2026 PGA Championship field: Ranking the top players from 1-26 at Aronimink Golf Club

Which players among the field of 156 players are primed and ready to contend for the second major championship of the season?

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- Before last year's PGA Championship, which saw Scottie Scheffler steamroll the field to win by five shots, the May version of this championship had produced tight affairs. Since the move in 2019, every PGA Championship has had a winning margin of two strokes or less, with Justin Thomas winning in a playoff at Southern Hills and Xander Schauffele making a tournament-sealing birdie on the 72nd hole at Valhalla, representing the smallest margin between winners and, well, the losers.

While some aesthetics of this championship may not live up to the standards of the others, what cannot be denied is how close the PGA Championship has been in recent years. And with this tightness comes the necessity to split hairs amongst the competitors vying to raise the Wanamaker Trophy by week's end.

The golf world has both contracted and expanded in the early stages of the 2026 season. While the same name who occupies the top of every odds board occupies it this week, those immediately looking up at him seem to have inched closer. As for those who are looking up at the immediate chasing pack, however, that distance seems as far as ever.

Patrick Reed mentioned at the Masters that he believed there were roughly 10 players who could slip on the green jacket at Augusta National. He was probably right, but he did not know that he might have been speaking about all the major championships in 2026, including this one at Aronimink Golf Club.

Let's get into the top 26 players in this week's PGA Championship, held just outside Philadelphia.

2026 PGA Championship field

1. Scottie Scheffler (Won 2025): In six PGA Championship appearances, Scheffler has five top-10 finishes, including his victory at Quail Hollow a season ago. In fact, since the beginning of the 2024 season, Scheffler has finished outside the top 10 in a major championship just once -- at Pinehurst No. 2. In his run of three straight runner-up results leading into this tournament, the world No. 1 has shown the DNA we have grown accustomed to seeing from him as a true tee-to-green machine. The kicker, however, has been the first two days. If he is on the first page of the leaderboard early, he won't be going anywhere the rest of the way.

2. Rory McIlroy (Won 2012, 2014): Xander Schauffele stated that McIlroy winning majors despite a wayward driver is a scary prospect for all, and he could not be more right. A more complete player and able to scrap and claw his way around a golf course, unlike a younger version of himself, McIlroy sounds like a man ready to go on a run. In order to do so, he will need to drive the ball better this week than he did at Augusta National, as fairways will be at a premium. Oddly enough, he has not had a top-five finish in the PGA Championship since his win at Valhalla.

3. Cameron Young (T3 in 2022): There is no one making the game look easier right now. The Players Championship winner has matched his prodigious driving and sharp iron play with a comfort level on the greens stretching back to this time last season. Young continues to pile up experience in major championships, as with his T3 finish at the Masters, where he was paired with McIlroy in the final round. When he is in the mix, he is there for good, but his major championship résumé is boom-or-bust as he has seven top-10 finishes and 12 finishes outside the top 30 in his 19 major starts. 

4. Xander Schauffele (Won 2024): Now has top-10 finishes in over 50% of his major championship appearances thanks to his T9 at the Masters. A winner on a long and soft Valhalla in 2024, Schauffele is trending towards that form by the week, but he still needs his chipping and pitching to come along in order to reach that point. It has been a bunch of floor performances so far in 2026. A ceiling performance would likely capture another Wanamaker.

5. Matt Fitzpatrick (T5 in 2022): Fitzpatrick has three top-10 finishes in the 14 majors since his win at The Country Club, but the good news is two of them have come in the last year. It was at the 2025 PGA Championship where Fitzpatrick got back on track in the form of a T8 finish at Quail Hollow, and he has been rolling ever since. His play at the Truist Championship was uninspiring, but the bones of the operation remain sound.

6. Jon Rahm (T4 in 2018): His T8 finish at Quail Hollow last year is misleading, as he was nipping on Scheffler's heels on Sunday before a required aggressiveness late in the tournament sent his name down the leaderboard. A disappointment at the Masters as he never got out of the blocks, the two-time major champion will be licking his chops at the prospect of proving people in his corner right (and those not wrong). Rahm is still a top talent and live to win any major he starts, but it seems like conversations around him continue to center around what's going on outside the ropes rather than inside of them.

