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Down the Stretch at John Deere

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SILVIS – Lucas Glover (T1/-16), the 18-and 36-hole leader/co-leader, carded a 2-under (69), highlighted by an eagle on No. 2. He holds 54-hole lead/co-lead for fifth time on TOUR (most recent: 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship/Won) and is 2-for-4 in converting 54-hole lead/co-lead into victory.

Glover leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (10.254) and Strokes Gained: Approach The Green (8.840).

Lee Hodges (T1/-16) recorded six birdies against two bogeys on Nos. 6 and 8 en route to third-round (67). He holds 54-hole lead/co-lead for third time on TOUR (2022 American Express/finished T3, 2023 3M Open/Won) and is 1-for-2 in converting to victory. Hodges ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting (8.598).

The 54-hole leader(s)/co-leader(s) has gone on to win 10 of 25 individual stroke-play events on TOUR this season

John Deere Classic | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

T1 Lucas Glover 63 65 69 197 (-16)

T1 Lee Hodges 64 66 67 197 (-16)

T3 Ben Kohles 65 67 66 198 (-15)

T3 Jackson Suber 68 64 66 198 (-15)

T3 Zac Blair 63 68 67 198 (-15)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

The John Deere Classic | Tournament Facts

COURSE: TPC Deere Run, Silvis, IL

YARDS/PAR: 7,327 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECTS: D.A. Weibring and Chris Gray

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: $8,800,000/$1,584,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Brian Campbell

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @JDCLASSIC @JohnDeere

Scheffler Leads the Pack at Travelers

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CROMWELL (Conn) – (Wire Service Report) – Scottie Scheffler bumped in a par putt at No. 18 for a second-round 60 to stand atop the leaderboard at 16 under through 36 holes of the Travelers Championship on Friday at the TPC River Highlands course, just south of Hartford, Connecticut.

Scheffler missed a long birdie by mere inches to the right on the par-4 18th before tapping in for the 10-under 60, one better than Norway’s Viktor Hovland (61 on Friday) and two better than Akshay Bhatia’s second-round 62.

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Hovland is alone in second, two back of Scheffler at 14 under. Bhatia ended the day in a tie for third at 12 under with Eric Cole (65).

“After birdieing 15, I was kind of like, ‘Oh, yeah, maybe 9 under now. A few more, you could shoot 59,’” Scheffler said.

“At the end of the day, I was very focused on just my execution out there. … I’ve put myself in position now this week. Go home, get some rest, and get ready for tomorrow.”

Overnight rain led to soft greens and low scoring at TPC River Highlands on Friday, a common theme in the second round albeit nothing entirely novel at the event.

With a round of 60, Scheffler ties Patrick Cantlay (2011) and Tommy Bolt (1954) for the top second round. Jim Furyk (58 in 2016) holds the tournament single-round scoring record and Cameron Young posted a 59 in the third round two years ago.

“The conditions were really good this morning. Softer golf course, not as much wind,” Scheffler said. “Going out yesterday in the afternoon, when the greens get firm out here and the wind starts to blow, it can get tricky pretty quickly.

“Yeah, going out this morning, you definitely had a feeling the conditions were going to be easier, so you need to go out there and try and take advantage of it.”

After opening with a birdie Friday, Scheffler made a bogey 5 at the second. The missed 6-footer on the par-4 was arguably his last mistake Friday before shifting into overdrive. He had 10 birdies on his final 16 holes in the second round with matching scores of 30 on the front and back nine in his bid to win the event for the second time in three years.

Hovland was 9 under on Friday with a 30 on the front nine and a highlight eagle on the par-5 13th.

“It was awesome stuff today,” said Hovland, who tied his career-low round on tour. “Obviously been kind of battling some stuff. You know, my golf swing had not felt all that comfortable. But, you know, I felt like things stabilized a lot more today, and I was able to put the ball in the fairway, hit some great iron shots, and putter finally cooperated a little bit more today.”

Bhatia walked off the course earlier with the lead before Hovland and Scheffler closed out the round emphatically. He had four birdies on each nine in a bogey-free trip around River Highlands, including putts from outside 26 feet at Nos. 3 and 10.

