Read GOLF’s Tour Confidential for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport. This week, with the PGA Championship at Aronimink, we’ll hit one key topic every night.
One day into the 2026 PGA Championship, seven players — including Scottie Scheffler — are tied for the lead, although there were a handful of surprises on Thursday at Aronimink. Which one stood out to you?
Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): Garrick Higgo being tardy for his tee time — at a major! — was … something. More surprising was his lack of accountability when facing the media, saying “I was obviously there on time but late.” And yet even more surprising is that he would be tied for the lead without the blunder. What a way to start a major.
Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): How about Martin Kaymer’s appearance at the top of the leaderboard today? It’s been so long since he’s been a factor, I had to remind myself of his career creds, which are impressive: a PGA, U.S. Open and a Players Championship — albeit a decade-plus ago. He’s ranked 1,160 and playing this week on a lifetime PGA Champion exemption thanks to that win in 2010. His performance — so far! — is a surprise indeed.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): I would not have banked on Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy to be a combined 10-over par on Day 1, especially after Rory’s comments about the course not demanding much strategy off the tee. I would have expected Aronimink to favor a couple of guys who have done quite well bombing and gouging their way around various venues.
Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): The golf course. This isn’t personally surprising to me, but the reports of Aronimink’s potential obsolescence seem to have been greatly exaggerated. Rory said before the tournament there was no penalty for missing fairways and it turned out that the proximity difference between hitting from the fairway or not was actually greater than the PGA Tour average. It seems the severeness of the slopes and undulations of the greens proved quite the challenge as well. I saw lots of players hitting multiple chip shots. Is Aronimink short by most modern standards? Sure, but it’s very well defended. What is interesting is how bunched the field is and I wonder if that will continue Friday when the winds are supposed to be even higher.
Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Kaymer to me is the biggest shocker. He hasn’t had a top 10 on LIV since last July in the UK. His finishes this season in the rebel league are as follows: T51, T52, T42, T31, T25, T39. Nothing about that screams major contender and yet he’s in the mix. An honorable mention to Rory McIlroy, finishing his round with four straight bogeys to shoot four over and put himself in danger of missing the cut. Neither of those were on my bingo card this week.
