PGA Championship rankings: All 156 players at Aronimink

The season's second major is upon us, with 156 men on the tee sheet for the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club just outside Philadelphia.

The field is once again loaded, featuring 99 of the top 100 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, along with the customary inclusion of the 20 top club professionals in the United States.

Here's how we see the field from 156-1.

* (PGA) denotes teaching professionals in field

Nos. 156-147

156. Timothy Wiseman (PGA)
155. Paul McClure (PGA)
154. Ryan Vermeer (PGA)
153. Derek Berg (PGA)
152. Chris Gabriele (PGA)
151. Francisco Bide (PGA)
150. Jared Jones (PGA)
149. Ryan Lenahan (PGA)
148. Bryce Fisher (PGA)
147. Mark Geddes (PGA)

Vermeer again confirmed he's an absolute problem for the rest of the PGA teaching professionals vying for one of the 20 slots. The 48-year-old is set to make his sixth PGA Championship appearance, and he made the cut at Bethpage in 2019. The term "teaching professional" is applied quite liberally in a few cases, as some of them played professionally for years before becoming a PGA pro.

Nos. 146-137

146. Austin Hurt (PGA)
145. Shaun Micheel
144. Garrett Sapp (PGA)
143. Zach Haynes (PGA)
142. Jason Dufner
141. Tyler Collet (PGA)
140. Michael Kartrude (PGA)
139. Ben Polland (PGA)
138. Braden Shattuck (PGA)
137. Ben Kern (PGA)

Dufner and Micheel are eligible to play in the PGA Championship thanks to their previous wins in the event. Still, expectations should be tempered, with the duo combining to miss their last 21 cuts in the tournament. Although Shattuck might teach for a living, he's got the game to reach the weekend in Philadelphia. He made the cut at the 2024 PGA Championship, a feat that eluded big names like Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tiger Woods, Sam Burns, and Adam Scott.

Nos. 136-127

136. Y.E. Yang
135. Michael Block (PGA)
134. Jesse Droemer (PGA)
133. Jordan Gumberg
132. Jimmy Walker
131. Kota Kaneko
130. Luke Donald
129. Daniel Hillier
128. Adam Schenk
127. Kazuki Higa

Somehow, someway, the Block Party continues to roll on at the PGA Championship. Block, a 49-year-old teaching professional, is back in the field after qualifying for his eighth appearance in the event. He exploded onto the scene at Oak Hill in 2023, producing an electric ace alongside Rory McIlroy in the final round en route to an astonishing T-10 finish. Block has since turned his 15 minutes of fame into three years of D-list celebrity, and you can be sure he'll be the focus of TV cameras this week.

Nos. 126-117

126. Steven Fisk
125. Matti Schmid
124. Brian Campbell
123. Chandler Blanchet
122. Martin Kaymer
121. Davis Riley
120. Joe Highsmith
119. Mikael Lindberg
118. Travis Smyth
117. Padraig Harrington

This is our first grouping without a teaching professional and consists of an eclectic mix of former champions and debutants. Harrington and Kaymer were once mainstays on the leaderboard, but those days are long in the rearview for both. Lindberg booked his place just two weeks ago by winning the Turkish Open, while Campbell will be looking to keep up, ranking 165th out of 166 players on the PGA TOUR in driving distance.

Nos. 116-107

116. Adrien Saddier
115. Cam Smith
114. Ian Holt
113. Jhonattan Vegas
112. Bernd Wiesberger
111. Emiliano Grillo
110. Andy Sullivan
109. Sami Valimaki
108. William Mouw
107. Bud Cauley

No need to rub your eyes here, that really is Cam Smith sitting 115th on our list. He used to be a top talent, but his game has essentially vanished over the past three years. He missed the cut in his last six majors, a stretch of results that sets up endless LIV Golf jokes. However, his performances on that circuit haven't been much better, and the form that won him the Open Championship and The Players now appears long gone.

Nos. 106-97

106. Johnny Keefer
105. Daniel Brown
104. Elvis Smylie
103. Garrick Higgo
102. Michael Brennan
101. Max McGreevy
100. Angel Ayora
99. Stephan Jaeger
98. Rico Hoey
97. John Parry

Power hitters are the theme for this set of golfers, as Keefer, Brennan, and Hoey all sit inside the top-20 on the PGA TOUR in clubhead speed. Add the prodigious length of 22-year-old Ayora on the DP World Tour and 24-year-old Smylie on LIV, and this is an explosive group. Major championship success, obviously, relies on much more than just sending the ball off the tee, which is why these players aren't sniffing the top 75 on our list.

Nos. 96-87

96. Tom Hoge
95. David Lipsky
94. Jayden Schaper
93. Brandt Snedeker
92. Matt Wallace
91. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
90. Nico Echavarria
89. Andrew Putnam
88. Jordan Smith
87. Patrick Rodgers

Snedeker ended an eight-year drought with last weekend's triumph in Myrtle Beach, delivering one of the more shocking results on the PGA TOUR this year. With the victory, the Presidents Cup captain booked a spot in his first major since 2021.

Nos. 86-77

86. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
85. Andrew Novak
84. Aldrich Potgieter
83. Chris Kirk
82. Casey Jarvis
81. Michael Kim
80. J.T. Poston
79. Tom McKibbin
78. Haotong Li
77. Ryo Hisatsune

The trials and travails of Li were on full display at the Masters, where the Chinese star suffered a shocking quintuple-bogey 10 on the 13th hole in the fourth round to plummet down the leaderboard. He's back in the PGA Championship but falls to No. 79 on our list this week.

