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

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — The Philadelphia area gets its first major championship since the U.S. Open at Merion in 2013, and Aronimink did not disappoint after the first round of the PGA Championship.

Scottie Scheffler was part of a seven-way tie for the lead after the opening round. It's the first time Scheffler, already a four-time major champion and the No. 1 player in the world, has had at least a share of the 18-hole lead in a major.

Of greater interest was the score of 3-under 67. For the PGA Championship, it's the highest-score to par to be atop the leaderboard since Jeev Milkha Singh and Robert Karlsson were at 2-under 68 in 2008 at Oakland Hills.

The surprises Thursday? Martin Kaymer tied for the lead. It's the first time since the 2020 PGA Championship he has been among the top 10 after any round at any major. Rory McIlroy bogeyed his last four holes for a 74. And Michael Block, the California club pro, shot 70.

Maybe the better questions is who isn't in the lead? Scheffler now has been atop the leaderboard of a major for the 13th time, but this is the first time on a Thursday. Joining him is Kaymer, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune and Alex Smalley.

It's the biggest logjam at a major since there was a nine-way tie for the lead after 18 holes in the 1969 PGA Championship at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio. One of those players was Raymond Floyd, who went on to capture his first major.

The seven players who are one shot behind at 68 include Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed.

Most impressive about Reed is being the only player to go bogey-free in the opening round at Aronimink.

The group at 69 includes major champions Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm. Also on that list is Cameron Smith, who hasn't made a cut in a major since 2024.

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

Friday's round 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.

McIlroy's foot wasn't the problem in the first round. It was his driver. McIlroy hit only five fairways and it cost him. He had bogeys on five of his last six holes — the exception was a birdie on the par-3 fifth hole. He went from even par and right in the mix to a 74 and a tie for 105th place.

McIlroy also shot 74 in the opening round of the PGA Championship last year.

That would be Garrick Higgo, who was 10 seconds late to the tee for his group's 7:18 a.m. start. That led to a two-shot penalty for being late to the tee. Higgo shot 69. If he had arrived 10 seconds earlier, he could have been tied for the lead.

Scheffler started as the betting favorite at +450. Now he's at +188 after the opening round.

Schauffele is next at +1000, followed by Rahm at +1400.

The favorite not named Scheffler among the seven players who shared the lead was Lee at +1800. McIlroy, who is seven shots behind in a tie for 105th, is now at +6600.

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.

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.

Aronimink might have caught a break. There was far more rain in the forecast when players began to arrive. Now it should be dry the rest of the way with warming temperatures.

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