NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Welcome to Good, Bad and Ugly, where we’re happy for Aaron Rai even as we wonder what would’ve happened if that bunched leaderboard at the start of the day had led to a 15-way playoff.
But Rai was simply the best player on Sunday afternoon, making an eagle on the 9th hole and four more birdies on the back nine, including a 68-footer for the highlight reel, to slam the door on this 108th PGA Championship. Rai also snapped a 107-year drought for England at the PGA, after Jim Barnes win the first PGA in 1916 and another in 1919. There were plenty of good, bad and ugly moments along the way. Here’s what caught our attention:
GOOD: Aaron Rai storms to his first major
This was the most wide-open PGA Championship final round in the history of the event, but Rai, a 31-year-old Englishman, made a charge that no one else could match, firing a major-championship career-best 65 to claim the Wanamaker and make the last hour of the TV broadcast a formality. —Jeff Ritter
BAD: Only one man made a Sunday charge
Not taking anything away from Aaron Rai’s amazing back-nine 4-under 31, but great major Sunday afternoons have more than one player making a run and no one else charged from the final five groups. Alex Smalley had the second-best back nine with an eagle-bogey-finish that was window dressing. —John Schwarb
UGLY: Woe, Canada
While there weren’t many charges up the board on Sunday, Canada’s Nick Taylor got a whiff of contention and then essentially ejected with a back-nine 40. Ouch. —Jeff Ritter
GOOD: Justin Thomas posts a number
The two-time PGA Championship winner channeled his Saturday anger after a 72, and an angry JT can fire a number—in Sunday’s case a 65 that got him in the clubhouse at 5 under, where he was in the lead for hours. He also shared a great story about a beer-filled Sunday clubhouse lead in his younger years, which he wasn’t about to repeat at a major. —John Schwarb
Justin Thomas is staying locked but not loaded in case of a playoff. pic.twitter.com/o9ZDBW2Mpo
— SleeperGolf (@SleeperGolf) May 17, 2026
BAD: The McIlroy-Schauffele pairing comes up empty
This tandem of experienced major champions figured to be a big part of the show on Sunday, and while both hung in to shoot 1-under 69, there are no moral victories here. They each bogeyed the 13th hole to essentially extinguish their chances. —Jeff Ritter
UGLY: Rickie Fowler goes backward
Rickie Fowler was trending coming into Aronimink, having been in the hunt until the very end last week in Charlotte, and a Saturday 68 positioned him in the massive pack looking to charge Sunday. But instead he went backwards, making four bogeys in a five-hole stretch and six total in a round of 75 that dropped him to T60. Will the fan favorite ever get that elusive major? —John Schwarb
GOOD: A piece of history for Kurt Kitayama
A Saturday 75 doomed Kurt Kitayama to an early Sunday tee time and no shot at the Wanamaker, but the 33-year-old Californian made a pile of money by lunchtime with a scintillating 63 that tied the record for a final round in a major. “It was pretty crazy. Tough course,” he said. Perhaps a little less so when you hit 17 of 18 greens and make seven birdies and zero bogeys. He finished T10 after starting the day T64. —John Schwarb
BAD: Scottie Scheffler’s putter takes the week off
Only premium ball-strikers needed apply this week at Aronimink and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was himself in that department, finishing fifth in the field in strokes-gained tee to green. But on the green, Scheffler was 72nd in strokes-gained putting, seemingly every time he was shown he struggled with short and mid-length putts. The good news? He will still be the favorite at Shinnecock Hills next month, another hitters’ park where just average putting might carry him to the career Grand Slam. —John Schwarb
UGLY: The 2027 Ryder Cup just got that much harder for the U.S.
An already stacked European Ryder Cup team—which hasn’t lost at home in over 30 years (as if we need reminding)—is going to add a new major champion in Aaron Rai and Jon Rahm looked like himself again this week, with a top gear rivaled perhaps only by Scottie and Rory. Good luck, Captain Furyk. —John Schwarb
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- This PGA Championship Showed That Scottie Scheffler Has Real Rivals Again
- Rory McIlroy Appears to Shout Back at Fan Who Heckled Him Late in PGA Championship
- Inside Aaron Rai’s Unconventional Journey to PGA Championship Glory
- Aronimink Deserves to Get Another PGA Championship As Soon As Possible
- Why PGA Championship Winner Aaron Rai Uses Covers on His Irons
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Good, Bad and Ugly PGA Round 4: Scottie Scheffler’s Putter Betrays Him; Aaron Rai Catches Fire.
