Sunday at Aronimink it promises to be a wild day.
Twenty-two players started Sunday’s final round at 2026 PGA Championship within five strokes of leader Alex Smalley. Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg are among a group of players who are twice behind. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele AND Patrick Reed are three behind. Justin Rose is four back and Scottie Scheffler will start Sunday five shots back.
To say leaderboard is “stacked” would be an understatement.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Scheffler said Saturday after shooting a 1-over 71. “When we were out there, I think it’s just the nature of a lot of different things, but yeah, I’ve never seen a board like this, so stacked. Going into tomorrow, it’s very literally, somebody has a great chance to go to a tournament. I’m going to have a great round and I’m going to make sure I do the best I can to give myself my best chance.” good to be the one having a great round.”
Given the tight nature of the leaderboard, there’s a good chance Sunday will end in a playoff.
In the PGA Championship, the playoff format is a three-hole total that will see players play holes 10, 17 and 18. If players remain tied, they will play 18 in a sudden-death format until someone wins.
The last PGA Championship to go to a playoff was in 2022 when Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris at Southern Hills. Before that, it had been 11 years since Keegan Bradley beat Jason Dufner in a playoff to win the 2011 PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Aronimink has set up a leaderboard to provide high drama on Sunday, with a major championship waiting at the finish line.
“Come tomorrow, there’s going to be 25, 30 guys within striking distance with 9 to 10 holes to play,” Schauffele said. “It will be fantastic to watch as a fan, but as a player, it’s very stressful and you really have to shut down.”