“I feel like I’ve putted really good the whole year,” Bhatia said. “I went through a stretch where when the greens were as good or consistent, even though I hit good putts, they just weren’t going in. … I feel like I kind of showed up this week, you know, did my same stuff, and my speed has been really good this week. I’ve had pretty stress-free putts.”

Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick had a late-afternoon run undone by bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18. He settled for a 66 and a tie for fifth at 10 under with Bud Cauley and Ben Griffin, each of whom also posted 66.

There was no 36-hole cut at the 72-man signature event. Notables down the board include defending champion Keegan Bradley (65) and U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark (64) at 8 under, PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai of England (68) at 7 under and Justin Thomas (66) at 6 under.

–Field Level Media

Connecticut’s James is On the Job

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By TERRY LYONS

CROMWELL (Conn) – After prepping at Hamden Hall Day School and playing the very best golf courses at every chance, Ben James decided to attend the University of Virginia to play golf. James grew up in Milford, Connecticut, developing his game at Great River Golf Club, where his grandfather, Donald James Sr., worked part-time after retirement and his father, Donald James Jr., played in his youth.

They might’ve dreamt of great things for Ben, but little did they know just how far those dreams would take their grandson/son.

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James played four seasons at Virginia (2022-26), where he earned seven individual victories, tying Ben Kohles‘ school record for career wins and one of his victories included the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate, which earned him an exemption for the 2025 Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR.

One outing and one experience after another, led James to the next level.

James became only the fifth collegiate golfer in history to earn four All-America First Team honors, following Gary Hallberg (1977-80 at Wake Forest University), Phil Mickelson (1989-92 at Arizona State University), David Duval (1990-93 at Georgia Tech), and Bryce Molder (1998-2001 at Georgia Tech).

James earned his PGA TOUR membership as the No. 1 player from the 2026 PGA TOUR University Ranking after those four amazing seasons four seasons in Charlottesville. Now, there’s no turning back.

Actually, this wonderful tournament at the TPC River Highlands, just south of Hartford, was James’ first rodeo. He made his PGA TOUR debut as a sponsor exemption at the 2022 Travelers Championship, playing in a field which also featured Chris Gotterup, Cole Hammer, and Michael Thorbjornsen as a few other sponsor exemptions. James was keeping good company, all along.

When James teed-off at the Travelers Championship on Thursday, he had $204,170 in winnings and a 4-for-11 record in making the cut at his events on Tour. Home course advantage would help him get a good – but not great – start today.

James shot (-2) under (68) and was tied for 30th as the “big boys,” like Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood turned for home in the afternoon. Tournament defending champion, Keegan Bradley, was (-3) under after 16 holes. Gotterup was one-over as his round concluded.  TPC River Highlands was kind to the morning groups after a couple days of hard rain, but a heater rising to 83-degrees and gorgeous blue skies dried up the course quickly, and it played tougher as the clock struck military time of 14:00 hundred.

James went out in (32) as par read (35) and he was on the morning leaderboard and stirring interest in the local fan base, happily following his journey. The back nine was not so kind as the course firmed-up, and James shot (36) on the par (35) to finish with his (68) on the par 70 course. The three bogeys with two birdies dotted the back nine scorecard and two of those bogeys came on No. 17 and No. 18, sending young James to the lockers with a “what might’ve been” scorecard.

The early clubhouse leader was Eric Cole who posted a healthy (63), seven under par on a course which Bradley conquered last summer with a (-15) score.

Of course, this is the same golf course where Jim Furyk (2016) and Cameron Young (2024) carded the glorious, and often untouchable “59.” But, keep in mind, in 2024, Scottie Scheffler posted a (-22) to win the tournament and it took a playoff to defeat Tom Kim that year. Bradley won in 2023 with a (-23).

That means, there’s a lot of golf to be played. There’s a cut to be made for Ben James (T-15) and then, on Saturday, maybe the hometown crowds from Milford will spur their proud Hamden Hall and Virginia Cavalier on to – possibly – his best finish as a professional at the ripe age of 23.

