Scottie Scheffler: PGA challenge ‘different,’ maybe not ‘best’Paolo UggettiMay 15, 2026, 04:19 PM ETMultiple Authors
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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Scottie Scheffler walked up to the 14th green at Aronimink Golf Club on Friday and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The hole location for the 215-yard par-3 — placed on top of a spine that gave players a small landing area to keep it close — was one of the hardest that the world No. 1 had ever seen.
“That was one of the craziest pins I’ve seen,” Scheffler mentioned “They put the pin on like this microphone, like it was just like a high point. I hadn’t seen anything like it.”
As the wind whipped Friday morning with gusts up to 20 mph, it crafted the toughest conditions at Aronimink yet. Scheffler made what he called an “extremely good par” on No. 14 — his fifth hole of the day — but what he saw there was indicative of what the field contended with all over the golf course thanks to the PGA of America’s setup.
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“Most of the pins today were kind of absurd,” Scheffler mentioned. “I was a bit surprised how far they pushed a lot of these pin locations.”
Scheffler finished his round 1-over par to sit at 2 under heading into the weekend. Despite not improving on his Thursday score, Scheffler was not displeased with his effort; he knew just how much patience and precision the round had required.
“This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on Tour, and that includes U.S. Opens, that includes Oakmont,” Scheffler mentioned. “It’s difficult to get the ball close to the hole. It’s difficult to hole putts, especially when you have big slopes and wind, and I think that’s why you see the scores so close to par.”
At one point, the four-time major winner stopped to ask Justin Rose’s caddie, Mark Fulcher, if they had ever seen anything like this before. The only other venue and setup they could think of? Shinnecock, a course well-known for its extreme difficulty and where the U.S. Open will be held next month.
Scheffler stopped just short of calling the setup at Aronimink unfair while acknowledging that even if a harder golf course is one he relishes and maybe even one that benefits his chances, it doesn’t mean it’s one he necessarily always enjoys.
“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 mentioned. “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. Is that the best test? Who knows. It’s a different test.”
The Friday morning wave saw many players fail the test, but one who did not was Chris Gotterup, whose free-swinging attitude and propensity for flighting down shots in the wind seemed to help. Yet even he, after shooting a 5-under 65 (the lowest of the tournament so far), acknowledged that the pins selected for the second round were right on the edge of being impossible. That has produced painstakingly long rounds that have gone past 5 hours, 30 minutes and a packed leaderboard.
“I think this week is definitely an extreme in that department, more so with the wind,” Gotterup mentioned. “I don’t think it’s unfair by any stretch of the imagination, but you’re not going to get any 4½-hour rounds out here.”
Mentioned two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas: “I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this in my life, so bunched.”
As Scheffler pointed out, a tight leaderboard typically does not equal a great test. Aronimink has certainly been unique in its difficulty so far, especially compared to the past two PGA Championships, which finished at 21 under and 11 under. Depending on whether the PGA of America decides to keep it difficult or let the foot off the gas, the weekend is set up to crown a winner who can best handle the challenge.
“I think that’s what is great about the harder tests,” Scheffler mentioned. “A lot of times you see somebody figure it out. … Somebody always figures it out.”
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