7. Ludvig Åberg (MC in 2025): Åberg struck out in two prior PGAs as he was less than 100% in his debut and imploded late to miss the cut last year. His work is as complete as it has ever been, as his short game has taken a nice stride, and his iron play continues to take advantage of the way his driver sets up his game. The Swede has had his chances to take down a couple of tournaments this season but has yet to enter the winner's circle.

8. Bryson DeChambeau (2nd in 2024): A lot of people bought at the top when it comes to DeChambeau's stock this season. Reaching highs ahead of the Masters thanks to two wins on LIV Golf, the two-time major champion has since come crashing down with a missed cut at the Masters and a withdrawal at LIV Golf Mexico City. This may be the time to buy back in, as he has four top-four finishes in his last five PGA Championships, including two straight runner-up results.

9. Russell Henley (T12 in 2015): There's a world only a few alternate universes away where Henley is your Masters champion. The Georgia Bulldog instead finished T3 for his third straight top 10 in a major and his fifth such finish in his last seven majors. A player without the pop of some of the top golfers, Henley's game is more suited for the firm and fast test, which the PGA Championship has not been since its move to May. The results indicate this, as he has zero top-20 finishes since 2015.

10. Tommy Fleetwood (T5 in 2022): Weekend rounds of 73-76 at the Masters put the Englishman's tournament in reverse and his season in neutral. Struggling to garner momentum on the greens this year, he may have discovered just that at Quail Hollow. He got the competitive juices flowing in Charlotte, which should give him the confidence to contend this week.

11. Justin Rose (T3 in 2012): At 45, Rose relishes the spotlight these major championships provide. While much is made of his acumen at Augusta National, the Englishman has been stellar in recent PGA Championships with five straight top-15 finishes from 2020-24. The move to McLaren irons brought a pile-up around the first turn in Miami and a lengthy pit stop in Charlotte, but he never makes that decision if it jeopardizes his ability to try to snag another major title.

12. Patrick Reed (T2 in 2017): Another major and another rust vs. rest predicament for Reed. The 2018 Masters champion has not been seen since contending at Augusta National and comes to arguably his worst major championship without any competitive reps in the last month. This May version of the PGA Championship has turned into a driving contest of sorts (hence Reed's poor results), but this year, he is experiencing both the best driving and iron season of his career. If there was ever a PGA to change his fortunes, it is this one.

13. Brooks Koepka (Won 2018, 2019, 2023): Koepka has three wins and a runner-up result at Kiawah in his last eight PGA Championship appearances. Motivation and renewed energy seem to have engulfed Koepka as he continues to strike the ball beautifully, only to be undone by his putter. In the two biggest events of his season, Koepka finished T13 at the Players Championship and T12 at the Masters. He still has majors in him.

14. Collin Morikawa (Won in 2020): Morikawa's chances come down to his health. If he is more limber than he was at the Masters -- where he still finished T7, mind you -- he will likely be a factor. He was able to bunt his ball around Augusta National and Harbour Town en route to top-10 finishes, but Doral ate his lunch. Morikawa withdrew from the Truist Championship, fueling further speculation about his status.

15. Tyrrell Hatton (T10 in 2018): Might have the most value on the board at the moment. Hatton finished T3 at the Masters, nearly won the U.S. Open last season and is finding his stride on LIV Golf. If he drives the ball as he did at Augusta National, the Englishman will contend. Similar to Henley, this has not been his major championship of choice, especially since its move to May, but he did finish inside the top 15 at both Southern Hills and Oak Hill.

16. Rickie Fowler (T3 in 2014): A 63 in Round 2 at Quail Hollow catapulted him up the leaderboard, where he nearly chased down the leaders on Sunday for his first win since 2023. The T2 finish marked his third straight top 10 in a signature event, showing his game is suitable for the bigger, brawnier tests. He hasn't had one of those finishes in the PGA since 2021, when he was given a special invitation, as his putter has been a head scratcher in this championship. The confidence is there with the full swing. If it continues with the putter, it could make for a fun story.

