PGA Championship Takeaways: What We Learned From Aronimink
Alright, so the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Feels like ages ago, right? We’re talking what, three and a half years when you factor in everyone’s short attention spans? But hey, some stuff just sticks with you. Some moments, some shots, some guys doing… well, whatever the hell they were doing. It’s been rattling around the old noggin, so let’s just get into it. Forget the winner for a second, because there’s always a winner. What else did we see? What actually matters?
Harrington’s Late Charge: More Than Just a Top 20
You gotta feel for Padraig Harrington. He was dreaming of a Sunday miracle, starting way back, needing to chase down a bunch of guys. Didn’t get the fairy tale win, sure. But what he *did* get was pretty damn cool. After a pretty meh first 15 holes on Sunday, he pulls out an eagle on 16. Then a par on 17. And then, just for kicks, a bladed wedge on 18 for birdie. Boom. Under par, top-20 finish. Not bad for a guy who’s… well, not exactly a spring chicken anymore.
Let’s break down just how ridiculous that was:
- His T18? Best major finish in five years. Five. Years. Since that T4 way back in 2021.
- He’s now one of only three guys over 54 to sniff a top 20 at the PGA. Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen. Yeah, *those* guys. (Snead’s late-career runs at 60-something? Pure madness. Preposterous.)
- If you take out his opening round – that 74 – Harrington was playing lights out. His last 54 holes? 69-67-69. Five under par. Only two guys played better over that stretch: Ludvig Aberg and Aaron Rai. And they were supposed to be the young guns.
So yeah, Harrington’s still got it. And he’s heading to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Keep dreaming, Padraig.
Cam Smith’s Resurgence: New Coach, Same Putter Magic?
It was good to see Cam Smith back in the mix at a major. Partly because you just want to watch him putt. That guy can roll it. After six straight missed cuts in majors, he brings in a new swing coach, Claude Harmon III, and suddenly his irons are looking sharp. That’s a big deal, because his putter? That’s always been money.
His driving, though? That’s still a wild ride. Adds to the drama, I guess. But he definitely found something at Aronimink. Makes you wonder where this form is gonna take him next.
After the tournament, Smith was stoked, but admitted it was tough making the switch. He’d been with his old coach, Grant Field, since he was nine. Twenty-three years. That’s longer than some of us have been alive. He called it one of the hardest phone calls he’s ever made. But you know what? He feels it’s the right move. Seeing better strikes, different shots. It’s working. And that’s what matters.
Jon Rahm’s Near Miss: A Different Kind of Pressure
Tiger Woods always said winning takes care of everything. Well, finishing second by playing damn good golf, only to get beaten by a guy who eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie in the last 10 holes? That takes care of *almost* everything. Enter Jon Rahm. He was all smiles after his final round 68, landing him in second place. His first major top-five since… 2023. Time flies when you’re playing well, I guess.
He was surprisingly candid, too, about the whole “everyone’s gonna shoot 20-under” narrative going into the week.
“Most of Monday and Tuesday I spent thinking what was wrong with me,” he said. “Because everybody was saying we were going to shoot 15-to 20-under here, and I didn’t see any chance in the world of that happening.”
He even thought second place at nine-under was lower than expected. He’s been playing solid, too. T8 at LIV Virginia, won in Mexico, T38 at the Masters. But he admitted that when the pressure ramps up in majors, those weak links you’ve been working on? They can absolutely wreck your foundation. He’s just glad those things he felt he could have done better at Augusta actually worked out this week. Good for him. Seriously.
Masters Invitations: The Ultimate Consolation Prize
Alex Smalley had a two-shot lead going into Sunday. He didn’t hold on. But he walked away with something pretty damn sweet: an invitation to next year’s Masters.
Even after the winner was decided, Smalley finishes eagle-bogey-birdie to snag a T2. His playing partner, Matti Schmid, locked up a T4. Neither had ever played Augusta National. And guess what? A top-four finish in a major gets you a ticket. So, yeah, that’s happening for them.
