The second major of the year is here.

The world's best have fully infiltrated the Donald Ross gem of Aronimink Golf Club, just a stone's throw from Philadelphia. Three days of on-site preparation are in the books, and the field is as ready as they will ever be to take their shot at the Wanamaker Trophy.

As the narratives emerged, our writers debated a handful of pressing questions on the table before the balls are officially in the air at the 108th PGA Championship. Let's dive in:

Which potential storyline are you most excited to see play out this week?

Paul Hodowanic: I’m always intrigued when we go to a golf course we have very little familiarity with. So I’m fascinated with how Aronimink fares. Most of the caddies and players I talk to think we’re in for some low scores, though that’s with the assumption that there’s rain coming. It will indeed be a haven for long drivers. The entire front nine might not require more than a 9-iron into any of the greens, but the back nine poses more challenge and if the greens get firm, Aronimink will show its teeth.

It’s also worth making this distinction now: there’s a difference between the viability of a golf course as a premier championship venue and whether or not a course is “good.” I would love to play Aronimink every day. It would challenge me endlessly. It may just not challenge the top 0.00001% of golfers this week.

Will Gray: Scottie versus Rory. Will a true alpha emerge in 2026? These men have combined to win four of the last five majors and just finished 1-2 last month at the Masters. Scheffler is playing well but pacing below his standard of the last two years. McIlroy has the green jacket but might be down a toe. I’d be surprised if neither of them were in the mix come Sunday - and would welcome a true battle between two greats still in their prime.

Rob Bolton: What a perfect segue from my last roundtable when we were tasked with circling the player most likely to win his first major in 2026. My pick was Tommy Fleetwood. Although I hedged with Ludvig Åberg for the Masters specifically at the time, both have my full attention at Aronimink to fulfill the early love.

Jimmy Reinman: The McIlroy versus Scheffler heavyweight bout is what the world clamors for on stages like this. After all, we haven’t really seen them exchange direct blows since the 2022 TOUR Championship.

But I’m more interested in whether the idea of a “Big Four” has any real staying power. Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick have authored fairytale starts to 2026, dragging their games out of the mud from a year ago. In both cases, they’ve already clashed with the immovable objects of McIlroy and Scheffler, with Fitzpatrick edging Scheffler in a playoff at Harbour Town and McIlroy clipping Young in the final group at Augusta. Challengers have cycled through over the last few years (Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau), but none have consistently stuck. I’m fascinated to see whether Young and Fitzpatrick have what it takes to become long-term foils to two all-time greats.

What interests you most about Aronimink?

Bolton: Rhetoric among the players has been mixed between being able to wield driver everywhere and respect for the rough, especially if the course firms up.

I’m rooting for the latter because it’d bring the full bag and proper course management into play, as it should.

Reinman: As the bomb-and-gouge contingent grows louder, I’ll also be focused on the timeless collection of Ross greens on hand. They are massive, all 8,200 combined square feet of them, and they are fascinating.

I found myself oddly mesmerized watching Brooks Koepka lag putt his way around Oak Hill, another Ross classic, at the 2023 PGA. It wasn’t something that had ever stood out to me before, but watching him repeatedly aim for the heart of greens and cozy 30-footers up ad nauseam put me in a sort of trance. With early comparisons already being drawn between Aronimink and Oak Hill, I’m excited to see how the world’s best strategize.

Hodowanic: It’s an easy answer, but the greens are the coolest and most dynamic part of Aronimink. Even if players are hitting drivers everywhere, they still have to contend with one of the best sets of greens that renowned architect Donald Ross ever designed. Some of my favorites after walking the grounds: five, seven, 11 and 17.

I’m also interested to see if we get any wind. It was gusty on Wednesday afternoon, the greens got a little crispy and I saw players truly struggle for the first time this week. The forecasted rain could soften the course up, but if the wind blows, it will dry out quick and set up some enjoyable theater this weekend.

Gray: Listen, I ride for Ross. He’s my favorite golf course designer, and this is one of his best works. Watching how the demanding greens are able to test the game’s greats will be must-see stuff.

The wrinkle will be if the weather cooperates enough to allow for the course to firm up, even just a hair. That could make for some really compelling scenes come the weekend.

Who needs to play well this week the most?

Reinman: It feels about time for Ludvig Åberg to confirm what we all want, hope and maybe even dream for him.