 

 

PGA: New England’s Signature Event

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CROMWELL – The Travelers Championship ‘26 is the last of this year’s PGA Tour Signature Events, all held during the regular season. Next year, the Travelers will remain on the championship level of the TOUR.

At 6,844 yards, TPC River Highlands was the second shortest course on PGA TOUR in 2025 with Port Royal Golf Course shorter at 71/6,828 yards.

This week – one week after the U.S. Open at Shinnecock – the field includes:

  • Nine of the top 10 in the FedExCup standings
  • Eight of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • Five past winners of the Travelers Championship: Jordan Spieth (2017), Harris English (2021), Xander Schauffele, (2022), Keegan Bradley (2023, 2025), Scottie Scheffler (2024)
  • With the short hop across the Long Island Sound, 61 of the 72 players in the field competed at last week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, including five of the top six finishers: Wyndham Clark (Won), Sam Burns (2nd), J.T. Poston (T4), Keith Mitchell (T4), Scottie Scheffler (T4)
  • There are four sponsor exemptions: Tony Finau, Ben James, Jordan Spieth, Keith Mitchell.

There have been four rounds of 60 recorded on TOUR this season and, in the past, two sub-60 scores here at the Travelers Championship.

This season:

60, Wyndham Clark, R4, TPC Craig Ranch, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

60, Si Woo Kim, R2, TPC Craig Ranch, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

60, Andrew Putnam, R2, La Quinta Country Club, The American Express

60, Blades Brown, R2, Nicklaus Tournament Course, The American Express

Lowest 18-hole score in (Travelers) tournament history:

58, Jim Furyk, R4, 2016

59, Cameron Young, R3, 2024

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More Notes:

o Following a T4 finish at last week’s U.S. Open, Scottie Scheffler (3,111) reclaims the lead in the 2026 FedExCup standings and holds a 241-point lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (2,870)

o Adam Scott enters the week after making his 100th consecutive major championship appearance, dating to the 2001 Open Championship (only Jack Nicklaus with 146 has played in more than 100 straight majors). Scott, the 14-time PGA TOUR winner, has made 438 starts, with his most recent win coming at the 2020 Genesis Invitational.

o Ben James, a Milford, Connecticut native, earned PGA TOUR membership as the No. 1 player from the 2026 PGA TOUR University Ranking. He made his professional debut two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open and finished T54 with rounds of 67-63-78-69. James played four seasons at the University of Virginia (2022-26).

Wyndham Clark Wins US Open

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SOUTHAMPTON – (Wire Service Report) – Wyndham Clark is once again a top-10 golfer in the world after capturing his second U.S. Open title in four years. Clark jumped 26 spots to No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday, one day after he won the third major of the 2026 season.

Clark had his first major breakthrough at the 2023 U.S. Open and climbed as high as No. 3 in the world in 2024. A less-than-stellar start to the 2026 season saw him tumble as far as 75th in the world, which is where he stood when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

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He bounced back to No. 45 in his next start by winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson outside Dallas, then gained eight more spots to No. 37 by placing third at the Memorial Tournament, a signature event with a strong field.

Clark won by one stroke over Sam Burns Sunday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club after starting the day with a six-shot cushion on the field. Burns, for his part, rose from No. 30 to 15 in the world.

In third place was South Korea’s Tom Kim, who like Burns made a late push to try to apply pressure as Clark slipped from 7 under to 4 under for the event.

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Kim has struggled in recent years and fell as far as No. 152 in the world before playing the RBC Canadian Open two weeks ago. His U.S. Open finish propelled him from 141st to 64th in the rankings.

Bryson DeChambeau missed his third straight major cut of 2026 and dropped two spots to No. 34 in the rankings. He has had a successful season on the LIV Golf circuit, where world ranking points are being doled out for the first time, but only to the top 10 finishers of a given event.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: It’s On to Shinnecock Hills

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SOUTHAMPTON, NY – This week will feature the third major of the 2026 season (Rory McIlroy/Masters Tournament; Aaron Rai/PGA Championship) and the 126th playing of the U.S. Open, dating to 1895.

