Justin Rose said it was a “shame to hear” Rory McIlroy’s comments that driving accuracy may not necessarily be vital at this week’s PGA Championship – but warned he still believes players must be “respectful” of the challenges Aronimink can pose.
Rose heard McIlroy describe Aronimink Golf Club as a place where players could “bash away” off the tee, and the Englishman gently pushed back before the 108th PGA Championship. The venue is historic as it has hosted all three of the PGA’s rotating majors, and Rose conceded that the impact of professional golfers finding more and more distance is unfortunate on a course designed by the legendary Donald Ross.
The second major of the 2026 season begins May 14 at Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The course is famous for its frustrating greens, tricky slopes, and 75 bunkers that reward precision over power. It comes as Rory McIlroy brutally mocked a future PGA Championship venue.
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McIlroy, who tees off at 8:40 a.m. alongside Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm, suggested accuracy may not matter as much at the course, for some of the PGA Tour‘s most elite drivers of the ball.
Rose will begin his first round much later at 2:05 p.m. with Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick, and views the setup differently. The 2013 U.S. Open champion believes the course can still punish players who don’t respect the precision needed around the fairways.
“Yeah, that’s a shame to hear that because that’s not what a Donald Ross course is designed to be or historically has been,” Rose said when asked about McIlroy calling it a “bish, bash course.”
Justin Rose protected the prestige of Aronimink Golf Club -Credit:Getty
“The rough’s definitely creeping up, though to the point where you got to be respectful, I think,” he continued. Rose described the rough as thick, dense, and almost Kikuyu-like, with a “rooty” feel that could make clean contact difficult.
Rose recognized that modernization has softened Aronimink’s toughness and that longer hitters can carry some bunkers around 305 or 310 yards. That leads to a wider fairway and creates a clear advantage for players with 300-plus-yard carry.
The PGA includes McIlroy in the top five statistically for driving the ball beyond 300 yards 37 out of 44 times this season. His 84 percent accuracy rate ranks only below those of Aldrich Potgieter, Gary Woodland, Michael Brennan, and Min Woo Lee.
Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose to win The Masters -Credit:Getty
The comments land with extra spice because McIlroy and Rose remain linked by Masters history. McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam last season by defeating Rose in a sudden-death playoff at Augusta National to add a fifth major title.
Rose was one of the first to congratulate McIlroy publicly after the win and repeated his praise after McIlroy defended his Green Jacket with a follow-up win last April.
Rose has experienced unforgiving slim margins during major championship golf for years and has only gotten over the line once. Rose has finished runner-up or tied second at the Masters three times and runner-up twice at the Open Championship before winning the 2013 U.S. Open.
Elsewhere, golf fans have questioned Bryson DeChambeau’s PGA Championship preparation.