Photo Credit: Ben Jared/ PGA Tour/Getty Images
Like we did for the Masters, we’re back with our Top 20 power rankings this time, heading into golf’s second major of the year, the PGA Championship.
This year’s edition will be hosted at Aronimink Golf Club, a course we haven’t seen on Tour in eight years, when it last hosted the BMW Championship. The winner that week? None other than Captain Keegan Bradley, who won in a playoff against the man who’s still fresh off the lot with his new McLaren Irons, Justin Rose.
As with all majors outside of the Masters, there will be much less emphasis on course history and past success when evaluating this week’s PGA Championship.
20. Rickie Fowler | Best Finish: T3 (2014)
Do I think Rickie can win? Nope. We all saw how things went down the stretch last week at the Truist. But it’s undeniable the calibre of golf he’s starting to play again. T9 at the API, T8 at the RBC Heritage, T9 at the Cadillac Championship, and T2 last week.
Pencil Rickie in for another solid week at the PGA. Let’s say a T6, with a couple of bogeys down the stretch. Hopefully, he proves me wrong.
19. Min Woo Lee | Best Finish: T18 (2023)
Even though he picked up a win last year, 2026 has been the most consistent season of Min Woo Lee’s career. He has posted several excellent finishes across a variety of course setups.
His Masters performance was downright awful and felt completely out of nowhere given how well he had been playing. That raises some concern, but I am expecting a bit of a bounce back, or even a revenge week, from him here.
18. Russell Henley | Best Finish: T12 (2015)
Russ will probably prove me a bit wrong and go out and ball this week. He has quietly become such a gamer at major championships over the past couple of years. T3 at the Masters, T10 at The Open, T10 at the U.S. Open, 5th at the 2024 Open, T7 at the 2024 U.S. Open.
The one thing missing from that list is a strong finish at the PGA Championship. His best result, T12, came all the way back in 2015, and outside of that, the results have been pretty bleak.
On paper, I am not sure this course sets up ideally for him either, but he has proven plenty of times that it does not really matter. His best results this year have come in the bigger events, which is worth keeping in mind.
17. Nicolai Højgaard | Best Finish: T41 (2025)
Too high? Probably. But he has been knocking on the door more often and is coming off a great week at the Truist Championship, finishing T2.
He absolutely bombs it off the tee, which should be a big advantage this week. Players have noted that the real challenge at Aronimink will be the green complexes, so having shorter approach clubs, as Højgaard likely will, should make a huge difference.
Can he actually win it all? Unlikely, given he has yet to win on the PGA Tour. That said, he has some massive DP World Tour wins, so I would not completely rule it out. He feels due for a breakthrough major performance.
16. Chris Gotterup | Best Finish: CUT (2024)
A true breakout candidate early in 2026, but since his win at the Waste Management, he has only recorded one top 10 finish, a T6. In total, he has three top 10s this year, two of which are wins.
In his only PGA Championship appearance, he missed the cut. However, on paper, this course should suit his game well. Gotterup will look to continue building his major championship resume after a solo third place finish at The Open last year.
15. Viktor Hovland | Best Finish: T2 (2023)
I want Viktor all the way back. It is frustrating that he has not come close to the elite, consistent form we saw at the end of 2023. He has shown flashes, like at the RBC Heritage, but has not been able to sustain it over four rounds. Just one top 10 finish this season says it all.
That said, he has contended late on Sunday at least once in every major season since 2022. Oakmont last year, Valhalla before that, then Oak Hill, then St Andrews.
Even though the form suggests otherwise, you cannot rule out Hovland this week. He is a bizarre golfer. If things click, he absolutely has the talent to win. Consistency has just been his biggest issue.
14. Justin Rose | Best Finish: T3 (2012)
What should have been the main storyline this week is Justin Rose and another strong opportunity to capture that long awaited second major. He has already won on Tour this year, probably should have won the Masters, and has both won and lost in a playoff at Aronimink, this week’s venue.
But instead, just weeks before another legitimate shot at Major number two, he announced his McLaren irons deal.
And the two starts since have not been pretty. Before the equipment change, I would have considered Rose one of the favourites. Now, I am not so sure. Hopefully, he proves me and plenty of others wrong.
13. Brooks Koepka | Best Finish: Win (2018, 2019, 2023)
You cannot count Brooks out this week.
Unfortunately, due to the less than ideal schedule between the Masters and the PGA Championship, we have not seen much of him lately. Since a solid showing at the Masters, where he finished just outside the top 10, he has only played in the Zurich, which I put zero stock into, and the alternate field Myrtle Beach Classic, where he again finished just outside the top 10.
Brooks continues to battle putting issues that have lingered for a while, but you have to respect him heading into this week. As a five time major winner and three time PGA Champion, it still feels like he is in his best form since winning his last major in 2023.
12. Collin Morikawa | Best Finish: Win (2020)
I really have no clue what to do with Collin this week. The back still seems to be an issue, but even with that, he played great at the Masters, finishing T7, and at the RBC Heritage, finishing T4. Now he is coming off a poor result at the Cadillac Championship and a withdrawal at the Truist.
If the back is feeling good, the level of play he has shown this year is more than enough to win his third major this week. We will just have to wait and see with Morikawa. One positive is that he has still gained strokes on approach in every start since the back tweak at The Players Championship.
11. Akshay Bhatia | Best Finish: CUT (2025, 2024)
I really thought Augusta was going to be a breakthrough in the majors for Akshay. I ended up being very wrong.
But what if I told you this PGA Championship will be his breakthrough? Probably not very convincing, but I am in on him again. The game has not been super sharp lately, but golf is so volatile that I am betting a talent like Bhatia will show up in a major sooner rather than later. He has already accomplished a lot for his age compared to most.
