PGA Championship at Aronimink tests players with tough pins and wind

Golf should be a pleasure, not a penance, wrote Donald Ross, who designed Aronimink. That sentiment was hard to find among the players competing for the PGA Championship. Shane Lowry shanked a ball into the water at the 17th, Scottie Scheffler nearly slammed his wedge after a thick shot on the sixth, and Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley argued with rules officials who put them on the clock for slow play.

The main enjoyment came from watching the field struggle with lag putting and from seeing the world’s best golfers face the same frustrations that amateurs meet every weekend.

The course was expected to yield low scores. Bookmakers set the winning total at 14 under par, and some thought a player might challenge the major record set by Xander Schauffele at Valhalla in 2022. Instead, two under par was enough to stay in contention after two rounds, and three under par made a player a strong favorite for the weekend.

Players blamed the wind, the cool temperatures, and especially the pin positions chosen by the tournament committee. Scheffler shot 71 and said the pins were the hardest he had seen on tour, including U.S. Opens. The greens are large, fast and rippled, and many pins sat on the tops of ridges. He called the 14th the toughest pin he had faced and said a two-putt par from 80 feet was a good result.

Scheffler finished at two under par after three bogeys in his first four holes. He questioned whether making the game harder was the best test of golf. The field stayed bunched because even the best players had trouble separating themselves with two-putt pars.

Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy shared the lead at four under par. Smalley has yet to win in seven years as a pro. McNealy has one victory, the 2024 RSM Classic, and is considered the richest player on tour because his father is a multibillionaire. Aldrich Potgieter, 21, was also near the top for much of the day before back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 dropped him from five under. The South African, a former champion wrestler, is the longest driver on tour.