News
Lancaster Alone Atop Leaderboard After First
Neal Lancaster has jumped out to a 7-under 64 to lead at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill on Thursday. Five players are just one stroke back at 65.
Neal Lancaster stands alone at the top after firing a 7-under 64 Thursday at the John Deere Classic. Lancaster made just one bogey on the day and shot just 31 for his front nine while hitting 88% of GIRS and averaging just 1.5 putts per hole.
Today was a day of shining veterans as Duffy Waldorf and Kenny Perry are lurking just one stroke back after shooting matching 65’s. Also one stroke back are Scott Gutchewski, Paul Stankowski, and Jason Duffner. "I drove the ball well most of the time, and I hit good iron shots most of the time, and I made a lot of good putts and I missed some putts," said Duffy Waldorf. "So all in all, I did everything well, and that’s what you need to do. I made mistakes with everything, but my good shots — I did more good shots with everything."
Neal Lancaster has been a touring pro for the past 19 years; however he has made just three starts this year on TOUR. He has made cuts in two, and his best finish was a T-24 at the AT&T Classic in May. "I think this is my — I played seven times on the Nationwide, might have been eight, I’m not sure, and I played three TOUR events. I’m playing in the Past Champions category, which has been kind of tough to get in this year, into tournaments. I’ve been second in all of them, about four of the last five tournaments I can get in, which is actually not a bad thing because I enjoy being home a lot."
Zach Johnson has been in very high demand after winning The Masters, but he has had to learn to say no. He turned down appearance money in Germany to attend the John Deere Classic simply due to its proximity to home. Hailing from just one hour away in Cedar Rapids, IA Johnson said that this tournament feels like a borderline major. Today he shot one under par, but felt as though everything was clicking for a good tournament.
"I’m very encouraged. I shot 1-under par on a golf course that’s been lengthened and is a great test, especially with the wind. I feel I’m in a good position. It’s only Thursday. I’m certainly not out of the golf tournament, and tomorrow is Friday and I’ll play tomorrow for one day." said Johnson. "That’s how it feels, and that’s great. I love that. I love playing in front of friendly faces. But I think every draw is pretty good out here. It doesn’t really matter when we play or where we play. Everybody is good."
Since 1999, five of seven John Deere Classics have been won by first time winners. Just make sure no one tells the veterans that before Monday…
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.
Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #3
WITB Albums
- Brennan Little (Gary Woodland’s caddy) – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adam Svensson – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Martin Laird – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Lee Hodges – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Aaron Wise – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Dylan Wu – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- AJ Ewart – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- New Graphite Design Tour AD shafts – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters (new colors) – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
News
How much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship
Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.
With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.
1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000
T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000
T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000
T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866
T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866
T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866
T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050
T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050
T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050
T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707
T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707
T10: Justin Rose, $496,707
T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707
T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762
T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762
T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762
T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762
T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128
T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128
T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128
T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128
T18: David Puig, $229,128
T18: Harris English, $229,128
T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128
T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128
T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523
T26: Alex Noren, $125,523
T26: Cameron Young, $125,523
T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523
T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523
T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523
T26: Sam Burns, $125,523
T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523
T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523
T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805
T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805
T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805
T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805
T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805
T35: Haotong Li, $78,805
T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805
T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805
T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805
T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743
T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743
T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743
T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743
T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743
T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743
T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743
T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743
T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743
T44: Michael Kim, $53,743
T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743
T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186
T55: Corey Conners, $34,186
T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186
T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186
T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186
T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218
T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218
T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218
T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218
T60: Brian Harman, $29,218
T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900
T65: Jason Day, $26,900
T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900
T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900
T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900
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