The PGA Championship is scheduled to begin this Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The second major of the PGA Tour season will begin with Scottie Scheffler as the heavy favorite, once again, and the defending PGA champion. While Scheffler is the favorite, he will still have to fend off 156 golfers participating in the event. Among that vast field, value fantasy golf picks can be found, and finding them is what we do best. This is what you can expect.
Key Course Metrics
Aronimink Golf Club was designed in 1928 by legendary designer Donald Ross. He hailed the project as his “masterpiece.” In 2016, Gil Hanse took to the course with Jim Wagner to restore the 18 holes to Ross’s original version. In doing so, the course found and added more than 170 total bunkers, which line the fairways and surround the greens, forcing target golf to be played on approach shots.
As with any PGA Championship, the course will have a preliminary phase, assessing driving precision and/or distance. According to Datagolf, stats off the tee will be about PGA Tour average at Aronimink.
Ultimately, scoring well will require good iron shots and even better putting. Ross’s design meant that golfers played on some type of grid. It’s not just about getting it right on the fairways, it’s about hitting and missing the right approach angles. Given bunkers and green contours, sometimes angles matter more than accuracy off the tee.
The average Par 3 distance will be 214.5 yards this weekend. Getting a par on a Par 3 will be a great success, since those holes can penalize a lot. Golfers will be more defensive than offensive.
These are the main metrics to consider when playing fantasy golf:
- SG: Put
- SG: Focus (150+)
- Ghost Avoidance
- Driving distance
- Bird rate
- Course Results: Oak Hill, Ridgewood CC, Winged Foot
Tournament history and weather
The PGA Championship is played on a different course each year. Here are the recent winners of Donald Ross designs: any tournament
- 2025 TOUR Championship at East Lake: Tommy Fleetwood (-18)
- 2025 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC: Cam Young (-22)
- Rocket Classic 2025 overall in Detroit: Aldrich Potgieter (-22)
- 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill: Brooks Koepka (-9)
Rain is expected on Thursday, heavier in the morning. At some times of the day, the chance of rain will be 90%, which will shorten and soften the golf course, in addition to further penalizing missed tee shots. Winds can exceed 20 mph.
No rain is expected for the rest of the weekend. While the wind will be moderate on Friday, it will decrease to single digits over the weekend. Ultimately, the course will allow for birdies throughout the week while also rewarding long hitters even more.
Fantasy Golf Picks
Min Woo Lee
In his last 14 events, Lee has only once scored worse than the field average in strokes gained: total. He ranks 11th on the PGA Tour in driving distance and 12th in approaches from 175 to 200 yards. He also ranks 15th in Birdie Rate, and in the last major designed by Donald Ross, Lee finished 18th at Oak Hill (2023).
Victor Hovland
At approaches from 175 to 200 yards, Hovland is fourth-best on the PGA Tour in strokes gained. He is among the most aggressive players on the PGA Tour, and if Hovland is dialed in, he can score. Hovland is scoring above the field average in 21 of his last 25 events, and at Oak Hill in 2023, Hovland finished T-2. Like other Donald Ross designs, Hovland won the 2023 TOUR Championship and never finished outside the Top 20. Even at Sedgefield CC in 2019, Hovland finished T-4.
Adam Scott
Scott has made a cut in every event contested since the 2025 Open Championship. In fact, Scott has finished in the top 30 in 8 of his last 9 starts. In Donald Ross designs, Scott hasn’t missed a cut since 2015 at Barclays. Scott ranks 17th on the PGA Tour in driving distance, 15th in bogey avoidance and 2nd in approaches from 175 to 200 yards.
Justin Tomas
Thomas’s results in Donald Ross’ courses are as strong as anyone’s. He has eight career top-10 finishes at East Lake. Most importantly, though, Thomas’ volatile game is going well. He has 6 straight cuts with a strong T-8 at last week’s Truist Championship.
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