Nos. 76-67

76. Pierceson Coody
75. Austin Smotherman
74. Max Greyserman
73. Ryan Fox
72. Billy Horschel
71. Marco Penge
70. Wyndham Clark
69. Thomas Detry
68. Taylor Pendrith
67. Denny McCarthy

Given his success as a worldwide player, Fox's struggles in majors have been a surprise. The New Zealander is still without a top-10 finish in 28 majors and isn't exactly flashing top form coming to Aronimink. Horschel received a special invitation into the field this week, and he'll look to return to the major form he showed in 2024. The American finished T-8 at the PGA Championship and T-2 at the Open before missing almost all of last year following hip surgery.

Nos. 66-57

66. Ricky Castillo
65. Michael Thorbjornsen
64. Lucas Glover
63. Stewart Cink
62. Matt McCarty
61. Aaron Rai
60. Sahith Theegala
59. Alex Smalley
58. Joaquin Niemann
57. Dustin Johnson

Johnson and Niemann falling to Nos. 58 and 59 on this list will surely send the LIV social media accounts our way, but the dynamic pair haven't been good enough in recent majors to move up this list. Johnson hasn't posted a top-20 finish in his last 10 majors, missing the cut in six of those. Meanwhile, Niemann's major issues have been well documented, and his prolific form hasn't translated into success at golf's biggest events. The Chilean has just one top-10 result in his last 26 majors.

Nos. 56-47

56. Harry Hall
55. Sudarshan Yellamaraju
54. Keith Mitchell
53. Rasmus Hojgaard
52. Sam Stevens
51. Ryan Gerard
50. Daniel Berger
49. David Puig
48. Nick Taylor
47. Brian Harman

Yellamaraju was the last man in the field this week and will look to impress in his major championship debut. Despite qualifying late, Data Golf ranks the Canadian 34th in the world over the past three months, and he's recorded a top-20 finish in six of his 12 PGA TOUR events this season. If there's an LIV player flying under the radar who could pop this week, it's Puig. He has eight top-15 showings in 13 events across the LIV and DP World Tour in 2026.

Nos. 46-37

46. Gary Woodland
45. Jason Day
44. Kurt Kitayama
43. Alex Noren
42. Max Homa
41. Alex Fitzpatrick
40. Corey Conners
39. Rickie Fowler
38. Ben Griffin
37. Keegan Bradley

It was almost a decade ago, but Fowler has some solid history at Aronimink, posting a T-8 showing at the BMW Championship in 2018. The American also nearly won at Quail Hollow last week. When you include his endless army of fanboys in orange clothes and wraparound shades into the equation, Fowler will be a popular pick to win this week. Speaking of loud clothing, Day and his eye-popping Malbon attire found their way into this group as well.

Nos. 36-27

36. Kristoffer Reitan
35. Jacob Bridgeman
34. Sungjae Im
33. Maverick McNealy
32. Shane Lowry
31. Sepp Straka
30. Nicolai Hojgaard
29. Brooks Koepka
28. Jordan Spieth
27. Min Woo Lee

Spieth's quest to complete the career grand slam used to lead the list of topics heading into the PGA Championship, but including that storyline now feels like a charity handout to keep the former golden child among the big names. Although Spieth ranks 40th in the FedEx Cup standings and his play hasn't necessarily been bad, the 32-year-old's ability to keep his game on track over a 72-hole event seems as likely as his beloved Dallas Cowboys winning the Super Bowl. Spieth isn't the only man on this list chasing history, as Koepka is looking to join Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only men with at least four PGA Championship wins. Those wanting to back Koepka should probably know that he's been speed-dating putters at a rapid rate this week in search of a fix on the greens.

Nos. 26-17

26. Viktor Hovland
25. Akshay Bhatia
24. J.J. Spaun
23. Patrick Cantlay
22. Adam Scott
21. Harris English
20. Hideki Matsuyama
19. Si Woo Kim
18. Justin Rose
17. Tyrrell Hatton
16. Robert MacIntyre

If this were the Philadelphia Grand Prix, Rose and his new McLaren equipment might be No. 1 on this list. The 45-year-old made the switch to the historic racing brand after another close call at the Masters, but the early returns might have him headed back to pit road. Over the past two weeks, Rose has posted his two worst strokes-gained: approach numbers since January. Meanwhile, Scott is making an outrageous 99th straight start in a major, has solid experience at Aronimink, and ranks third on the PGA TOUR in approach this year.

Nos. 16-9

16. Robert MacIntyre
15. Sam Burns
14. Chris Gotterup
13. Russell Henley
12. Justin Thomas
11. Patrick Reed
10. Ludvig Aberg
9. Tommy Fleetwood

Golf courses that call for precision are typically a cheat code for Fleetwood, and Aronimink should fit his eye. However, his failure to close just about any tournament outside of Europe doesn't inspire much hope that he'll take the title. With two Wanamaker Trophies under his belt and his father a teaching professional, Thomas might as well be called Mr. PGA. If he can control his driver, the rest of his game is good enough to grab a third major win. Perhaps the biggest sleeper on this list is Henley, who almost snatched the green jacket without anybody noticing at last month's Masters. He's quietly become one of the best major players on TOUR, compiling five top-10 finishes in his last seven majors.

Nos. 8-1

8. Bryson DeChambeau
7. Collin Morikawa
6. Xander Schauffele
5. Matthew Fitzpatrick
4. Jon Rahm
3. Rory McIlroy
2. Cameron Young
1. Scottie Scheffler

DeChambeau got blown out to sea at the Masters, missing the cut due to abysmal iron play. Maybe his 3-D printer has spit out a fix for this week. Will we see the same grumpy Rahm from the Masters, or the electric form we're accustomed to? The LIV stars just aren't on the same level as the top-three names on this list, with McIlroy, Young, and Scheffler clearly separating themselves.