ES
NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
Table of Contents
The 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club gave golf fans a crowded Sunday leaderboard on a demanding Donald Ross design. Heavy bunkering, sloped greens and a strategic closing stretch kept the field tight, with 22 players within four shots entering the final round.
Aaron Rai won at 9 under, closing with a final-round 65 to beat Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley by three shots. He started Sunday tied for second, two shots off the lead, then turned the tournament with an eagle at No. 9 and a back-nine push that separated him from the field.
For weekly PGA followers, this was exactly the type of result that makes golf tournament results worth tracking closely: a packed board, a late move, a clear winner and several contenders who had chances but could not match Rai’s finish.
Slice and Cut Your Way
To Winning Golf Picks
With This Elite
Handicapping Membership
How Rai Won the PGA Championship
Rai began the final round at 4 under, tied for second and two shots behind 54-hole leader Alex Smalley. He did not take control immediately, either. Rai was 1 over for the day through eight holes, which kept the championship open and left several players in range.
The tournament changed at No. 9, where Rai made eagle and flipped his round. He followed with birdies at Nos. 11 and 13, with the birdie at 13 giving him the outright lead for good.
From there, Rai gave himself the cushion he needed. He added a birdie at the reachable par-5 16th, then made a nearly 70-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th. That closing stretch turned a crowded Sunday into a three-shot win.
The Turning Point That Changed the Tournament
The biggest swing came from Rai’s run from No. 9 through No. 17. After playing his first eight holes in 1 over, he played his final 10 holes in 6 under.
The eagle at No. 9 brought him back into the center of the tournament. The birdie at No. 13 mattered even more because it put him in front for good. Once he added birdies at Nos. 16 and 17, the chasers were no longer just trying to keep pace. They were running out of holes.
That stretch mattered because the rest of the crowded leaderboard stalled. Aronimink gave players scoring chances, but it also punished mistakes and made closing pressure difficult. For readers who follow weekly golf picks, it was a reminder of how quickly a major can swing on one back-nine scoring burst.
Rahm and Smalley Came Up Short
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley both finished tied for second at 6 under, three shots behind Rai. Smalley had the clearest opportunity after starting Sunday with the 54-hole lead at 6 under, while Rahm began the final round tied with Rai at 4 under.
Smalley closed with a 70, which kept him in the fight but did not give him enough separation. Rahm shot 68 and stayed close, but Rai’s back-nine surge changed the math for everyone chasing.
This was not a dramatic collapse as much as a missed chance in a major that stayed tight deep into Sunday. Smalley had the lead, Rahm had position, and both finished well. Neither could match Rai’s decisive run from the ninth hole through the 17th.
Thomas Made a Sunday Push
Justin Thomas helped shape the final-round story by posting an early clubhouse lead at 5 under. He began Sunday six shots off the lead, shot 65 and finished tied for fourth.
That round mattered because it showed Aronimink still had scoring chances available. Thomas put pressure on the leaders before the final groups were done, but Rai eventually moved past that number and created a gap the rest of the field could not close.
Kurt Kitayama also made one of the strongest moves of the week, shooting a bogey-free 63 in the final round. That was the tournament’s best round and tied for the lowest final-round score in major championship history, though it left him tied for 10th at 3 under.
Final PGA Championship Leaderboard
| Position | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Rai | -9 |
| T2 | Alex Smalley | -6 |
| T2 | Jon Rahm | -6 |
| T4 | Justin Thomas | -5 |
| T4 | Ludvig Åberg | -5 |
| T4 | Matthias Schmid | -5 |
What the PGA Championship Told Us
The 2026 PGA Championship showed how Aronimink can produce a demanding but still attackable major setup. The winner reached 9 under, six players finished 5 under or better, and several contenders had chances entering Sunday. Still, the late holes separated players quickly.
Rai won because he found the decisive scoring stretch at the right time. His eagle at No. 9 changed his round, his birdie at No. 13 gave him control, and his birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 ended the chase. For fans comparing tournament form with PGA golf picks, that kind of closing execution is the detail that often matters most after the leaderboard settles.
Going forward, this result gives golf followers a clear major storyline. Rai is now a first-time major champion, the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919, and a player whose Sunday finish at Aronimink will define this championship week.
For broader context beyond one tournament, readers can use a golf betting guide to better understand weekly markets, compare options through trusted sportsbook reviews, or follow experienced golf handicappers as the season continues.
