May 27, 2026, 3:00 p.m. ET
The PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club featured a challenging course setup, resulting in a single-digit under-par winning score.Course setup, not just length, is a key factor in determining scoring difficulty.PGA Tour events prioritize entertainment and pace of play over creating a championship-level test for players.
ESPN analyst and two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North delivered one of my favorite lines during the network’s early first-round coverage from Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia.
“For those just tuning in, this is the PGA Championship not the Open Championship,” he deadpanned.
The gilded-age-era Donald Ross layout, which had been restored by Gil Hanse, held its head high despite the onslaught of modern technology and bigger, stronger athletes with their Trackmans and speed training regimens. The course maxxed out at just over 7,300 yards in the first round and played at an old-school length of just 7,142 yards in the final round. No one bested 67 on Thursday, 4 under led after 36 holes and winner Aaron Rai signed for a 72-hole total of 9-under 271, the first single-digit under par winning score on the PGA Tour this season.
Apparently, length isn’t as much as an inhibitor to scoring with a strong setup, dry conditions and 5-15 mph winds. Sure, there were your usual complaints that the hole locations had to be manipulated to protect par but no offense to Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler: everyone had to play them and perhaps your game plan was flawed.
“It’s hard to put (the PGA) in a nutshell,” said CBS’s Frank Nobilo, who was part of the broadcast team at Aronimink. “With the distances the players hit it these days pars with a short iron in hand are less appealing but on the flip side with everything on the line Aaron’s Rai’s last 10 holes, strategically and execution were near perfect. The course and setup was certainly a major venue and by that I mean multiple good shots were needed to guarantee a par. It wasn’t instant gratification. Aronimink had a little Philadelphia in it. Tough. Demanding. Honest.”
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In a nutshell, Frank, the leaderboard and the mix of names that occupied it, made for a compelling final-round shootout the likes of which we rarely see. This is what fans want more of and if the PGA Championship achieved anything, Aronimink should have taught the PGA Tour that 7,200 yards still can produce a single-digit winner.
It also proved how poor the setups are for PGA Tour events. Had the Tour been responsible for the Aronimink setup, my guess is 14 or 15 under wins because pace of play is the No. 1 concern.
At the PGA, Masters and U.S. Open – and to a lesser extent the British Open – they have a championship mindset. It is designed to be a full examination of what’s in a player’s toolbox and they are meant to be championships of historical significance. The PGA doesn’t soften it up for 20 clubs pros, the USGA doesn’t flinch when 20 amateurs qualify and Augusta National shows no mercy for Fred Couples and the other past champions. The goal is to identify the best player.
TPC Craig Ranch just got torched to the tune of 30-under 258. That’s the high watermark this season but the winning score was 22-under 266 at Pebble Beach, 18-under 266 at Riviera and 19-under 269 at Trump National Doral. It begs the question: Is it length or is it setup? Can both determine the winning score?
The problem is the PGA Tour is built for birdies, for charity and make the finish time for TV. It’s not presenting a weekly championship setup. Not even for signature events do they push back the tees, grow the rough and select hole locations to the strong side. It’s an entertainment product geared to TV. Could they speed greens up half a foot? Add an extra inch of rough? Yes and yes but the consistent decision not to do so speaks volumes that this isn’t designed to be a weekly ‘championship.’ Pace of play trumps a championship set up. Either that or the hands of rules officials are tied and that’s what they are being told to present as the test.
When we want the best playing more together, we also want a golf course to be in a championship set up. They go hand in hand. A signature event shouldn’t only be separated by purse. As the Tour revamps its schedule to improve “the product,” it shouldn’t forget to address an equally important element in making the Tour the best it can be.