Smalley even admitted it was on his mind on the final green. “I’m thrilled to be going to Augusta next year,” he said. He knew the top four and ties rule. He wasn’t really *thinking* about it, he claims, until he hit the green on 18 and saw where he stood. Just trying to two-putt, lag it up. That 20-footer uphill? Just wanted a tap-in. It went in. Lucky break, I guess? (It was also worth about a million bucks.)
For Smalley, this tournament could be a springboard. He’s got the confidence now. He knows he can compete out there, even in the majors. That’s huge.
The Top 15 Club: Guaranteed Major Starts
Beyond the winner, the top 15 finishers and ties get an automatic invite back to next year’s PGA Championship. This is a massive deal. Think about it. The 2025 PGA had some wildcard contenders in there, meaning guys like Davis Riley, Joe Highsmith, and Jhonny Vegas got a shot at the 2026 event when they might not have otherwise.
This year’s top 15 was mostly filled with the usual suspects, the high-ranked guys we expect to see anyway. But for Smalley (World No. 42) and Schmid (No. 65), not to mention Kurt Kitayama (No. 29) and Max Greyserman (No. 63), it’s a nice safety net. One major tee time secured for 2027, no matter what else happens. That’s peace of mind right there.
World Ranking Jumps: The Supporting Cast Shines
This is more of a fun fact, but some of the biggest leaps in the world rankings after this PGA are a reminder of who was actually out there making noise, even if they weren’t the main story.
- Club pro Ben Kern made the cut, finished 80th, and went from unranked to No. 1781.
- Harrington’s T18? Rocketed him from No. 894 to 502.
- Martin Kaymer, T35, jumped from No. 1160 to 720.
- Reigning Ryder Cup hero Luke Donald made the cut, finished T70, and went from No. 1300 to 1081.
- And Cam Smith’s T7? Took him from No. 239 to 145.
These guys might not be hoisting trophies, but they’re grinding, and the rankings reflect it. Good for them.
The Unshakeable Consistency of the Elite
Rory McIlroy finished T7. That’s his 15th top-eight finish in a major since 2020. Fifteen. Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, was T14.
How consistent are these two? It’s been over five years – since the 2021 Masters – since a major finished without either McIlroy or Scheffler in the top 10. Let that sink in. Five years of dominance.
And then there’s Xander Schauffele. His T7? That’s his 16th top-20 finish in his last 17 major starts. Sixteen out of seventeen. Preposterous.
It’s no accident that these three guys have won seven of the last 10 majors. When the pressure is on, these are the guys who deliver. They’re built different.
Aaron Rai: The Shot That Sealed It
I found myself behind the drivable par-4 13th for a bit on Sunday, just watching and listening to the radio. They give out these headsets at some events, and they’re a blast when things get chaotic.
McIlroy and Schauffele came through, both making a mess of the hole, battling just to make bogey 5s. Then Aaron Rai walks up. From the exact same front bunker where Schauffele had just blasted one way past the hole, Rai pulls off the perfect shot. Birdie 3. And that’s when he really seized control.
If there’s one ball flight I’ll remember from this whole PGA, it’s Rai’s approach on the par-5 16th. A soaring, left-to-right banana ball. Watched it from behind the green. It didn’t just find the green; it landed perfectly, chasing towards a ridiculously tricky back-right pin. Set up an easy eagle putt. Which he turned into a ho-hum birdie. If he’d made par there, the door would have stayed open. But that birdie? Game over.
I hung out by the 17th tee, a par-3 over water. Rai marched down. His tee shot was a bit sketchy – his anti-left mechanism kicking in, I guess – leaving him nearly 70 feet for birdie. The amphitheater around the 17th green and 18th tee? Best spot on the property all week. I had a great wide-angle view from a couple hundred yards back. I’m thinking, “What’s a three-putt gonna mean here?” He absolutely crushed that putt, too. For a split second, I thought it was gonna sail past the hole and into the water.
Turns out, his judgment was a bit better than mine. Ball finds the bottom of the cup. I saw the crowd’s reaction a split second before the sound hit me. Made the roar even louder when it finally arrived. What an exclamation point. That’s how you win a major.
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