The 2026 U.S. Open will be the 76th USGA championship and 21st U.S. Open conducted in New York. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is the lone course to have hosted the U.S. Open in three different centuries. The golf course was founded in 1891, is the oldest incorporated golf club in the United States. Shinnecock is one of the five founding member clubs of the USGA, which was established in 1894 and conducted its first championships in 1895.

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In 1896, Shinnecock Hills hosted the second U.S. Open (35 total players) and second U.S. Amateur (58 total players).

The 2026 U.S. Open is the 10th USGA championship to be conducted by the club and the sixth U.S. Open (1896/James Foulis, 1986/Raymond Floyd, 1995/Corey Pavin, 2004/Retief Goosen, 2018/Brooks Koepka).

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will also host the 2036 U.S. Open and 2036 U.S. Women’s Open.

The USGA accepted 10,201 entries for the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, one entry shy of the record 10,202 entries accepted for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. This year marks the fifth time in championship history that the number of entries exceeded 10,000.

The field will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 and ties.

In the event of a playoff, a two-hole aggregate playoff will take place following the completion of Sunday’s final round

U.S. Open | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Shinnecock Hills Country Club, Southampton, Long Island

YARDS/PAR: 7,440 yards/Par 70

ARCHITECT/DESIGN: Willie Davis in 1891 and later expanded by Willie Dunn in 1894. William Flynn is credited with the major redesign in 1931.

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: TBD

DEFENDING CHAMPION: J.J. Spaun

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup #USOpengolf

U.S. Open | The Basics

The Tee Times at Shinnecock start at 6:35am (ET) and go to 2:42pm (ET).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast on the East End of Long Island is uncertain. Morning sun still sees a 41% chance of rain. Temperatures 77-83 degrees but winds blowing at 20 mph.

Tournament Web Site: (link)

PGA Tour Brunch – U.S. Open edition – will post at 6:00am (ET) on Thursday.

U.S. Open – Field and Tee Times

The Field: (link)

Tee Times: (link)

U.S. Open | Tournament Odds

Odds Courtesy Betting Hero – Select Players

Scottie Scheffler +550

Rory McIlroy +1200

Jon Rahm +1500

Xander Schauffele +1600

Tommy Fleetwood +1800

Matt Fitzpatrick +1800

Cameron Young +2000

Ludvig Åberg +2200

Russell Henley +3300

Si Woo Kim +3500

Collin Morikawa +4000

Chris Gotterup +4000

Patrick Reed +4000

Sam Burns +4000

Tyrrell Hatton +4000

Bryson DeChambeau +4000

Brooks Koepka +4500

Patrick Cantlay +5000

Viktor Hovland +5000

Justin Rose +5000

Justin Thomas +5000

Wyndham Clark +5000

Maverick McNealy +6000

Min Woo Lee +6000

Kurt Kitayama +6000

J.J. Spaun +6000

Aaron Rai +6500

Jordan Spieth +7000

Harris English +7000

Hideki Matsuyama +7000

Joaquin Niemann +7000

Shane Lowry +7000

Robert MacIntyre +8000

Ryan Gerard +8000

Adam Scott +8000

Kristoffer Reitan +8000

Ben Griffin +8000

Jake Knapp +10000

Jacob Bridgeman +10000

David Puig +10000

Alex Fitzpatrick +10000

Gary Woodland +10000

Cameron Smith +10000

Nicolai Højgaard +10000

Sepp Straka +10000

Alex Noren +10000

Bud Cauley +10000

PGA Tour: Henley Birdies ‘Em All

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FT. WORTH – (Wire Service Report) – Russell Henley did some of his most difficult work during Sunday’s final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge to get into a playoff. Yet he still had to put aside his nerves to finish the task. Henley birdied the first playoff hole with a putt from inside 5 feet to defeat Eric Cole and complete a comeback victory in Texas.

