the ball the other way to set up a two-putt birdie. He had total control of his ball and, outside of Justin Thomas, was probably the only one on Sunday.

Alex Smalley held the 54-hole lead, while five players were two back and 21 total started Sunday within four shots of the lead. Does this type of final-round setup make for a better major Sunday? Or would you prefer something like a couple of stars — or another option — dueling in the final pairing?

Melton: It probably makes for a more compelling Sunday for the casual fan with so many names in the mix, but it’s not necessarily the best way to determine a champion. When there is separation at the top of the leaderboard, it’s usually an indicator that great shots are being rewarded and bad ones punished. The type of setup we saw this week at Aronimink made some golf purists pull their hair out, but for the casual fan, it made for a compelling board heading into the final round. To each their own.

Sens: Early in the week, lots of comparisons were made to the U.S. Open, with the firm conditions and the big bounces and the challenges around the greens. But by Sunday we had something that felt closer to an Open Championship, with a bunch of unexpected names on the leaderboard on a setup that didn’t necessarily favor bombers. The ending was anticlimactic, but for a good part of the day, it was an entertaining change of pace. It’s not often we get that deep into a major with so many guys — a mix of big stars and lesser lights — still having a legitimate chance to win.

Schrock: It makes for a good TV product. Does it always identify the best player? No. Did it this week? I think so. Perhaps that can be the PGA’s identity going forward. A chaos-car crash major. 

PGA Championship host Aronimink Golf Club received some flak early in the week — “strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent; it’s basically bash driver down there and then figure it out from there,” Rory McIlroy said pre-tournament — but the course and conditions proved to be a difficult test. Was the course unfairly judged? How would you grade Aronimink as a PGA venue?

Melton: I’ll give it a solid B. It wasn’t as good as some PGA hosts in recent history (Southern Hills, Kiawah), but it was much better than some others (Valhallah, Quail Hollow).

Sens: In the era before grade inflation, B meant good, which seems about right. It was a good venue. McIlroy might have felt like there was no strategy off the tee, but he sure cost himself some opportunities by not finding the fairway, and I’m sure he’d love to have that errant tee shot on the short par-4 13th back as well. If there was anything to harrumph about, some of the hole locations seemed borderline. That’s where I’d knock off a couple of points.

Schrock:  I really liked it. I loved the greens and thought the setup for three of the four days was tough but fair. It’s not Kiawah but it’s better than most and will probably be better than next year’s in Frisco. 

Who won the 2026 PGA Championship without winning the PGA Championship?

Melton: Gimme Cam Smith. He’s been MIA in majors recently with six straight missed cuts coming into the week, but his performance at Aronimink showed he’s still got plenty of game. A T7 is a nice sign that he’s still got plenty of game and can compete on the biggest stages. It was fun seeing him in the mix again. 

Sens: Good call on Smith. A bit farther down the leaderboard, it was fun to see 54-year-old Padriag Harrington shake off an opening 74 and put together a tidy weekend to finish inside the Top 20. That’s pretty much a win for the over-50 set.

Schrock: I agree with Zephyr. Smith was at the top of the golf world when he left for LIV in 2022. He played well in 2023 but has been in the wilderness ever since. He’s chaotic good in golfing form. Honorable mention to JT, who has been non-existent in majors since he won at Southern Hills. Golf is better when he’s in contention on the big stage.

Which means the biggest loser of Sunday was who or what?

Melton: I know Jon Rahm was only bested by the eventual champ, but I’ll give him the nod here. On a day when none of the biggest stars made a huge move, the Wanamaker seemed to be his for the taking. Unfortunately for him, he simply couldn’t find enough birdies and remains stuck on two major titles.

Sens: And there’s Rory, who woulda, coulda, shoulda but failed to get anything out of the par 5s all week.

Schrock: I struggle with this one. Rory clearly was battling the driver all week. Two rounds it worked. Two, it didn’t. He could’ve stolen one this week but I don’t think he leaves Aronimink kicking himself. To me, it’s Scottie. Scottie played great golf in tough conditions on Thursday and Friday and then missed all sorts of putts from inside five feet on the weekend. 

An action-packed week featured a Bryson DeChambeau missed cut, Cam Smith resurgence, a rare penalty and lots of relative unknowns flying up the leaderboard and contending at a major championship. What did you learn during PGA week?

Melton: Pre-tournament narratives should not be taken as gospel. Aronimink was supposed to get torn apart. Instead, we had a U.S. Open break out. Golf can be a funny game that way.

Schrock: That there might be nothing cooler than Patrick Reed’s schedule going Masters, PGA, U.S. Open with nothing in between. And he’s probably going to contend in all three! 

Sens: That guys with iron covers and plastic tees can be serious golfers, too. And that no matter what kind of form he’s in, Xander Schauffele continues to be a major-championship machine. This is his 10th top 10 in his last 14 tries, two of which were wins.

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