Scottie Scheffler shares seven‑way PGA lead

Scottie Scheffler opened the 2026 PGA Championship with a 3-under 67 on Thursday, putting the defending champion into a seven-way tie for the lead after one round at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The world No. 1 finished alongside Min Woo Lee, Martin Kaymer, Ryo Hisatsune, Stephan Jaeger, Aldrich Potgieter and Alex Smalley at the top of a leaderboard shaped more by survival than by low scoring. Aronimink’s first PGA Championship since 1962 produced only seven rounds better than 2 under, according to the official leaderboard. Rory McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion, was among the bigger early casualties after a closing slide left him at 4 over. ### Who joined Scheffler at the top after Thursday’s first round? The official leaderboard showed seven players tied for first at 3 under: Scheffler, Lee, Kaymer, Hisatsune, Jaeger, Potgieter and Smalley. That left a large pack immediately behind them, with Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners among those at 2 under after 18 holes. (nbcsports.com) Associated Press, published by NBC Sports, reported that the seven-way tie was the biggest after the opening round of a major in 57 years. The comparison point was the 1969 PGA Championship, when nine players shared the lead after one round. (pgachampionship.com) ### How did Scheffler get to 67 on a day when Aronimink pushed scores up? Scheffler made two long birdie putts and limited mistakes for most of the round, according to the Associated Press account carried by NBC Sports. He missed only one fairway, and that miss led to one of his two bogeys. (nbcsports.com) Scheffler said the round was his best start of the year outside his opening 63 at The American Express. “Your scores are definitely going to be lower if you hit the ball on the fairway, but it’s still really, really difficult to make birdies,” he said, according to NBC Sports. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports reported that the 67 was also the first time Scheffler has held at least a share of the first-round lead at a major, despite doing so 13 times at various stages in majors before. That gave his title defense an early foothold on a course that offered few easy chances. (nbcsports.com) ### Why was 3 under enough to lead? Aronimink yielded a leading score of only 3 under on Thursday, and AP said no PGA Championship first-round leader had been worse than 3 under since 2008 at Oakland Hills, when 2 under led. The report described fast fairways, severely sloped greens and wind that toughened conditions through the day. (nbcsports.com) The official leaderboard underscored that point. Only seven players finished at 3 under, eight more were at 2 under, and the field quickly stacked up around even par and higher. The projected cut line sat around 2 over based on the leaderboard distribution after the first round, with a large group on that number. (nbcsports.com) ### Which big names are already chasing? McIlroy shot 74 after bogeying his final four holes, according to NBC Sports. The late collapse sent him to 4 over and outside the early cut position after one round. The official leaderboard showed other prominent players in better shape but still behind the leaders. (pgachampionship.com) Schauffele, the defending British Open champion, was at 2 under; Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa were all at 1 under; and Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood and Dustin Johnson were at 2 over. Bryson DeChambeau was not listed among the leaders or the players around the cut line in the official positions shown Thursday night. (nbcsports.com) ### What comes next on Friday? Round 2 begins Friday, May 15, with Scheffler back out in the morning wave. PGA Championship tee sheets published before the round listed Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose to start from the 10th tee at 8:40 a.m. local time. (pgachampionship.com) The PGA TOUR and PGA of America schedules list continuing coverage from Aronimink on Friday as the field plays to the 36-hole cut, with the championship set to run through May 17. (pgatour.com 1) (pgatour.com 2)