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“This is why I practice hard … to come back to the playoff and do that, I’m still just kind of shaking,” Henley said. “That was as nervous as I’ve been over a putt in my whole life.”

Henley shot 3-under-par 67 with birdies on the final three holes before beating Cole in the playoff. They were tied at 12-under 268.

Cole, who shot 70 in the fourth round, failed to convert a 13-foot putt for birdie before Henley sank the winning putt when the duo replayed the par-4 No. 18 at Colonial Country Club.

“The putt was good, I hit it pretty much where I was aiming, I just kind of misread it,” Cole said. “I thought it might start breaking left a little earlier.”

Henley, now a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, won for the first time since the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I think the longer you play this game, the more you want, you want more success and I feel like I’ve just worked harder and harder and I feel like I’ve been a little off just mentally this year, really,” Henley said. “Just feel like I just fought really hard through the end, so it just felt really good to see an awesome result.”

Henley’s round began with an eagle on the par-5 first hole and a birdie on the next hole followed by three consecutive bogeys. He played Nos. 3-9 in 4 over before recovering. His tying birdie putt on No. 18 was from about 16 1/2 feet.

He recalled “feeling a little jittery” on the front side. Then that changed.

“I just kind of calmed down a little bit and started to hit some good shots, and felt like I was hitting good putts most of the day and they just went in at the end,” he said.

Cole, the third-round leader, was bidding for his first victory on the PGA Tour. He had birdies on the first two holes but didn’t maintain the momentum and was hurt by a double bogey at No. 9.

“I was proud with the way I played,” Cole said. “I think I played solid for the most part. I drove the ball pretty well. I just needed to shave a shot somewhere.”

Defending champion Ben Griffin (65), Mac Meissner (69) and Alex Smalley (68) shared third place at 11 under.

Meissner, playing in the last pairing with Cole, needed a birdie on No. 18 to join the playoff. Instead, his second shot ended up in a bunker and he scrambled for par.

Griffin moved into second place by the midway mark of the round, catapulted by playing the front nine in 5 under. He was even par the rest of the way. Griffin’s 65 matched Steven Fisk for the best round of the day.

“I felt like I was going to make a nice run when I woke up this morning,” Griffin said. “My game was trending in the right direction. It’s a course I have experience on and I kind of know what you have to do on Sunday here.”

He nearly rolled in a 50-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

J.J. Spaun (70), Gary Woodland (67), Michael Brennan (68) and Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (68) all tied for sixth place at 10 under.

Brennan pulled into a share of the lead by mid-afternoon, but across his final seven holes, he had three bogeys and two birdies.

Woodland was happy to move into contention.

“I’m excited about where the game is at,” Woodland said. “I definitely didn’t get the most out of it this week, I played a lot better than what I scored, but happy with where it’s at.”

England’s Jordan Smith, who led at the tournament’s midway mark, finished at 8 under and tied for 13th place after a final-round 68.

–Field Level Media

Clark Takes the CJ Cup

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McKINNEY, TEXAS – Wyndham Clark (1st/-30) won his fourth PGA TOUR title in his 201st start at 32 years, 5 months, 15 days. Clark’s final-round 60 (-11) sets new tournament record for the low final-round score with the previous best, a (61) by Xander Schauffele/2022).

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Clark also shot 60 in what was the final round to win the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am (weather reduced to 54 holes).

Clark is one of four players to post 60 or better in the final round en route to victory on record: David Duval/1999 American Express (59), Stuart Appleby/2010 Greenbrier Classic (59), Tommy Gainey/2012 RSM Classic (60), Wyndham Clark/2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (60)* and 2026 CJ CUP Byron Nelson (60): Note *54 holes due to weather.

Clark joined Si Woo Kim (R2/2026 CJ CUP Byron Nelson), Blades Brown (R2/Nicklaus Tournament Course) and Andrew Putnam (R2/La Quinta CC) – both at The American Express – with the lowest round on TOUR this season.

