The PGA TOUR arrived at Quail Hollow Club last week for the 2026 Truist Championship, which always guarantees a few things: towering drives, elite ball-striking, and at least one contender emotionally unraveling on the Green Mile.
This year delivered all of that — plus a surprise champion nobody outside of Norway predicted.
Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan outdueled a loaded leaderboard yesterday to capture his first PGA TOUR victory at 15-under par, earning $3.6 million from the tournament’s massive $20 million purse.
Coming into the week, casual fans probably knew more about Norwegian salmon than Kristoffer Reitan. Leaving the week, he suddenly looks like one of the most dangerous sleepers heading into the PGA Championship. Golf has a funny way of doing this every season — some previously anonymous player catches fire and wins leading up to a major championship.
Quail Hollow also gave us a little bit of everything: a Rickie Fowler resurgence, another Rory McIlroy “close but weirdly quiet” week at one of his favorite courses, heartbreak for Alex Fitzpatrick, and enough money handed out to make even the greediest players in the Truist field not regret joining LIV.
Reitan’s performance wasn’t a fluke. He looked calm all week, drove the ball beautifully, and handled Quail Hollow’s closing stretch with the composure of someone who’s been winning PGA TOUR events for years.
That’s what made it so impressive. This was just his 15th PGA TOUR start.
The 28-year-old entered Sunday surrounded by proven stars and major champions, but you never really saw panic from him. Even as the leaderboard tightened late, Reitan kept hitting fairways and rolling in nervy putts and looked suspiciously comfortable for a guy trying to secure his first tour win and life-changing money.
His final-round 69 included a bogey-free trip through Quail Hollow’s infamous final three holes — a stretch that routinely chews up Ryder Cuppers, major winners, and lucky members playing from the up tees.
Now Reitan suddenly has:
- A PGA TOUR victory
- A massive paycheck
- A likely PGA Championship invitation
- Thousands of golf fans pretending they “followed him on the DP World Tour”
The golf world loves an overnight success story, especially when it technically took about 15 years.
Quail Hollow’s famous closing stretch — holes 16, 17, and 18 — is one of the best finishing runs in golf. It’s also one of the meanest.
This week, though, Reitan handled it like he was out for a casual evening stroll.
Others were not so lucky.
Alex Fitzpatrick appeared ready to make the leap from “younger brother of Matt” to PGA TOUR winner before disaster struck late. A crushing double bogey on 17 effectively ended his chances and turned a potential breakthrough victory into a painful near-miss.
Still, the younger Fitzpatrick continued his streak of good finishes to prove he belongs. Which has to feel satisfying, considering most broadcasts over the last few years have introduced him as having talent, but not nearly as good as his major championship-winning older brother.
We aren’t the only fans of Rickie Fowler who enjoyed watching the man in orange contend for an important tourney trophy.
The Rickie Fowler comeback tour keeps gaining momentum.
Fowler finished tied for second alongside Nicolai Højgaard, earning roughly $1.76 million and continuing what has quietly become one of the more encouraging stories of the 2026 season.
But beyond the money, Rickie looked dangerous again.
The swing stayed under control. The putter cooperated (right up until the very end). The confidence looked real. And for stretches Sunday afternoon, it genuinely felt like vintage Fowler might be back. (NOTE: He just might be.)
Which is great news for golf fans and terrifying news for Puma orange inventories everywhere.
Fowler remains one of the most popular players in the sport, partly because fans still remember how electric he was at his peak. When Rickie is contending, crowds get louder, social media gets nostalgic, and every golf content creator immediately starts posting photos comparing his look today with his scraggly look from 2014.
If he seriously contends at the PGA Championship next week, the golf internet may completely lose its composure.
Any time Rory McIlroy tees it up at Quail Hollow, expectations immediately rise.
For good reason. He’s dominated this course throughout his career and often makes Quail Hollow look several thousand yards shorter than it actually is.
This week, however, McIlroy never quite found top gear. He finished T-19 at five-under par — respectable, but far from the statement performance many expected heading into the season’s second major.
To be fair, Rory admitted afterward he spent much of the week working through swing issues, particularly a frustrating left miss off the tee, which he had better get fixed before teeing it up this week in the PGA Championship at Aronimink, an uber-tight Northeast track with lightning-fast fairways and long rough.
The Fitzpatricks > The Højgaard Twins.
Even without winning a trophy, the Fitzpatrick family had a pretty decent week.
Alex Fitzpatrick nearly captured the biggest title of his career and showed the kind of poise that suggests his breakthrough moment is probably coming sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, older brother Matt Fitzpatrick did struggle at Quail Hollow, but we aren’t betting against him this week at Aronimink.
Together, they’re quietly becoming one of golf’s most entertaining sibling storylines.
And somewhere, parents around the world are now asking their children why they can’t become millionaire golfers together.
Critics spent months wondering whether Signature Events would feel repetitive or predictable.
Turns out, a $20 million purse and a stacked field still create pretty compelling television.
