Golf Briefing ⛳ | This is The Athletic’s daily newsletter for the 2026 PGA Championship. Sign up here to receive the Golf Briefing directly in your inbox.
Good evening! We’re back with you to cover the first round of the PGA Championship. Gabby is on the course at Aronimink. First up, leaderboard:
T-1. Scottie Scheffler
T-1. Aldrich Potgieter (-3)
T-1. Stephan Jaeger
T-1. Min Woo Lee
T-1. Ryo Hisatsune
T-1. Martin Kaymer
T-1. Alex Smalley
T-8. Sahith Theegala (-2)
T-8. Xander Schauffele and a few more
Now, on to a notable absence:
DeChambles: The psychology of Bryson’s latest major flop
The big storyline about Bryson DeChambeau these days: With LIV Golf hurting and his YouTube empire thriving, no one knows where he’ll play golf next year. But here’s a corollary to that: Assuming you don’t watch LIV events (and you probably don’t), do you remember the last time you watched DeChambeau play a memorable round?
It certainly wasn’t today just outside Philadelphia, where the big man immediately removed himself from contention by firing a 6-over 76. His major starts since a T-2 at last year’s PGA:
- Missed cut at the U.S. Open at Oakmont
- T-10 at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush
- Missed cut at the Masters
That undersells it, though: DeChambeau, 32, finished well at Portrush, but if you remember, he shot 7 over par Thursday and was never remotely in the chase. He wasn’t even in it, really, at last year’s PGA, with Scottie Scheffler (and briefly Jon Rahm) well clear of everyone on the weekend. This could all change as soon as next month, when the two-time U.S. Open winner heads to Shinnecock Hills for a bearish test. But for now, it’s bad.
It got worse today, when DeChambeau was 4 over before he even made the turn. This lag putt was the most illustrative moment of his day:
We had to cut the GIF there because the ball kept rolling for almost 20 more seconds.
More from Gabby:
💬 “As expected, DeChambeau blew by the media after his round and headed straight for the driving range. But I got the chance to catch up with his swing coach, Dana Dahlquist, for a few moments. He told me DeChambeau just needed to iron out a few things in his swing — nothing drastic or serious. And
“Dahlquist confirmed to me that the tinkering had nothing to do with DeChambeau’s ever-changing equipment. DeChambeau’s round went sideways today because of a few “bad breaks” and “bad reactions,” his coach said. He believes that DeChambeau could have let some early mistakes roll off his back.
“I asked Dahlquist if he and DeChambeau ever discuss the mental side of the game, and he told me he does not. Dahlquist says DeChambeau truly believes he is the best player in the world, and because of his large personality, Dahlquist says he doesn’t need to instill any more confidence in DeChambeau: The player has that covered.”
Heading into Friday, DeChambeau is beating 15 players in the PGA Championship’s 156-man field. Ten of them are club pros.
It wasn’t just Bryson, to be fair. Other disappointing scores include Ludvig Åberg and Tyrrell Hatton at +2, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland at +4 and Wyndham Clark at +5.
Over to another quick update from Gabby:
The Turn: Make your tee time, please
It never hurts to have a good ol’ rules controversy at a major championship, but today’s was totally avoidable and blown out of proportion.
Here’s what happened: Garrick Higgo, the 27-year-old South African PGA Tour player, showed up to his 7:18 a.m. tee time at the PGA Championship sometime after 7:18 a.m. We know this because a PGA of America official informed Higgo that he was late as soon as he walked up to the tee, immediately notifying the player that he’d received a two-shot penalty for his tardiness.
According to Rule 5.3 in the Rules of Golf, that’s what happens when you arrive no more than five minutes late to your tee time. More than five minutes late? You’re disqualified from the tournament. So in that sense, Higgo got lucky.
- By the end of the day, Higgo had recorded 67 shots at Aronimink but posted a 1-under 69. And after the round, Higgo tried to make his case to the PGA of America that the clock still read 7:18 a.m. when he was walking up to the tee, while simultaneously acknowledging he was late.
- His excuses ranged from being too cold, to not having his phone or watch on him, to being a chill person who doesn’t like to show up early to the tee. In the midst of all of this, he delivered an undeniably hilarious quote: “I was there on time, but the rule is, if you’re one second late, you’re late. So if you think about it, I was there on time.”
Higgo would have been much better off just taking the penalty on the chin. If you’ve ever played in a golf tournament or been around one, you know this: You get to the tee 10 minutes before your tee time. What happened to Higgo is incredibly rare because it’s such an avoidable error. Higgo pushed the limits, and he had to pay for it. End of story.
Moving on:
The Links
It never hurts to have a good ol’ rules controversy at a major championship, but today’s was totally avoidable and blown out of proportion.
Here’s what happened: Garrick Higgo, the 27-year-old South African PGA Tour player, showed up to his 7:18 a.m. tee time at the PGA Championship sometime after 7:18 a.m. We know this because a PGA of America official informed Higgo that he was late as soon as he walked up to the tee, immediately notifying the player that he’d received a two-shot penalty for his tardiness.
According to Rule 5.3 in the Rules of Golf, that’s what happens when you arrive no more than five minutes late to your tee time. More than five minutes late? You’re disqualified from the tournament. So in that sense, Higgo got lucky.
- By the end of the day, Higgo had recorded 67 shots at Aronimink but posted a 1-under 69. And after the round, Higgo tried to make his case to the PGA of America that the clock still read 7:18 a.m. when he was walking up to the tee, while simultaneously acknowledging he was late.
- His excuses ranged from being too cold, to not having his phone or watch on him, to being a chill person who doesn’t like to show up early to the tee. In the midst of all of this, he delivered an undeniably hilarious quote: “I was there on time, but the rule is, if you’re one second late, you’re late. So if you think about it, I was there on time.”
Higgo would have been much better off just taking the penalty on the chin. If you’ve ever played in a golf tournament or been around one, you know this: You get to the tee 10 minutes before your tee time. What happened to Higgo is incredibly rare because it’s such an avoidable error. Higgo pushed the limits, and he had to pay for it. End of story.
Moving on:
The Links
😬 “Jon Rahm apologetic after striking PGA Championship volunteer with his divot”
💔 Speaking of Rahm: Though he played well today (-1), he’s reaping the consequences of his decisions these days, as Brendan Quinn explains.
🎥 Brendan also got some of the best players in the world to (try to) pronounce various important Philadelphian terms. Tag yourself; I’m “Schuylkill.”
🏆 Jim Furyk, once and future captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, talked about how the Americans can organize themselves to stop losing the event.
🗣️ Find The Athletic’s live coverage of every round here, starting early each day.
Watch Guide
- Round 2 TV coverage: 12-8 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Streaming: Starting at 6:45 a.m. on ESPN+
One group to follow: Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala and Patrick Cantlay at 1:21 p.m. ET. Lee is only 27, but it feels like he’s lived through several major life cycles already. He was a solid, occasionally competitive major performer in 2023 and most of 2024, peaking with a T-5 at the ‘23 U.S. Open. He’s since missed four major cuts in a row (and five of six). But he fired a 3-under 67 today and, with the major exception of the Masters, has played nicely all season. Theegala (-2) and Cantlay (E) are in the mix, too.
See you back here tomorrow.
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