Pegolf asal Inggris Aaron Rai berhasil menjuarai turnamen major PGA Championship ke-108 pada hari Minggu, 17 Mei 2026, waktu setempat setelah mencetak skor 65 pada babak final di Klub Golf Aronimink, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
Dilansir dari laporan Sports Illustrated dan Golf Digest, Aaron Rai mengamankan kemenangan kompetisi tersebut dengan total raihan skor akhir single-digit yakni 9-under 271.
Lapangan golf klasik rancangan Donald Ross berusia 100 tahun tersebut memberikan tantangan yang sangat berat bagi para pemain terbaik dunia sepanjang turnamen berlangsung.
Kondisi lapangan yang sulit memicu perdebatan di antara jurnalis olahraga senior mengenai kelayakan Klub Golf Aronimink untuk kembali menjadi tuan rumah turnamen major ini pada masa depan.
"FACT. Who doesn't like a single-digit under par winner? The course befuddled the best in the world for the better part of four days. And while—yes—the pin placements might have been severe (sort of the defense in modern golf), it wasn't as if there wasn't some good scoring. There was a 63 and two 65s on Sunday. More than 20 players finished under par. A slew of players had a chance to win. And the Philly fans turned out. Bring it back." kata Bob Harig, Penulis Senior SI Golf.
Bob Harig memberikan pembelaan terhadap penempatan pin yang dinilai ekstrem oleh beberapa pihak karena atmosfer penonton di Philadelphia terbukti sangat luar biasa.
"FACT. Hey, it turns out an classic, old-time track can in fact stand up to the best players in today’s game. It was a grind, but it was fun. The PGA needs a few more courses in its rotation that have some character and charm to help build its identity, and Aronimink should be added to the mix." kata Jeff Ritter, Direktur Pelaksana SI Golf.
Tantangan berat dari lapangan Aronimink juga diakui menjadi sebuah ujian yang sesungguhnya bagi kompetisi level major bagi para pegolf profesional saat ini.
"FACT. Despite all the complaints by the players, the setup proved to be a true major championship test, especially after the last two PGAs. Perhaps the conditions allows that, but the crowd showed up in full force and because of that, it appeared to be a great major venue. The next open slot on the PGA rotation is 2036. Hopefully, the 7,300-yard course isn't outdated by then." kata Max Schreiber, Kontributor SI Golf.
Meskipun terdapat banyak keluhan dari para pemain mengenai setup lapangan, besarnya dukungan penonton yang hadir dinilai membuat lokasi ini sangat ideal.
"FACT. With the absurdity of doling out majors far into the future, the next available PGA isn’t until 2036, but the PGA of America should pencil in Aronimink now. Great venue, great fans and the weather variability was enjoyable in going from sweater temperatures to shorts in a four-day span. Not that we can know what to pack in 10 years but the mid-Atlantic sites seem to be ideal for May PGAs." kata John Schwarb, Editor Senior SI Golf.
Variasi cuaca yang berubah dari dingin hingga hangat dalam empat hari menjadi salah satu dinamika tersendiri selama pelaksanaan kompetisi.
"shit" kata Rory McIlroy, Pegolf Profesional.
Rory McIlroy hanya melontarkan satu kata tersebut untuk menggambarkan performa permainannya yang buruk akibat hambatan rumput tebal di lapangan Aronimink.
"and there was no mirror, so I wasn't looking at myself." kata Michael Block, Pegolf Profesional.
Michael Block menceritakan kisah motivasi dirinya di dalam kamar mandi saat menghadapi tekanan situasi turnamen yang membingungkan tersebut.
