Aronimink’s setup at the PGA Championship has been at the center of heated discussions.
Fans are delighted to see this brutally tough setup give the world’s best players problems. The winning score looks likely to be in single figures. That’s refreshing, because the pre-tournament narrative suggested the players were going to pick Aronimink apart with their power.
The leaderboard entering Sunday is a logjam, with about 30 players still with a realistic chance of winning the Wannamaker Trophy. Scottie Scheffler said he’s never seen anything like it.
Rory McIlroy, who is well in the hunt, said this type of leaderboard is a sign of a poor setup because players have not been able to separate themselves with their play. Max Homa gave his thoughts on that take after missing the cut.
Max Homa was shocked by the PGA Championship setup on Saturday
The first two days at Aronimink were a brutal test, with tucked pins, howling wind, and thick rough lining the fairways. That saw Homa miss the cut at 12-over par. But on Saturday, the PGA of America set up some scoring chances with easier pins.
That frustrated Homa when he tuned in to watch. Speaking on the No Laying Up podcast, he was asked about the setup and he said, “I don’t think it’s any type of luck, I just think it’s testing less of the golfers. You still have to do really well at everything.
“You have to drive it well, you really need to hit your irons well. But you’re not going to get a massive separation between a Scottie iron day and a so-and-so iron day, who is like 50th in strokes gained.
“But to your point about the pins, the first two days, when I turned on the TV, and I saw where the pin was on 10, I was like ‘What the f–k?! Where was that yesterday?!’ It’s humming, it’s 45 degrees.
“And I was like, dude, if you miss the fairway, you have no chance, and then your wedge shot if you have to lay up is so scary, and I was like ‘What the f–k? This is nuts!’
“It’s still such a great test because you need to do all the things well. The second bit of the issue is the rough is so hard to chip out of that if you do miss the greens, you have to be so conservative because around the greens is so hard. The first cut is like the craziest stuff I’ve ever chipped out of.
“I was playing so conservatively the first two days, and the 15-footers are so tricky because up the hill, down, they’re pretty quick, they can get away from you. So you have to be pretty conservative.
“There’s like five holes where it’s like, ‘I f——g need this. So you miss the fairway on two and you can’t go at the pin you’re like, ‘God, I think I might be done.’ So that’s what’s so different about this tournament.”
Max Homa shares thoughts on Rory McIlroy’s Aronimink comments
McIlroy was frustrated at the players; inability to separate themselves on the scoreboard. He said that while it’s exciting for the fans, the golf course isn’t rewarding great golf like it should at a major championship.
Homa shared his thoughts on those comments, saying, “Your main point about firm greens vs soft greens is that it takes a great shot on a firm green to hit it close, well struck, right shape, height at times, the right distance. It requires everything.
“Whereas when it’s soft you can hit an okay golf shot, and you are not getting that big of a difference between a really good one and a pretty good one.
“That is what this feels like. To hit it close, not on every hole, but on 12 on Friday. It was a front right pin, it is on a nob, and the wind it down off the right. I hit a great drive and had a sand wedge in.
“I hit a very good wedge shot. If I am basing it out of 10, I hit a 9 out of 10. It landed two paces too far and it was firm, so it hopped down the hill, so now it’s 20 feet. It’s a great shot, I was not complaining about it. But to hit it close, you are asking a ton.
“I’m not saying this as woe is us, but now you are going to get the same thing, where really, really good shots go to 20 feet, and pretty good shots go to 25 feet. That is where I see what Rory is trying to say.
“It’s that the champion of the PGA, in some people’s opinion, won’t be because they played significantly better golf than the field. I look at it right now that four over par is 60th and they are now 10 back, but at one point there are eight back. That’s too many people to not say at some point that there was no separator.
“We played with Hideki on Friday. He did what you have to do, he made a ton of eight to 12-foot par putts and sprinkled in a couple of birdies. That is my take on it, it’s really good shots and good shots are basically having the same value. I don’t know how you can do a whole lot more, at least over the first two days.”
Whether the players like it or not, it’s set up an incredible spectacle on the final day!
