The Post News Article.
Last updated Thursday 14th May 2026.
What: US PGA Championship. Where: Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. When: Ryan Fox tee off 12.35am Friday (NZT), Daniel Hillier tee off 12.51am Friday. Coverage from 5am Friday, Sky Sport 1.
Clutching the Brodie Breeze Trophy and wearing the traditional winner’s korowai, Daniel Hillier welled up with tears as he faced a haka near the 18th green at Millbrook Resort.
The 27-year-old from Wellington could barely contain his joy at winning his first New Zealand Open soon after his wedding, labelling them the best two days of his life.
“It was incredible, something I’ve dreamt of since I started playing competitive golf,” Hillier said on his return to the DP World Tour last month.
In the nearly 11-week interim, Hillier has played just twice more and makes a rare trip to the United States where he joins his mate and compatriot Ryan Fox in the PGA Championship at Aronimink, Pennsylvania, starting early Friday (NZT).
Hillier cracked the world’s top-100 for the first time this year, which earned him a special invitation to join a stellar field containing 98 of those top-100 golfers.
His only previous US major was way back in 2019 when he qualified for the US Open at Pebble Beach when still an amateur. Hillier and Fox both missed the cut that year.
Hillier and wife Siobhan went on their honeymoon after Millbrook, then after a long hiatus he returned for the China Open and Turkish Open where he missed the cut in both. The break was a nice change from averaging 26 tournaments a year since he joined the European Tour, but Hillier also admitted it may take some time to return to his best.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a break that long. I felt a little bit antsy at the end of it, I was ready to get back out. Definitely feeling fresh but there may be a little bit of rust, and hopefully that doesn’t last too long,” Hillier said on return in China.
The world No 96’s best is certainly good enough to contend, after a runnerup finish at the Dubai Invitational in January then a tie for fourth at the Bahrain Championship.
Fox, the world No 56, plays his eighth PGA Championship with his best finish a tie for 23rd in 2023.
Since missing the cut at the Masters, Fox finished 16th at the RBC Heritage, 30th at the Cadillac Championship and 67th at the Truist Championship last weekend – a year on from his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the Myrtle Beach Classic.
Both Kiwis will tee off soon after midnight Friday (NZT), with Hillier following one of the feature groups of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm.
Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion but feeling like a bridesmaid over the last month.
Runner-up to McIlroy at the Masters. Playoff loss to Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage. Runner-up (by six shots) to Cameron Young at Doral.
Scottie Scheffler hits from the bunker on the third green during a PGA Championship practice round at Aronimink Golf Club.Carolyn Kaster / AP
“Last week my wife was like, ‘Hey, Scottie. You’re like the first guy in PGA Tour history to have three solo runner-ups in a row.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s probably because the guy that was playing that good figured out a way to win one of those’,” Scheffler said.
It hasn’t put much of a dent in his confidence going into the second major of the year.
He has a firm hold on the No 1 world ranking — he is approaching three straight years at the top of golf — despite not winning since his season debut in the California desert.
“You know you’re playing good golf, and you’d love to get some wins,” he said. “Finishing second hurts, but I think when you reflect and you’re looking at things to work on, there’s a lot less to clean up when you’re finishing second than there is when you’re finishing 30th.”
Not that he has a lot of experience with the latter — Scheffler hasn’t finished 30th or worse since August 2024.
Victory at Aronimink would allow him to join Brooks Koepka (2018-19) and Tiger Woods (1999-00 and 2006-07) as the only players to win back-to-back in the PGA Championship in stroke play.
In his way is a course has plenty of room off the tee and little room for error when it comes to hitting the correct spot on the large, severely contoured greens.
