Well, folks, what happened in the opening round of the PGA Championship 2026? Rory McIlroy, the freshly crowned Masters champion and one of the top favorites, delivered a round that left even him speechless – or rather, moved him to a single, concise word. Instead of a brilliant round, there was a real shocker on the greens of Aronimink in Pennsylvania.
The Northern Irishman shot a full 4-over 74 and finished his round with four consecutive bogeys. We've never seen that from him in a Major appearance before. When journalists asked him about his performance, the answer came quickly and bluntly: "Shit." That immediately tells you how things are going – or not going.
Off the Tee Disaster
The biggest problem was, once again, the driver. The world No. 2 missed a full nine of 14 fairways, six of them on his back nine alone. It was that notorious "two-way miss," where the ball drifted right, and then, in an attempt to correct, flew left. It also doesn't help that while he leads the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained Off the Tee, he ranks only 91st in driving accuracy – a recurring theme in 2026, though rarely with such severity.
Major Pressure and Cut Threat
After his triumph at the Masters last month, Rory aimed to be the first since Jordan Spieth to win the year's first two majors. But now he faces the threat of missing the cut – the last time he missed the cut at the PGA Championship was in 2016. The difficult conditions with wind and tricky pin placements at Aronimink Golf Club have mercilessly punished his driving weaknesses.
For McIlroy, therefore, the second day will be a true test. He needs to significantly improve to even make it to the weekend and keep his Major dream alive. We're curious to see if he can turn things around!