There is nothing wrong with Åberg’s game at the moment. In fact, he enters the PGA Championship with five top-10 finishes in his last six starts. He sits ninth in the FedExCup and comfortably ranks in the upper echelon on TOUR in every major Strokes Gained category outside of putting. But he has yet to become the relentless Sunday leaderboard haunter many expect and frankly, desire him to be.

This will be his third PGA after missing cuts in both prior appearances. His only two major top 10s have come at Augusta. He is still just 26 years old, and many compare his current trajectory and game profile to pre-2022 Scheffler. Still, don’t be surprised if the criticism begins to bloom should he fail to seriously contend this week.

Gray: Patrick Cantlay broke a run of three straight missed cuts in majors with his T12 finish at the Masters, but he remains in a prolonged slide: eighth in the world at the 2024 PGA, he was 15th a year ago and is now ranked No. 30 in the world. With only two top-20 finishes in his last 10 starts in majors, he needs to get back into the mix soon.

Bolton: Lots of ways to interpret and argue this one, but my angle concerns personal expectations. Brooks Koepka lives for this arena. Three of his five titles in the majors have come in the PGA Championship, but he’s gone 11 straight starts without a top 10 in majors since his win in this one at Oak Hill in 2023. As this year is one of transition, contending again would be massive.

Hodowanic: It’s time to see more from Tommy Fleetwood. We’re now more than two years since his last top 10 in a major championship, despite consistently being one of the tournament favorites. He got the monkey off his back with the TOUR Championship victory, but he’s too often failed to deliver during the four biggest weeks of the year.

He’s in form, coming off a week of contention at Quail Hollow. He’s an accurate driver and a superb wedge and iron player. That’s the exact recipe for Aronimink. Let’s see it Tommy lad.

Who could be this week’s ‘Rocky’-esque underdog contender?

Bolton: I’ve never seen the movie – I know, shocker – but Justin Thomas is a good fit for the role. Even though he’s a two-time PGA champion, he’s yet to prove me wrong after slotting him 42nd in my full-membership fantasy ranking. He acknowledged it with a GIF of Mark Cuban taking notes on Instagram, but he’s still out to prove something post-microdiscectomy. Give me, er, your best right hook, JT!

Gray: He’s one of the last men in the field but might find his way onto the leaderboard come Sunday. Sudarshan Yellamaraju has a funny name and a unique backstory, but his play this year speaks for itself: five top 20s in his last eight starts, highlighted by a T5 finish at THE PLAYERS and including a top-20 last week on the course that hosted the PGA last year.

Hodowanic: Let’s go with Nicolai Højgaard. If it becomes a bomb-and-gouge affair, as many have predicted, that fits the long-hitting Dane. If it becomes a second-shot test, as many hoped with ideal weather, that works for Højgaard, too. He’s 14th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach this year. He’s in form, too, coming off a runner-up finish in Charlotte. I think it could be the week that the 25-year-old cashes in on all his potential.

Reinman: I’ve got eyes on Matt McCarty this week. While his TOUR profile pentagon may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, the lefty arrives on a run of four straight top-12 finishes. After a lackluster 2025, the 28-year-old hasn’t lost strokes to the field since the Valspar in March and has particularly shined with his approach play during this stretch. I’m curious to see whether that evolution transfers to the major championship stage.

Who will win the 2026 PGA Championship?

Gray: The PGA has produced some top-level winners in recent years. I don’t think that changes this week, but I will go for a slight curve ball away from the two top favorites.

Give me the guy who has won three times since March and has a major to his credit on a Northeast venue. Matt Fitzpatrick lifts the Wanamaker.

Hodowanic: The PGA Championship has no fluke winners in recent memory. Six of the last eight champions had already won a major and the two that didn’t were Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. That has me looking at the top of the board, picking between Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick. Ultimately, give me Scheffler to get this done.

Reinman: At the end of the day, Scottie Scheffler still hasn’t finished worse than runner-up since March. Following his win at The American Express to open the season, there was a strange stretch where people wondered whether his dynastic heater had somehow reached its end. What’s that? His worst finish was T24? He has six top 10s in nine starts? That can’t be right, I was told he was washed.

There has been much made of a slight dip in his iron play, but Aronimink should reward players who find fairways and attack with short irons while making smart decisions into these sprawling greens. It’s hard to convince me that anyone is capable of stopping Scheffler from snagging a second straight Wanamaker Trophy.

Bolton: This is an opportunity for a shameless plug for my Power Rankings in which defending champion Scottie Scheffler sits No. 1.