2026 PGA Championship Betting Preview

With all due respect to Quail Hollow and the Truist Championship, it’s time to start thinking about the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia. The Donald Ross design, combined with a great restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner eight years ago, should provide a great test for the world’s best players. 

Aronimink will play as a par 70 that can be pushed back to nearly 7,400 yards and features Bentgrass fairways and greens, as well as three- to four-inch rough and more than 170 bunkers. During the restoration, Hanse and Wagner brought back Ross’ original bunkering, which split many of the large traps into multiple, smaller bunkers. This will challenge players, as you are sure to see some odd lies on or near the lips of the bunkers.

The greens at Aronimink are pure and can be extremely fast and undulating. Putting skill will be muted a bit because of how the green speeds and breaks. Players will face defensive lag putts from distance all week, similar to what you see at Augusta National or Muirfield Village.

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Aronimink is going to be a different test than what we typically see in a PGA Championship, where distance and raw power are given an extreme advantage. With only two par 5s, this course mutes the distance advantage and instead rewards positional accuracy and precision with its doglegs and hazards. 

So if driving distance and putting don’t matter as much this week, what does matter? Elite iron play — especially with mid and long irons — and the mental ability to take what the course gives you.

When playing the course as it is designed, players will see an abundance of approach shots from 150-plus yards. Many of the par 4s are designed to have players hit their tee shots to certain larger parts of the fairway to avoid the bunkers and rough. Many of these areas will leave approach shots from 150 to 200 yards, often from uneven lies due to the topography and camber of the fairways. 

The four par 3s will play extremely difficult as three are over 215 yards on the scorecard from the back tournament tees. I don’t expect these holes to be tipped out every day, but we will likely see yardages vary daily based on pin locations. 

Overall, iron play will be paramount, similar to what we see at Augusta National because the undulations of the greens can really reward great shots with a makeable birdie attempt, while errant shots will leave a difficult up and down or tough two-putt from distance over a ridge. So when looking to target players this week for pools, fantasy contests, or bets, target players who are elite with their mid- to long-irons.

Check back early next week, when I’ll be back with some Longshots and Best Bets.