The PGA Championship: How to watch, betting odds for golf's second major of 2026

Scottie Scheffler remains the betting favorite as the No. 1 player in the world, and Rory McIlroy is coming off another win at the Masters. But now they have company among players on top of their games.

Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick each have won two individual tournaments in the last two months.

Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the PGA Championship.

When does the PGA Championship start?

The PGA Championship starts Thursday, and the chilly beginning to the week has given way to slightly warmer temperatures. Rain was in the forecast overnight until leaving early in the first round. Braden Shattuck, one of 20 club pros in the field who teaches golf at nearby Rolling Green, has been selected to hit the opening tee shot at 6:45 a.m. Eastern.

How can I watch the PGA Championship?

This major will be carried by two networks — ESPN and CBS Sports, combined for 46 hours of live coverage from Aronimink.

The opening two rounds Thursday and Friday will be on ESPN+ from the opening tee shot at 7 a.m. until noon, and then ESPN takes over until 7 p.m.

For the weekend, ESPN+ will get it started from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by ESPN coverage from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. CBS and streaming platform Paramount+ will go from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

How is Rory's foot?

Better. McIlroy had to cut short his practice round to three holes on Tuesday because of a blister on his right pinky toe. McIlroy says he felt “soft” for having to walk off the course.

But he put some padding around his toe, and he went to a slightly wider and longer shoe to ease the discomfort. “It's all good,” he said after walking nine holes Wednesday without a limp.

Who's playing the PGA Championship?

The PGA Championship boasts the strongest field in golf, at least at the top. The 156-man field features 97 of the top 100 in the world ranking, led by Scheffler and McIlroy.

The PGA of America strives to get everyone from the top 100 through its special invitations. That appeared to be the case until Lucas Herbert won LIV Golf Virginia and moved to No. 89, and Shaun Norris was runner-up in the Catalunya Championship on the European tour and moved to No. 95. And then Jake Knapp (No. 39) withdrew with a thumb injury was replaced by Tom Hoge.

Since 2012, only one player from outside the top 100 in the world has won the PGA Championship. That was Phil Mickelson (No. 115), a past champion who won at Kiawah Island at age 50.

What are some of the tee times?

Scheffler starts on No. 1 at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday, along with Fitzpatrick and Rose. McIlroy goes early Thursday at 8:40 a.m. along with Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm.

Xander Schauffele plays with Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton at 8:29 a.m. Right before them at 8:18 a.m. are Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg and Rickie Fowler.

What about Tiger Woods?

Tiger Woods has not played the PGA Championship since missing the cut at Valhalla in 2024. It was unlikely for him to play this year as he recovered from another back surgery, and that was before his Feb. 27 arrest on suspicion of DUI.

No alcohol was found in his system, but drug experts determined he was impaired and Woods was jailed for eight hours by Florida law enforcement for refusing a urine test. A Florida judge approved him seeking treatment outside the country. There has been no confirmation where he is.

This will be the second straight major without Woods and Mickelson, who is tending to a family health matter at home.

Who are the favorites?

Scheffler is the betting favorite at +450, followed by McIlroy at +850.

Young, who won The Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship at Doral, is at +1200. Rahm is a two-time winner on LIV Golf this year and is at +1600. DeChambeau is another two-time LIV winner this year. He is at +2000.

What's at stake?

The winner gets the Wanamaker Trophy and a lifetime exemption to the PGA Championship, along with five-year exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

For Spieth, there's even more at stake. This will be his 10th attempt at completing the career Grand Slam by winning the PGA Championship. Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015, and the British Open in 2017. The last player to complete the career slam was McIlroy at the Masters.

What happened last year?

Scheffler won his first PGA Championship and third overall major at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina. He lost a big lead on the front nine Sunday but then pulled away from Rahm and everyone else for a five-shot victory.

Scheffler has won all four of his majors by at least three shots.

What's the forecast?

Aronimink might have caught a break. There was far more rain in the forecast when players began to arrive. Now the only rain is for Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and then mostly dry the rest of the way.

What kind of history does Aronimink have?

This will be the second major at Aronimink, a Donald Ross course that opened in 1928. It recently went through a restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.

It hosted the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player, and this will be the second major.

Aronimink was supposed to hold the 1993 PGA Championship. But after criticism of Shoal Creek in Alabama hosting the 1990 PGA while not having any Black members, the PGA of America required future sites to have a diverse membership. Aronimink had a seven-year waiting list for new members and said it would not be able to meet the criteria in time for 1993. The PGA Championship instead went to Inverness that year.

For the top men players, Aronimink hosted the AT&T National in 2010 and 2011, which moved from Congressional those years because of the 2011 U.S. Open. It most recently hosted the 2018 BMW Championship run by the Western Golf Association, the only FedEx Cup playoff event that is not held at the same course.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf