PGA Championship
Aronimink Golf Club
Newton Square, PN
$20,000,000 Purse

Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, and Sahith Theegala all ride their own momentum into the PGA Championship, each with reason to believe they can take it home.

There’s a lot of history around Philadelphia. We look forward to the history being written this weekend.

Aronimink’s Origin

Aronimink is built almost as its original designer intended. To his delight, the only difference is that it’s better.

Donald Ross came out of the Scottish Highlands, crossed the Atlantic, and spent the better part of his life reshaping American golf. He designed over 400 courses. Late in his life, upon revisiting Aronimink, he famously said: "I intended to make this course my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew."

The club traces its roots to 1896, when a handful of cricketers laid out a few rudimentary golf holes in southwest Philadelphia. After a few relocations, the members purchased 300 acres in Newtown Square and commissioned Ross to design what would become the current course, which opened on Memorial Day, 1928.

Ross gave each of Aronimink's 18 holes an Indigenous name, connecting the routing to the land's past. The name Aronimink, meaning “place of water” or “by the beaver dam,” pays homage to the Lenape nation who inhabited parts of Pennsylvania before the founding of the United States.

The course he built features bold, crowned greens that punish imprecision, reverse-cambered fairways, and over 170 bunkers arranged in clusters that are as visually striking as they are strategically demanding. There is no forgiving intermediate rough alongside fairways — the transition from tight cut to deep stuff is pretty immediate.

The finishing hole will be a demanding one — a 490 yard Par-4. With the new back tee added for the PGA Championship, the golfers will likely be approaching the green from 170-210 yards away — nothing crazy for these guys, but in a high pressure situation, it’s tough to stick those close, and you sure hope you’re hitting from the fairway.

Then and Now

This year’s PGA Championship coincides with the United States semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of America's founding, which was established at Independence Hall in Philly. Just 15 miles west of that historic spot, the world’s best golfers look to etch their own names into the history books at Aronimink.

The last time a PGA Championship was held here, Gary Player edged Bob Goalby by a single shot in 1962, collecting a winner's check of $13,000 — the largest purse in the tournament's history at that point. This week the winner takes home $3.6 million from a $20 million purse.

Player and Goalby, by the way, were the only two in a field of 169 to finish the event under par. Oh, how the game has changed.

LAGC In The Field

Justin Rose has won here before, though maybe not on such a grand stage. Rose won the 2010 AT&T National at Aronimink, holding on as a five-shot lead through 63 holes evaporated on the back nine, winning by one. He’s won here before, he can do it again.

Tommy Fleetwood sits in the FedExCup rankings at #11. When he plays though, he’s been a top-10 player all year. He’s looking for a major breakthrough to propel him through the rest of the season.

Collin Morikawa may be the most natural fit for Aronimink in the entire field. Ross courses reward the ability to control approach shots, and nobody does that better. His spring form has been strong, and this is exactly the kind of setting where his game can shine.

Sahith Theegala has only missed one cut this season in 14 events, with four top-10 finishes. He can be crafty around the greens which will help him stay in contention. He’s shown he can score low, so you can never count him out.

What to Watch

Despite having designed Pinehurst No.2, Seminole, Oak Hill, and 400+ other brilliant courses, Ross names Aronimink his masterpiece.

LAGC’s Rose, Fleetwood, Theegala, and Morikawa will have their crack at their own major championship — and a share of $20,000,000.

Tune into ESPN, Golf Channel, and CBS this weekend to catch the action.

About the Author: Luke Mangan

A product of the "post-college I must get better at golf" philosophy, Luke fell in love with the game on municipal courses across Los Angeles. After what most would call a failed early career in sales, Luke found writing as an outlet to tell stories and bring joy to his readers. He now writes for several golf brands and has his own golf newsletter, On Golf.