Width & Angles: May 7th, 2026

Aaron Rai(ses) to the top! The Mink is the talk of golf twitter.

May 18, 2026

What a week at the PGA Championship. Weeks like this make me forget how broken the professional golf world is because of LIV and money-hungry players trying to get appearance fees for playing mediocre golf at a TPC or Trump courses. It’s only during major championship weeks or the Ryder Cup that we get back to the roots of the game, where it’s about glory and history (yes, I know they get paid a shit ton at the majors too).

Aaron Rai

Aaron Rai deserves all the credit this week for his win. He might not be the most popular player or the flashiest name for corporate sponsors, but this is a win for the good guys in golf.

One thing I’ve learned from my very small experience around professional golfers is that the PGA Tour often presents everyone like they’re a gift from God — the greatest people to ever walk the earth. The reality is that they all have a real side to them, and if you catch them in the right environment, they can be very different from what’s portrayed on TV.

That being said, there are consistently a few guys on Tour who come up in conversations as genuinely great people, and Aaron is always near the top of that list.

His iron covers come from a story about his dad buying him his first set of irons and wanting to keep them in pristine condition because they were not a wealthy family growing up. His wife is one of the best professional golfers from India and plays on the LET (Ladies European Tour). He wears both gloves so he can practice longer without getting blisters on his hands. Every story about Aaron Rai centers around hard work and determination, and that deserves to be rewarded.

As for his play, the shots he hit down the stretch were absolute nails. After three days of nobody separating themselves from the field, Aaron hit clutch shot after clutch shot to seal the deal and claim his first major championship — and become the first non-American to win the PGA Championship since Jason Day in 2015.

It’s simple: Aaron Rai was the best all-around player this week.

Aronimink

Garrick Higgo and the golf course discourse this weekend made old-school (2015-era) golf Twitter re-emerge in the best possible way, and I was absolutely eating it up.

Every golf “fanalyst” and Aronimink hater was saying The Mink was about to get roasted by the best players in the world at the start of the week. It turns out the PGA of America definitely heard that noise and decided to put the pins in some brutally difficult locations on a set of epic greens.

It just goes to show that the best players in the world are still challenged when they don’t have complete control. The only real ways to take control away are thick rough and fast greens. Aronimink proved that testing players is not about building 8,000+ yard golf courses or rolling the ball back.

I’m personally a huge fan of Aronimink and would absolutely welcome majors continuing to visit The Mink in the future.

Also, an invite to play it from one of our readers would be very welcomed.

The PGA Championship

What is the PGA Championship?

I still don’t feel like the PGA Championship has a true story or niche in the world of golf. It lacks an identity, and all week it felt like we were just watching a bigger PGA Tour event. I’m not sure what the PGA of America can do to fix this, but visiting PGA Frisco in 2027 certainly isn’t going to help.

The Masters has Augusta and the history. The U.S. Open has the prestige and brutal challenge. The Open Championship has centuries of history and iconic links golf. The PGA Championship, meanwhile, still feels like it’s searching for what makes it special.

In my opinion, the PGA of America either needs to fully lean into public golf courses or create some kind of consistent storyline and identity that makes this championship feel distinct from a regular Tour stop.

The other thing that needs to be addressed is the Corebridge Financial Team. The PGA of America brings out club pros and then builds endless sponsor activations around stories like Michael Block to squeeze every possible dollar out of the event. I actually don’t mind having PGA professionals in the field — that’s part of what makes this championship unique. But the team gimmicks and sponsor-heavy nonsense make the PGA of America feel even more unserious than they already are.

Quick Takes

Rory could have won if he drove it good at all
Scottie still struggles on really challenging greens outside of Augusta
- Maybe it is greens he doesn’t see on a yearly basis?
Matti Schmid is 100% anchoring his putter
Jon Rahm has so much pressure on himself when he only plays 4 real tournaments per year
Bryson needs an intervention
We keep hearing Tommy Fleetwood is great. It is time for him to win a major or we need to have a conversation
It is so time for Ludvig to go to the spider putter
ESPN Thus-Friday is so good. More SVP please!
Cam Smith returns from the dead!