10. Tyrrell Hatton | Best Finish: T10 (2016, 2018)
Hatton has turned into a sneaky good major championship player who is consistently in the mix. He is a phenomenal player but does not get talked about as much as other top LIV players. Maybe this is the week he forces people to change that. He has been far better than Rahm in the majors since they both moved to LIV.
Coming into the Masters, I did not have much faith in Hatton based on his average play on LIV, but he proved me wrong and was their best player by a mile. I will not be making that mistake again this week.
Last year he had a real chance to win the U.S. Open late on Sunday at Oakmont, and he was also in the mix at the Masters this year. Hatton is very much in play to win this week, and it should not surprise anyone.
9. Tommy Fleetwood | Best Finish: T5 (2022)
He has come back to earth in 2026, and unfortunately for Tommy, when he was in the best form of his career last summer, he only converted once on the PGA Tour. Since rising to number three in the world, he has struggled to truly contend this year, with a lot of average to below average results.
He had a great chance to win last week at the Truist Championship but could not keep up with Nicolai Højgaard, Kris Retein, and Alex Fitzpatrick down the stretch. Seriously, Tommy, come on.
With all that said, back in 2018, the last time we saw Aronimink Golf Club, Tommy fired two rounds of 62 and still somehow only finished T8. This course setup sounds perfect for him on paper.
This is probably too high, and I know that because, like always, he will most likely disappoint. But maybe this is the time he proves otherwise.
8. Xander Schauffele | Best Finish: Win (2024)
What do you make of Xander this week? To me, he sits right in the middle. His play has been much better than in 2025, but it still feels like something is missing compared to the version of Xander we saw win two majors in 2024.
What exactly is missing? I am not completely sure, but it feels like he is lacking that killer instinct to close out big tournaments.
7. Bryson DeChambeau | Best Finish: 2nd (2024)
Bounce back incoming?
He was one of the most popular picks heading into the Masters but fell well short, missing the cut. His bunker play was especially poor, but I am not putting too much weight on that performance. He has had too many strong showings in majors, especially at the PGA Championship, over the last few years.
It would be foolish to write him off this week.
A tougher question is whether the ongoing LIV drama will impact his focus and preparation. Time will tell, but no one would be shocked to see Bryson lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.
6. Ludvig Åberg | Best Finish: CUT (2025, 2024)
Foolish after his Sunday struggles this year and his previous PGA Championship record? Maybe.
But I am still very high on Ludvig, and I believe a big win is coming. The noise around him also feels quieter this week compared to a month ago. A lot of that likely has to do with the emergence of Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Outside of Scheffler, Rory, Rahm, and Bryson, it felt like the media was always trying to crown a fifth best player. Ludvig was often that choice, even though his résumé did not quite support it yet.
Now, with the continued rise of Young and Fitzpatrick, it feels like some of that pressure has shifted away from him.
Will that matter if he is leading by two heading into Sunday? Not at all. But it might ease things a bit heading into Thursday.
5. Jon Rahm | Best Finish: T4 (2018)
I really hate putting him this high, especially after his uninspiring performance at the Masters. I had him ranked first that week.
But I could not bring myself to drop him any lower.
It feels foolish to have faith in Rahm at majors right now, but last year’s PGA Championship was his best chance on a Sunday since joining LIV. He collapsed down the stretch, but for a few holes, he was right there tied with Scottie.
He continues to put up results on LIV, but it is hard to know how much those actually mean heading into majors. Rahm and DeChambeau both came in red hot before the Masters and then underperformed at Augusta.
Still, enough is enough. Rahm has to contend again in a major soon. It is just too strange otherwise.
4. Matt Fitzpatrick | Best Finish: T5 (2022)
Fitzpatrick and the three players ahead of him are clearly the top four players on the PGA Tour right now, and by a significant margin.
It is hard to believe that entering the year, Fitz had only won twice on Tour, one of which was a major. He has now more than doubled that total, with three wins already in 2026, and he also finished just one shot behind Cameron Young at The Players Championship.
He has already proven he can win a major, and now he is playing the best and most consistent golf of his career. After not contending at the Masters, I expect him to be hungry to get back in the mix on Sunday.
3. Cameron Young | Best Finish: T3 (2022)
Young, like Fitzpatrick, has clearly taken his game to another level. He already has two wins this year, including The Players Championship, the biggest event outside of the majors.
It would not surprise anyone if Cameron Young wins his first major this week, especially after his dominant, wire to wire win at the Cadillac Championship. At times, it looked like he was playing a completely different course than the rest of the field.
He used to be questioned for his ability to close tournaments, but now he looks like one of the safest bets in the game.
2. Rory McIlroy | Best Finish: Win (2012, 2014)
Now a six time major champion.
Last year, after finally completing the career grand slam at Augusta, many people, myself included, thought it would fully unlock his game and make him even more dangerous in majors.
Instead, the opposite happened. Rory spoke about feeling less motivated after achieving that goal, and he struggled at the PGA Championship following his Masters win.
Now in 2026, he once again enters the PGA Championship as the reigning Masters champion after successfully defending at Augusta.
This time, I think we see a different version of Rory. The grand slam is well behind him, and he has had time to reset, with only one start since the Masters.
It is hard to bet against a six time major champion coming in with that kind of form.
1. Scottie Scheffler | Previous Best Finish: Win (2025)
The defending champion and world number one takes the top spot. It may be boring, but it is hard to argue.
After some uncertainty around his game heading into the Masters, he has silenced those doubts with three straight runner up finishes leading into the PGA Championship.
He has not won since his first start of the year at The American Express, but it feels like a win is coming very soon.
It is going to take someone playing elite golf alongside Scheffler this week to stop him from defending his title and winning major number five.
