PGA Championship Challenges for Rory McIlroy
After securing consecutive victories in the Masters Tournament, Rory McIlroy seemed to carry some serious momentum into the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. However, things didn’t unfold as expected on the course.
McIlroy entered the tournament as the second favorite, following world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in the hunt for the Wanamaker Trophy. Yet, if McIlroy aims to clinch his first PGA Championship since 2014, he certainly needs a quick turnaround.
In his opening round, the world No. 2 struggled with a 4-over 74, which was a disappointing kickoff for the Northern Irish golfer, especially considering he’s won two of the past five majors. But it’s important to mention that both of those wins were at Augusta National. Since claiming the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club back in 2014, he hasn’t grabbed another major.
In an interview about his round, McIlroy’s response was blunt: “S—.”
Before the tournament, he dealt with a blister on his foot, which caused him to cut one practice round short after just three holes. Whether this impacted his play is uncertain, but it’s a ready-made excuse, I suppose.
His opening round was quite the ride, starting with a bogey on No. 10 after beginning on the back nine. He quickly bounced back with a birdie. After a string of 10 consecutive pars, he remained at even par through the first 12 holes.
Notably, he birdied the fourth and fifth holes again, keeping things even for the next 14 holes. But then everything deteriorated. Bogeys on each of his last four holes, including the par-5 ninth, pushed him to a final score of 4 over, leaving him outside the top 120 on the leaderboard. He’ll need a strong performance on Friday to qualify.
The top 70 players and ties will move on after the second round. Missing the cut would be quite unexpected for McIlroy, who has only failed to make it past the cut once in his last 12 major appearances—at the 2024 British Open—leading into this week.
His debut round at the 2026 PGA Championship bore an eerie resemblance to his performance at the 2025 PGA Championship, where he shot 3-over at Quail Hollow. He qualified then but ended up struggling and finished 47th, never really posing a threat.
This inconsistency has often been a story for McIlroy, even during his successful 2025 Masters win that completed his career Grand Slam. He seemed to break that trend with a stellar 5-under finish at Augusta last month, but Thursday brought him back to reality.
To add to his tally of struggling starts in majors, McIlroy was 7 over in the first round at the 2024 British Open, even par at the 2025 Masters, 3 over at the 2025 PGA Championship, 4 over at the 2025 U.S. Open, and 1 under at the 2025 British Open. Not exactly the kind of performance you’d expect from one of the world’s top golfers.
Now, he’s added another concerning round to the list, and it seems he’ll need to dig deep to secure his first Wanamaker Trophy in over a decade.
