The last time the PGA Championship visited Aronimink, Gary Player won by a single stroke at two-under, and the course made everyone else look ordinary. More than 60 years later, the world’s best players return to this historic course this week for the 2026 PGA Championship.

This year marks the 108th edition of the event, scheduled for May 14-17. This marks only the second time the PGA Championship has been played at Aronimink, with the first coming back in 1962. The 2020 Women’s PGA Championship was also played at Aronimink, making it the first venue to have staged all three of the PGA of America’s rotating majors, adding the Senior PGA Championship win from 2003 to complete that set.

The course’s roots go back to 1896, when a group of cricketers in Philadelphia laid out golf holes at 52nd Street and Chester Avenue under the name Belmont Golf Association. By 1900, the club had incorporated as Aronimink Golf Club, moving locations twice before its most consequential decision: in 1926, purchasing 300 acres in Newtown Square. By Memorial Day 1928, it opened its current home, with Donald Ross brought in to design the 18-hole layout.

Ross took the assignment seriously. In 1948, two decades after completing the course, his thoughts about it were candid.

“I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built it better than I knew.”

Ross designed over 400 courses in his career, and Aronimink is the one he singled out. His design signatures are well known: strategic use of natural terrain, crowned turtleback greens, and complex bunkering that demands clear thinking before club selection.

The first major test came in 1962, when Gary Player won the PGA Championship over Bob Goalby on the par-70 layout, finishing at two-under. That winning score says something about the course. Aronimink does not reward power alone. Head professional Jeff Kiddie, 17 years at the club, explained it directly.

“If you look at players who have won here, Gary Player, Justin Rose in 2010, and Keegan Bradley in 2018, they always seem to be well-rounded players. They’re not the longest, but they’re long enough. They’re really good iron players and streaky putters.”

An estimated 200,000 spectators are expected across the week. This event near Philadelphia coincides with America’s 250th anniversary. A recent renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner brought the course closer to Ross’s original vision, particularly regarding bunkers, which had been built in smaller, more scattered formations than what Ross likely intended.

The course is now as close to what Ross drew as it has ever been, and for the 156-player field this week, that means precision and course management will matter far more than raw distance. At Aronimink, the architect’s influence is still evident in the result.

The venue is set. Now the real question: who will win?

Scottie Scheffler aims for historic repeat at PGA Championship

Scheffler won last year’s PGA Championship by five strokes. A back-to-back win would make him the first repeat winner since 2019. McIlroy walks in fresh off a Masters victory, chasing his third Wanamaker Trophy. He tuned up with a T19 at Truist, though a third-round 75 raised some questions heading into the week.

Cameron Young arrives at Aronimink as one of the hottest players. He has had two wins this season, The Players and the Cadillac Championship, where he led wire-to-wire and won by six strokes. He ranks inside the top six in strokes gained total, tee-to-green, and off-the-tee. At +1100, this is his best shot yet at a first major.

Brooks Koepka at +4500 is easy to dismiss until you remember he has won this specific tournament three times. Back on the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf, he is gradually finding his form. A T11 at Myrtle Beach was a quiet but encouraging tune-up. Five major titles in total, and Aronimink is precisely the kind of stage where Koepka tends to show up.

Ludvig Aberg has quietly built one of the stronger stretches of form heading into this week, with five top-10 finishes in his last six events, including a T8 at Truist. The Swede has Ryder Cup experience and two Masters top-10s, so big moments are not new to him. The one concern: he has missed the cut in both previous PGA Championship appearances.

Jordan Spieth has a chance to complete the career Grand Slam.

Who is your pick?