PGA Championship 2026: Why this major is the perfect fit for Philadelphia’s everyman sports culture
Golf's working class major and America's working class city could make for a memorable week at Aronimink.
The Philadelphia sports fan needs no introduction. Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, Sixers. Pick any Philly fanbase, and you’ll find the same thing—fierce loyalty … and fierce expectations.
Just ask poor ol’ Saint Nick, who Eagles fans infamously bombarded with snowballs in protest of the Birds’ lowly 2-11 record during a halftime Christmas parade in 1968. That was six years after Aronimink Golf Club hosted its last PGA Championship, and though the world has changed much since then, the Philly sports fan has not. With the Wanamaker returning to Aronimink for the first time in 64 years this week, it’s fair to wonder if we’ll see the raucous and, at times, regrettable behavior that marred the Ryder Cup last fall.
Will the city’s trademark boos drown out the roars? Or will the Philly faithful, with their rabid allegiances already established, even care? After talking to those who know Philadelphia golf best, however, it seems like the PGA Championship and the City of Brotherly Love might just be a match made in golf heaven.
Enter Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. Thirty years ago, Hayes moved to Philadelphia from his hometown of Syracuse to cover sports for the Philadelphia Daily News. At first, Hayes largely covered baseball and football, but when the Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer merged, Hayes found himself immersed in the topsy, turvy world golf.
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