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5 Things We Learned: Friday at the Women’s PGA

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2 years ago

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Not every shot comes off as planned, and not every golfer makes it to the weekend. As we see below, sometimes you do what has to be done, even if it means a complete 180. Sahalee is not your typical championship course. When it arrived on the major championship scene in 1998, it claimed a solid champion in Vijay Singh. It also claimed great outcry, for the narrow nature of its fairways. Workability of shots was lost, some claimed. Few recovery options from beneath those trees, others cried. Well, that’s golf in the Pacific Northwest, at least at Sahalee.

The 2024 Women’s PGA is the second at the venerable club, eight years after Brooke Henderson won her first major title in a playoff. As often happens with the grand events, a mix of veterans and hopetobees has arrived in the final groups. The next 36 holes of play will bring drama and great viewing. How did we get here? Have a look at our five things we learned from day two at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship.

1. First in the house: Sarah Schmelzel

I wrote about Cheyenne Knight making a move on Sunday. I was incorrect. It was Sarah Schmelzel who jumped up on Friday. The South Carolina alumna from Arizona etched six birdies against a single bogey on day two, to jump from one under to six deep, and from 14th to 1st position.

Schmelzel will tee it up in the day’s final game, tied with Amy Yang. In March, Schmelzel posted a second-place finish at Blue Bay, her best result on tour. She tied for 15th in last year’s PGA Championship; her best major finish as a professional was also at the PGA. In 2019, she came 14th. Sahalee would be a wonderful place for a double breakthrough (first LPGA and Major titles) but there are 36 fairways along the path, and much learning ahead.

How much learning? We couldn’t find video of her on Twitter, until we went back to her time as a USG Gamecock. Odds are, we’ll see a few reels on that platform today!

2. Next to the top: Amy Yang

If there were a trivia question about most top-five finishes in LPGA majors, without a major title on the resume, well, you know where I’m headed. Three at the Chevron; five at the US Open; two at the PGA; three at the British. That’s 13 top-five finishes for Amy Yang since 2010. If we add top-ten results, she has eight more.

How has Amy Yang not won a major championship? None of us around the coffee shop has any idea. She has five LPGA titles to her credit, and she seems to be the sort of disciplined golfer that wins major titles. On Friday, Yang drilled home four birdies for 68, and joined Sarah Schmelzel at the top of the pyramid. She and Schmelzel will be joined by Hinako Shibuno in the day’s final triumvirate. Yang’s card has been clean since the 4th green on day one. Continued pursuit of that scoring system will no doubt bring her again to the top five. Perhaps she can finally be the top one in Washington state.

3. Lexi hangs tough

Lexi Thompson has a pair of major titles on her resume. As she heads toward an announced retirement, she no doubt looks back with both smiles and frowns. Great champions always look back and see “I dids” and “What ifs.” If you’re not pulling for Amy Yang to break through, or Sarah S to double break through, you should be pulling for Lexi T to head off with one more major title.

Lexi stood seven-under par as she turned to Sahalee’s first nine holes, her second of the day. Four holes later, she had lost three shots, to double and single bogeys at two and four. Birdie at six, and bogey at eight, and Thompson was in for even-par 72, but not out of the running. She’ll peg her ball on Saturday in the penultimate trio, alongside Jin Young Ko and Hae Ran Ryu. Thompson’s quest is simple: make some birdies and avoid the bogeys.

4. Jin Young and Hinako rise to podium

Both JIn Young Ko and Hinako Shibuno are major champions. Each also has a set of nearly-dids on their resumes. Last month, Shibuno came second at the US Open. Ko hasn’t found the magic since a ninth-place tie at Chevron in 2023, but is too good a major-championship golfer to stay away for long.

Shibuno will tee off in Saturday’s final game, while Ko will be one group ahead. Shibuno has posted four birdies against two bogeys, each of the first two day. If she keeps up with that pattern, she’ll reach minus-eight by Sunday evening. Depending on course conditions and weather, that might be enough. As for Ko, Thursday’s four-birdie, four-bogey card was replaced by one that contained five birdies and one solitary miscue. More of the later, will give her the opportunity to add major title number three to her Wiki.

5. The ones we shall miss

Inexplicably, Nelly Korda once again suffered through an undesirable round in a major title. She began round two with four consecutive bogeys, and added a fifth at the sixth hole. She did not make her first birdie until the closing green; it served to bring her one shot shy of the cut line. She will be back, and soon, and all in golf hope that she is able to sort out the current malady. Golf needs Nelly.

Miss Korda wasn’t the only surprise struggler at Sahalee. Pornanong Phatlum, Nasa Hataoka, US Open challenger Wichanee Meechai, and Carlota Ciganda were there in the end, staring across the gate at the weekend. Sahalee is an acquired taste, bowling-alley narrow in spots, and symbolic of the extraordinary trees that inhabit the region. If your driving game isn’t on, recovery from the hardwood is nigh impossible.

 

 

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

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May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

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Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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