{"id":684098,"date":"2026-05-21T12:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684098\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T12:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:17:37","slug":"the-five-what-notable-questions-linger-after-pga-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684098\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five: What notable questions linger after PGA Championship?"},"content":{"rendered":"

2D AGO<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6 Min Read<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Need to Know<\/p>\n

<\/a>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]>\"The<\/p>\n

The Five: Biggest takeaways from PGA Championship<\/p>\n

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A<\/p>\n

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Written by Paul Hodowanic<\/p>\n

One of the wildest PGA Championships is now in the rearview mirror, but there are a few lingering questions that we can\u2019t get out of our heads.<\/p>\n

What will stay with us from the week at Aronimink? Whose successes and failures are worth dissecting further and monitoring in the coming weeks? Let\u2019s go through five notable questions produced from the PGA Championship.<\/p>\n

1. Is there another level for Aaron Rai?<\/p>\n

The Englishman was already an established TOUR winner before he surged to his breakthrough moment at the PGA Championship, upending the expected with a scintillating back nine that pushed him past a star-laden board of chasers and unproven names.<\/p>\n

On the continuum of PGA TOUR players, Rai previously resided comfortably in the middle, an above-average pro who you wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see contend in any week, but whose ceiling felt limited. Shame on us for those thoughts because, at least for one week, Rai became much more. So where does he go from here?<\/p>\n

*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]>\"Aaron<\/p>\n

Aaron Rai’s top shots of his career<\/p>\n

Can he qualify for the European Ryder Cup team? Can he become a consistent top-20 player on TOUR (he\u2019s up to 15th after the victory)? Can he contend frequently in majors (his first major top 10 was last week)?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often a mixed bag for the first-time, unexpected major winners. Some use it as a stepping stone. For others, it\u2019s far and away the peak of their career. Which side of the coin will Rai fall?<\/p>\n

2. Should Scheffler\u2019s putting week cause alarm?<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler\u2019s ascension to a truly dominant player has coincided with a drastic improvement in his putting. He was successful in spurts beforehand, but the evolution into the dominant force of the last two years closely aligns with the stark difference on the greens.<\/p>\n

Watching Scheffler at Aronimink looked a lot like watching him before he made his widespread improvement. The world No. 1 hit his irons and driver well enough last week, but his putting fell woefully short. He didn\u2019t make a putt outside 10 feet on Friday or Saturday and lost strokes to the field again on Sunday, derailing what was his best opening round of a major in his career. He lost more than five strokes on the greens. Had he putted average, he would have finished runner-up, and who knows if Rai plays the same if the world No. 1 is bearing down on him?<\/p>\n

So was it a one-week blip? Or something to linger on? Scheffler will likely get back on track this week at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. It\u2019s possible, likely even, that he maintains that momentum at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday as he looks to win it for a third straight year.<\/p>\n

\"Scottie<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler reflects on emotional hometown victory at THE CJ CUP<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also true that your biggest battle scars often never fully heal. That\u2019s particularly true with putting, one of the most mental parts of the game. We saw it at Aronimink last week. For now, it\u2019s just a one-week aberration, but it\u2019s worth closely monitoring \u2013 particularly at the major championships.<\/p>\n

3. Who left Aronimink with most regret?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the leaderboard fool you, this PGA Championship was up for grabs for most of Sunday\u2019s final round. It wasn\u2019t until Rai\u2019s birdies on the 16th and 17th holes that he created some distance, and the final picture came into view.<\/p>\n

The tournament was begging for someone to make a move, and Rai did. Who will be kicking themselves the most that they didn\u2019t pull off similar heroics?<\/p>\n

The clear answer is Rai\u2019s playing partner: Ludvig \u00c5berg.<\/p>\n

Like Rai, \u00c5berg was two shots back of Alex Smalley as the day began. \u00c5berg held larger external expectations and a stark advantage in experience. While both were searching for major No. 1, \u00c5berg has followed the timeline we often see from young players. He found himself in the mix at the Masters in back-to-back years, acquiring the necessary scar tissue and putting himself on the periphery of contention. He had chances to win both times, though he wasn\u2019t expected to pull it off in either case, battling Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in full flight. Then came THE PLAYERS Championship. \u00c5berg held the lead on the back nine. His breakthrough was on the doorstep. Then he faltered, making several execution and strategic errors that lost him the tournament. Then the rumblings began. Was he developing scar tissue? Does he have issues closing tournaments?<\/p>\n

\"Ludvig<\/p>\n

Ludvig \u00c5berg falls from lead after finding water on back-to-back holes<\/p>\n

Sunday at Aronimink did nothing to quell those concerns. \u00c5berg birdied his second hole, but was otherwise unable to take advantage of the gettable front nine. He dropped shots at the seventh and eighth holes and was stuck in neutral from there. He also had a pair of killer par misses, coughing up a 3-footer on the 10th and a 9-footer on the 14th. At that point, he was 3 under and out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

The putter was the issue. \u00c5berg led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. When that happens, you expect to win. Or at least not lose by four shots. With each passing missed opportunity, the skepticism surrounding \u00c5berg will only grow.<\/p>\n

4. Can Justin Thomas sustain?<\/p>\n

Thomas left Aronimink with a bitter taste in his mouth. It\u2019s hard to find moral victories immediately after spending three hours sitting on a clubhouse lead that, at one point, looked like it might be enough to win a third PGA Championship, only to come up short.<\/p>\n

That said, Thomas should leave Philadelphia with only positives. He\u2019s been spotty since returning in March after back surgery delayed the start of his season. He\u2019s healthy again and feels no pain. But Thomas has struggled, as many do, to reacclimate after the lengthy time away.<\/p>\n

He popped at THE PLAYERS, one of his first starts back, finishing T8, but quickly fell out of favor. He had a middling week at the Masters and was nearly last at the RBC Heritage, the tournament he won a year ago. He played better in the two weeks leading into the PGA, but there was little expectation entering the second major of the year. But there he was, contending all week at Aronimink. Thomas will rue the four straight bogeys he made midway through the third round, but his final round was a reminder of his ability.<\/p>\n

Now, can Thomas sustain it? The important golf doesn\u2019t stop. He will be at Muirfield Village in a couple of weeks and at Shinnecock Hills next month. We\u2019ll be keenly watching his progression.<\/p>\n

TrendingTrending Up Articles<\/p>\n

5. Was that Matti Schmid and Alex Smalley\u2019s best chance?<\/p>\n

The final pairing of the 2026 PGA Championship will be a fun trivia question in 10 years. Few predicted at the start of the week that Schmid or Smalley would crack the final group, but both fully deserved to be there.<\/p>\n

For much of Sunday, it looked like one of them would be victorious. Smalley led for the first five holes and then Schmid overtook him and maintained the lead into the back nine. It wasn’t until Rai\u2019s remarkable run that the tournament flipped.<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Alex Smalley on contending on bigger stages, becoming familiar with cameras<\/p>\n

Even so, the tournament was a positive for both Schmid and Smalley, neither of whom had any major success before. In that way, last week was a win. But it\u2019s hard not to wonder if that was the best shot either of them will have to win a major championship.<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re a bona fide star, the bites at the major championship apple are few and far between. Schmid and Smalley should both have many years ahead to push for another opportunity, but it\u2019s no guarantee any will be as good as the one last week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2D AGO 6 Min Read Need to Know *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]> The Five: Biggest takeaways from PGA Championship *:not(style)~*:not(style){margin-top:0.5rem;-webkit-margin-end:0px;margin-inline-end:0px;margin-bottom:0px;-webkit-margin-start:0px;margin-inline-start:0px;}]]> A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-684098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}