Quail Hollow produced leaderboard swings, late collapses, unexpected contenders, and enough pressure-packed moments to remind everyone why PGA TOUR golf remains wildly entertaining when the courses are difficult and the stakes are massive. Watching elite players try to survive the Green Mile on Sunday afternoon remains one of the best stress tests in sports. It’s basically live-action therapy for golfers watching from their couches.
Winners and Losers from Sunday at Quail Hollow:
Loser: Jordan Spieth. His game has been trending up, but still isn’t good enough to win on tour. His Sunday 4-over 75 was one of the worst scores posted yesterday and powered his precipitous drop on the leaderboard.
Winner: Min Woo Lee. Sunday, the bomber Min Woo fired a 7-under 64. If he played even marginally better each day Thursday-Saturday, he may have contended yesterday. He has more talent than 90% of the guys in the field. If he can learn to harness that talent and cut down on his “oh shi*” shots, he’ll start winning, and maybe shaving that this stache of his.
Loser: Alex Fitzpatrick. It’s hard to win on the PGA TOUR. It’s nearly impossible if you post two double bogeys on Sunday, as Alex did. He’s got a ton of talent and will win playing his own ball on the PGA TOUR. But we aren’t betting on that outcome until 2027 or 2028.
Winner: Ludvig. He fired a final round 5-under 66 and posted a Top-10 finish. We are putting him on our short list of favorites to wn this week at the PGA Championship.
Truist Championship 2026 prize money payouts
| Pos. | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Kristoffer Reitan | −15 | $3,600,000 |
| T2 | Rickie Fowler | −13 | $1,780,000 |
| T2 | Nicolai Hojgaard | −13 | $1,780,000 |
| 4 | Alex Fitzpatrick | −12 | $980,000 |
| T5 | Tommy Fleetwood | −11 | $740,000 |
| T5 | Sungjae Im | −11 | $740,000 |
| T5 | J.J. Spaun | −11 | $740,000 |
| T8 | Ludvig Aberg | −10 | $605,000 |
| T8 | Harry Hall | −10 | $605,000 |
| T10 | Patrick Cantlay | −9 | $505,000 |
| T10 | Matt McCarty | −9 | $505,000 |
| T10 | Cameron Young | −9 | $505,000 |
| 13 | Justin Thomas | −8 | $425,000 |
| T14 | Min Woo Lee | −7 | $365,000 |
| T14 | Chris Gotterup | −7 | $365,000 |
| T14 | Nick Taylor | −7 | $365,000 |
| T17 | Alex Smalley | −6 | $315,000 |
| T17 | Gary Woodland | −6 | $315,000 |
| T19 | Austin Smotherman | −5 | $245,800 |
| T19 | Rory McIlroy | −5 | $245,800 |
| T19 | Keegan Bradley | −5 | $245,800 |
| T19 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | −5 | $245,800 |
| T19 | Kurt Kitayama | −5 | $245,800 |
| T24 | Patrick Rodgers | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | Pierceson Coody | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | Adam Scott | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | Andrew Novak | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | Harris English | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | J.T. Poston | −4 | $159,286 |
| T24 | David Lipsky | −4 | $159,286 |
| T31 | Brian Harman | −3 | $117,000 |
| T31 | Viktor Hovland | −3 | $117,000 |
| T31 | Alex Noren | −3 | $117,000 |
| T31 | Tony Finau | −3 | $117,000 |
| T31 | Nico Echavarria | −3 | $117,000 |
| T31 | Corey Conners | −3 | $117,000 |
| T37 | Sam Burns | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Maverick McNealy | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Akshay Bhatia | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Taylor Pendrith | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Matt Wallace | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Andrew Putnam | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Bud Cauley | −2 | $85,000 |
| T37 | Lucas Glover | −2 | $85,000 |
| T45 | Justin Rose | −1 | $63,000 |
| T45 | Daniel Berger | −1 | $63,000 |
| T45 | Ryo Hisatsune | −1 | $63,000 |
| T48 | Denny McCarthy | E | $52,600 |
| T48 | Aldrich Potgieter | E | $52,600 |
| T48 | Webb Simpson | E | $52,600 |
| T48 | Michael Kim | E | $52,600 |
| T52 | Mackenzie Hughes | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Max Homa | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Brian Campbell | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Jhonattan Vegas | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Chandler Blanchet | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Jordan Spieth | 1 | $46,950 |
| T52 | Jacob Bridgeman | 1 | $46,950 |
| T60 | Xander Schauffele | 2 | $44,600 |
| T60 | Robert MacIntyre | 2 | $44,600 |
| T60 | Ricky Castillo | 2 | $44,600 |
| T63 | Ben Griffin | 3 | $43,600 |
| T63 | Sepp Straka | 3 | $43,600 |
| T65 | Ryan Gerard | 4 | $42,800 |
| T65 | Si Woo Kim | 4 | $42,800 |
| 67 | Ryan Fox | 6 | $42,200 |
| 68 | Jason Day | 7 | $41,800 |
| 69 | Sahith Theegala | 8 | $41,400 |
| 70 | Sam Stevens | 9 | $41,000 |
| 71 | Hideki Matsuyama | 11 | $40,600 |
| 72 | Tom Hoge | 13 | $40,200 |