CJ Cup | Final Leaderboard
1 Wyndham Clark 66 63 65 60 254 (-30)

2 Si Woo Kim 64 60 68 65 257 (-27)

3 Scottie Scheffler 66 63 65 65 259 (-25)

4 Jackson Suber 68 61 69 63 261 (-23)

5 Keith Mitchell 64 66 68 64 262 (-22)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

 

Next Up: The CJ Cup

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McKINNEY, TEXAS – TPC Craig Ranch will host THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson for the sixth time, honoring the legacy of the tournament namesake, the great Byron Nelson, the first PGA TOUR event to be named in honor of a professional golfer.

Nelson had 52 career PGA TOUR wins including a record 18 titles (11 straight) in 1945.

PGA Tour Brunch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Following Scotties Scheffler’s win in 2025, TPC Craig Ranch underwent a $25 million overhaul, its first major redesign since opening in 2004. Led by renowned course designer and World Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins, the project features completely redesigned bunkers, resurfaced greens for more pin options, new grass turf, lengthened holes and strategic bunker repositioning to curb low scoring

CJ Group ambassadors in the field include: Pierceson Coody, Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim, K.H. Lee

Five of the last six champions at THE CJ CUP Bryon Nelson have been international players (Sung Kang/South Korea/2019, K.H. Lee/South Korea/2021-22, Jason Day/Australia/2023, Taylor Pendrith/Canada/2024).

Forty players that competed at last week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, including top-10 finisher Matti Schmid (T4).

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Tournament Facts
COURSE: TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas

YARDS/PAR: 7,385 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECT: Tom Weiskopf

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $10,300,000/$1,184,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup

BYRON NELSON ORGANIZATION: (link)

 

PGA Championship: Weekend Warriors

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2026 PGA Championship | Third Round

NEWTOWN SQUARE – The first two rounds of the 108th PGA Championship challenged the field with overnight rain and wet conditions for the morning cycle of Thursday’s tournament opener and cold, blustery conditions for the Friday morning crew. In both cases, PGA of America pin placements made the course even tougher.

That second round of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club concluded with Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy holding the co-lead at 4 under par after 36 holes.

The punitive rough, brutal morning winds, and what World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler described as “kind of absurd” pin locations kept the leaderboard exceptionally tight. Despite a tough three-bogey start, Smalley rebounded with a 69, while McNealy battled to shoot (67). A massive pack of heavy hitters remains firmly in the hunt, including Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Gotterup just one shot back at 3 under. Meanwhile, Scheffler ground out a 71 to join two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas and Cameron Young at 2 under, and Rory McIlroy fired a clean 67 to safely make the weekend at 1 over par.

A historic 58 players sit within six shots of the lead, creating the most crowded 36-hole leaderboard in tournament history. The difficult scoring conditions ultimately caused the cut line to settle at 4 over par, sending 73 players packing. There were moments of high drama late in the afternoon on the cut line loop. Former champion Justin Rose spectacularly kept his weekend hopes alive by chipping in for an eagle on his final hole to finish at 3 over, while Michael Kim holed a lengthy eagle putt on his final shot to safely clear the line at the exact same mark.

The stringent (+4) cut line claimed an incredibly distinguished group of elite players, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, who missed his second consecutive major cut after finishing at 7 over despite a late flurry of three straight birdies. Joining him on the wrong side of the line was World No. 6 Tommy Fleetwood (+5), whose tournament unraveled after making only two birdies all week. Other top-tier stars who failed to advance included former major champions Viktor Hovland (+6), Wyndham Clark (+5), Keegan Bradley (+6), and Adam Scott (+8). Highly ranked contenders like Russell Henley (+5), Tyrrell Hatton (+6), and Max Homa (+12) also fell victim to Aronimink’s relentless defense, making for a star-studded list of early exits.

2026 PGA Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

T1 Alex Smalley -4 (69)

T1 Maverick McNealy (-4) (67)

T3 Hideki Matsuyama (-3) (67)

T3 Aldrich Potgieter (-3) (72)

T3 Chris Gotterup (-3) (65)

T3 Stephan Jaeger (-3) (70)

T3 Min Woo Lee (-3) (69)

T3 Max Greyserman (-3) (69)

Full Leaderboard (link)