Sunday at Aronimink promises to be a wild day.
Twenty-two players began Sunday’s final round at the 2026 PGA Championship within five shots of leader Alex Smalley. Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg are among a group of players who are two shots back. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed are three back. Justin Rose is four back and Scottie Scheffler will start Sunday five shots back.
To say the leaderboard is “bunched” would be an understatement.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Scheffler said on 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 leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament. There’s a lot of guys that have a chance. Going into tomorrow, just somebody is going to have a great round, and I’m going to make sure to do my best to give myself my best shot at being the one who has a great round.”
Given the packed nature of the leaderboard, there is a good chance that Sunday will end in a playoff.
At the PGA Championship, the playoff format is a three-hole aggregate that will see players play holes 10, 17 and 18. If the players remain tied, they will play No. 18 in a sudden-death format until someone wins.
The last PGA Championship to go to a playoff was in 2022 when Justin Thomas defeated 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 a leaderboard set up to deliver 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’s going to be great to watch as a fan, but as a player, it’s pretty stressful, and you’ve really got to lock in.”
