05/15/26 07:11:00
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05/15 19:09 CDT Scheffler calls PGA Championship pin placements the hardest
he's ever seen
Scheffler calls PGA Championship pin placements the hardest he's ever seen
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) --- Scottie Scheffler had just made three bogeys on
the first four holes of his second round at the PGA Championship when he stood
on the tee at the par-3 14th hole at Aronimink and looked at a yellow flag that
boggled his mind.
The pin was tucked all the way back and to the right of the 215-yard hole,
behind a bunker. A cold wind was in his face and the hole was atop a ridge at
the highest point of the green.
Three bogeys in four holes caused enough stress. And now this.
"That was one of the craziest pins that I've seen," Scheffler said.
His tee shot found the middle of the green, well below the ridge, just under 80
feet away. He lagged that to 3 feet for a par. Given his start, it was as
important a par as he made all day. "Extremely good," Scheffler said.
He was unequivocal in his assessment of how he rated the difficulty of the
pins: "This is the hardest set of pin locations that I've seen since I've been
on tour, and that includes U.S. Opens."
The PGA Championship hasn't seen leading scores this high at the midway point
since Kiawah Island in 2012. Players were three-putting roughly 6% of the holes
on Friday.
The wind is difficult, sure. A relatively dry week makes it firm and fast and
harder to control shots. But it's the greens, undulating with knobs and
valleys, and the locations of the pins that have been a real monster.
"There were some pins that didn't even look like they were on the green," Chris
Gotterup said after his 65, the low round of the championship.
The 11th hole was a popular reference. The green already had everyone's
attention at the start of the week because of the severe false front that sent
golf balls some 40 yards down the fairway.
On Friday, the hole was on a small shelf front and to the right. Players hit a
nothing more than a wedge. If anyone was closer than 8 feet --- usually a stock
shot with a wedge for the world's best --- consider it a happy accident.
"Impossible to get close," Gotterup said.
Justin Thomas tried to lay back off the tee for a full sand wedge from 124
yards. That didn't work out for him. He tried to be so exacting, but it came up
short and in a bunker. The next one didn't get on the green. He had to scramble
for bogey.
"It's not hard to hit it to 20 feet past the hole, but it's really, really hard
to hit it close," Thomas said.
"So it just kind of speaks volumes to how this course can be throughout the
entire day."
It's been that way for two days. It doesn't take much for the PGA of America to
set tough pins that will affect the scoring. Not all of them are brutal. The
opening two holes Thursday were accessible. The pin on the par-5 ninth was on
the easier side.
The par-3 eighth hole was tucked behind a bunker, but the tee was moved up 72
yards to play at only 173 yards on Friday. Gotterup hit a 5-wood on Thursday
and made bogey. He 7-iron to 4 feet on Friday for birdie.
Scheffler had 140 yards on the second hole to a back right pin. He hit it to 30
feet and was pleased. He had the same yardage two holes later to a more
accessible pin and went after it, the shot settling 5 feet below the hole for
birdie.
It's about picking the right shot for the right pin. And it changes by the day.
"I love hard tests of golf, but it's also the hardest game in the world and
we're trying to make it harder, and there's different ways you can do that,"
Scheffler said. "You can do that on a golf course like this. I mean, I truly
believe they could have the winning score be whatever they want it to be. It
could be over par if they want it to be, just based purely upon pin locations."
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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