The early week buzz around the PGA Championship was that the course may not be able to properly defend itself against these pros and 190 mph drives. The bomb-and-gouge method wasn’t just predicted, it was guaranteed — even by Rory McIlroy himself.
That foresight could not have been more wrong, at least looking at yesterday and today here at Aronimink. The best players in the world are getting pummeled by this place. The wind is blowing, and the PGA Championship’s hole locations are not for the faint of heart. Kerry Haigh, the chief championships officer at the PGA of America, is taking full advantage of the tabletop-sized shelves built into Aronimink’s greens.
Just consider the position of the pin on No. 14, which is placed seven paces off the back right side of the green. Scottie Scheffler called it the “hardest pin that I’ve seen in a long time,” and this morning, I watched Tommy Fleetwood ping-pong his ball back and forth across it, leading to a very easy double bogey.
Warmer weather tomorrow and Sunday could produce more birdies and an easier test, but so far, Aronimink has proven itself. That, or the PGA of America dialed things up to silence the haters.