17. J.J. Spaun (T37 in 2025): After a sleepy start to the season, Spaun has awoken. Since winning at the Texas Open again, the reigning U.S. Open champion has added top 25s at Harbour Town and Doral to his list of placements, along with a top-five finish last weekend at Quail Hollow. The iron play has been red hot, and now, the putter is starting to look like it did in 2025. He doesn't have a top-30 finish in his PGA Championship career, but he has never entered one as a major champion either.

18. Alex Fitzpatrick (n/a): Well, that escalated quickly. From not being a PGA Tour member to nearly winning two times in three starts, the younger Fitzpatrick is proving to us (and himself) that he more than belongs on the biggest stages in golf. The driver is a weapon thanks to a heavy dose of left-to-right bleeders that never seem to go off line, and his short game more than holds its own. He finished T17 in his lone major championship start back at the 2023 Open.

19. Si Woo Kim (T8 in 2025): Perhaps the best player on the PGA Tour without a win this season, Kim proved in last year's championship that he can play himself into the mix even if conditions don't play into his hands. The former Players winner was in the final group on Saturday and backtracked to T8 for his best PGA finish. While he remains a tee-to-green menace, Kim's ability to do more than just finish on the first page of the leaderboard comes down to his putter and maintaining his aggressive nature on the greens.

20. Patrick Cantlay (T3 in 2019): Kind of nailed Cantlay at the Masters, where he would finish on the second page of the leaderboard, and the PGA Championship looks like it could be the same. Since his T12 at Augusta National, he has put quality outings together at Harbour Town and Quail Hollow. He continues to struggle on the greens, but that could be offset given the severity of some of these complexes.

21. Chris Gotterup (MC in 2024): The Jersey boy should feel at home this week. Cooling off since his two early-season wins, Gotterup's game should still be up for the major challenge as he has three top-25 finishes in his last three major starts. This marks only his second PGA Championship, but he arrives as a completely different player than two years ago and with more options in his game, should one aspect lag behind.

22. Robert MacIntyre (T8 in 2024): MacIntyre has shown that if he hits his irons well, he will threaten to take down a tournament. He has gained strokes on approach only three times this year, at the Sony Open (T4), Players Championship (4th) and Texas Open (T2). The left-hander finished his 2025 major campaign with a top 10 at The Open following his runner-up at the U.S. Open. He started his 2026 major campaign in equally memorable fashion, albeit not for his play at Augusta National.

23. Harris English (T2 in 2025): Flushed his way to a couple of runner-up results in the majors last year, including the PGA Championship. English was stuck in purgatory (Nos. 21-30 on the leaderboard) for much of the year before a top-five finish at Harbour Town. The ball striking has been checkered in 2026, but English is a player who to tends to find his game on more difficult layouts, as noted by three top 20s in his last five PGA starts.

24. Sam Burns (T19 in 2025): May have found something in the final round at Quail Hollow, where he shot 64. A consistent fixture on the leaderboard at the Masters, Burns is starting to show up in majors when looking at his U.S. Open last season as well. Quietly has four top-20 finishes in his last seven major starts.

25. Justin Thomas (Won 2017, 2022): Twice a winner of this championship and arriving off his best tournament of the season, Thomas may garner some attention. There is some trepidation about how his game translates to the majors over the last four seasons, as he has just one top-30 finish. The good news? That came at Valhalla a couple of seasons ago.

26. Jordan Spieth (2nd in 2015): He's been living on the second and third pages of the leaderboard this season as inconsistencies continue to be his downfall. There will be moments where Spieth seems to have everything in tune, and then there will be moments where Spieth seems to have everything out of tune. He has five top 20s in his last nine starts, but none of those have doubled for a top 10.

Players who just missed out: Matt McCarty, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Gary Woodland, Nicolai Højgaard, Alex Smalley