PGA Championship 2026: Scottie Scheffler gets off to a happy start on the course and with Philly's infamous fans

There was one thing that Scottie Scheffler did not prepare for when he headed into the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday outside of Philadelphia. Among a sizeable and boisterous crowd at Aronimink Golf Club, the World No. 1 said he got chirped at fairly regularly for the native Texan’s love of the Cowboys.

Philly's hatred for its NFC East rivals is visceral, and that Scheffler hadn't thought there'd be some good-natured needling would be like him not expected to see his jail mugshot on T-shirts two years ago at Valhalla. These are fans, after all, infamous for cheering for the “Broad Street Bullies” and throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. At one point in a practice round this week, a guy yelled from the stands, "Dallas sucks, Scottie!

" and added with a laugh, "We're gonna smash you on Thanksgiving! " Scheffler, thank goodness, was savvy enough to laugh it off. “I got quite a kick out of it,” he said.

“The fans were quite funny today. “Philly is definitely a sports town,” he added. “I said it a little in the beginning, I haven't played much golf here and haven't spent much time in the city, and I certainly won't this week with it being a golf tournament.