Seven players finished with the same score in the opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship on Thursday, creating a leaderboard that had not been seen at a major championship in 57 years. And right in the middle of it, expectedly, was world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler shot a 3-under 67 to share the lead with six others: Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Alex Smalley, and former PGA champion Martin Kaymer.

According to PGA Championship records, the highest number of players tied for the lead after any round in the stroke-play era (since 1958) was nine. That happened after the first round in 1959 and 1969. This year's seven-way tie on Thursday is the second-largest tie in that period, ahead of the six-way tie in 2005.

"Definitely the best start I've gotten off to this year, maybe besides American Express," Scheffler said. "It's still really, really difficult to make birdies."

Scheffler missed only one fairway. He birdied the par-4 seventh from inside 40 feet and the par-4 10th from inside 30 feet. On the par-3 17th hole, Scottie Scheffler got free relief after his ball stopped near a sprinkler cap. He then putted from the edge of the green and saved par.

This was the 13th time Scheffler has had at least a share of the lead after any round in a major championship. More importantly, it was the first time he had done it after the opening round.

With 48 players just three shots behind the lead, scoring at Aronimink Golf Club was very difficult. The sloping greens, fast fairways, and strong winds made the course tough. The last time the lowest first-round score at the PGA Championship was worse than 3-under was at Oakland Hills Country Club in 2008.

Among the six sharing the lead with Scheffler, one name stood apart for a completely different reason. Kaymer won this major in 2010 but has barely featured since joining LIV Golf in 2022. A PGA of America official at Tuesday's champions dinner asked if he still played golf.

Rory McIlroy's Driver Betrays Him While John Rahm Saves His Round at the PGA Championship

The biggest cheer from the group of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jon Rahm on Thursday came from Rahm.

His round was not going well at first, but he made an amazing eagle by holing his wedge shot from 101 yards. He then made a chip-in birdie on the eighth hole and finished with a strong 1-under 69.

Rory McIlroy had a much tougher day. Poor drives on the sixth, seventh, and ninth holes led to bogeys. On the eighth par-3, another bad tee shot left him unable to save par, costing him another shot. He hit only five of the 14 fairways at Aronimink Golf Club and finished the round with a 4-over 74.

McIlroy also started last year’s PGA Championship with a score of 74. He said he felt the same frustration he felt at Quail Hollow. Now, with the cut line approaching, he needs a much better second round if he wants to keep his hopes alive of winning his seventh major title.

So, do you think McIlroy will be able to bounce back? More importantly, who do you think will ultimately leave the remaining six behind to claim the top spot on the leaderboard?

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Souvik Roy