If there was one major complaint coming out of Aronimink Golf Club during this weekend’s PGA Championship, it was certainly the course setup.
Several players voiced frustration, particularly with the pin placements on the greens. Combine that with windy, cold, and inconsistent weather conditions, and it has led to some of the tougher scoring conditions seen through the first three rounds, with the tournament lead hovering around four- and five-under par.
One player who was especially vocal following Friday’s round was Rory McIlroy, who said the current leaderboard was “a sign of not a great setup.”
“I think it’s a sign of not a great setup,” McIlroy said. “I think when it’s as bunched as it is, because it hasn’t really enabled anyone to separate themselves. It’s easy to make a ton of pars, hard to make birdies, and not that it’s hard to make bogey, but it feels like bogey’s the worst score you’re going to shoot on any one hole.”
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However, after shooting four-under-par on Saturday and moving back into contention at three-under for the tournament, McIlroy softened his stance and walked back some of his criticism.
“You heard it in me last night, you heard it in Scottie [Scheffler], I saw some of his comments, Shane [Lowry],” McIlroy said. “I think there were a lot of guys frustrated yesterday coming off the course, but again, it’s frustrating to us, but at the same time it creates a hell of an entertaining championship.
“If I wasn’t playing this tournament, I’d love what’s going on this week, but watching and playing are two different things.”
McIlroy also admitted tournament officials seemed to ease up on some of the tougher pin placements.
“I said yesterday I think they used a lot of the hard [pin locations] up,” he added. “If I’m reflecting on the last three days I think there’s been a really good balance of tough pins and then pins that you can get at a little bit more.”
McIlroy will likely receive a semi-late tee time on Sunday after playing his way back into contention.
However, there is still a surprisingly large group of golfers firmly in the hunt heading into the final round, which should make for a thrilling finish at the PGA Championship.
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