Aronimink proving to be a major test at PGA Championship. Four players share early lead at 67

Aldrich Potgieter, of South Africa, watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament practice round at Aronimink Golf Club, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) 2026-05-14T11:25:19Z Newtown Square, Pa. (AP) — The chilly start to the PGA Championship made it feel like May. The test Aronimink provided was more like June in a U.S. Open, with no one better than 3-under 67 among the early starters and Masters champion Rory McIlroy giving a stink assessment of his 74. Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee and Ryo Hisatsune mixed in enough birdies to offset mistakes, each of them at 67. Xander Schauffele, who set the major championship scoring record in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a 21-under 263, opened with a 68 and was pleased. “I think really, really thick rough and wind and really difficult greens and tucked pin locations is why you’re seeing what you may feel like are higher scores,” Schauffele said. That also was the recipe for McIlroy, a bad mix for the Masters champion. He struggled out of the damp, dense rough. He struggled on the greens. He closed with four straight bogeys and described his round in one word that translates loosely to doo-doo. Some overnight rain only dampened the course, but did little to soften it. And the greens on this Donald Ross original design lived up to the fears with its massive undulations. Potgieter, a big-hitting South African, put himself in a good position on the severe greens and an even better position when he finished his round. He was in the first group off the 10th tee and the first to post 67, a round with six birdies. (