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What a weekend we have in store at the PGA Championship …

'Absurd' Aronimink

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aronimink Golf Club’s main challenge comes in its greens. More than the length of the course or the thick rough that lines it, the heart of the test comes as players try to hit, then putt on the devilish set of Donald Ross greens.

It’s why my day began with a coffee in hand and a trek to Aronimink’s 11th hole. On a course filled with crazy greens, the 11th might be its nuttiest – a large, heavily sloped complex with the largest false front on the course. It’s often said that Ross created his wildest greens on his shortest holes, so it’s no surprise that the 425-yard par-4, short by modern professionals' standards, is downright nuts.

What I found was not the craziest pin location (we will get to those) nor the toughest hole on the course (only the sixth-hardest), but rather a representative sample of the test at hand and why most have responded positively to Aronimink this week. Because I watched players hit wedges on repeat from 80-150 yards with the fear of God in them.

With the pin tucked in the front-right quadrant, just beyond the false front, players repeatedly bailed 30 feet long and were happy with it, thankful not to funnel down the hill. A few bold players took it on, and most were quickly rejected, sent careening down the slope of despair. Justin Thomas missed short and faced a horrendously difficult bunker shot and rightly made bogey. He wasn’t the only one. I returned later to see Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Travis Smyth and many others look dejected as they came up short. I also watched Jordan Spieth somehow hit a bump-and-run from 67 yards into that slope and hit the closest shot I saw all day.

“It's not hard to hit it to 20 feet past the hole, but it's really, really hard to hit it close,” said Thomas. “It just kind of speaks volumes to how this course can be throughout the entire day.”

Part of the pre-tournament discourse around this tournament was its perceived inability to keep up with the modern game, but holes like the 11th are part of why this championship has stunned us all and kept the scores low.

There’s another reason, too. I’ll let Scottie Scheffler reveal it.

“Most of the pins today were, I mean, kind of absurd,” Scheffler said.

Ah, yes, the prevailing discourse of the day. The early week was defined by worries that the course was too easy. Thursday’s setup was universally praised. Friday? Well, there were some thoughts – most of which surrounded where the PGA of America chose to put the hole locations. Scheffler called it the “hardest” set of locations he’s ever played, specifically calling out the 10th and 14th. There were a half-dozen others discussed by players throughout the day.

“There were some pins that didn’t even look like they were on the green,” said Chris Gotterup, who shot the round of the day, a 5-under 65 in the tougher conditions.

Want to know why scores are suppressed? That’s why. You can love it for making this course challenging. Some are against it, believing it quells entertaining volatility. Whichever side of the coin you fall on, it has created compelling theater on the weekend. Excited for my Saturday morning coffee stroll and for whatever lies ahead.

Playing through

• 📜 We’re writing live updates as the play is happening. Catch up on Round 2 here, and tune in today for Round 3.
• 💔 Sahith Theegala was dinged for a lost ball penalty in a bizarre situation on Friday. It might cost him a chance at the championship ...
• 🗣️ Chris Gotterup shot the round of the day, and might just be ready to grab his first major ...
• ❌ Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut, but there were some other heroics that allowed some to survive for the weekend ...

A moment for ...

I want to take a brief pause and talk about a few of the names likely to be skipped over as you look at the leaderboard. There are some big names on the first page of the leaderboard – Scheffler, Thomas, Cameron Young, Gotterup and Hideki Matsuyama. They are going to get the most oxygen. Frankly, they have the best chance of winning. But there are a few names up high that deserve recognition after 36 holes.

• Alex Smalley (4 under): Hello, 36-hole co-leader. A name some might not be familiar with, but this isn’t a fluky start. He’s made 12-of-13 cuts and has gone T21-T14-T2-T7-T17 in his last five starts dating back to March. A really smooth swinging player who lacked confidence. That’s coming more and more as the results stack up
• Aldrich Potgieter and Min Woo Lee (3 under): I’m lumping them together because they are slowly dispelling similar narratives. Both have been considered one-dimensional. Bombers who could do little else. Both are shirking that narrative this season and transforming into all-around players. Lee is probably slightly ahead of Potgieter’s timeline.
• Max Greyserman (3 under): It’s incredibly surprising to see him here based on his recent form, but an equipment change/strategy shift has given him a new lease on life. He’s deployed a new driver this week and completely changed his shot shape from a fade to a draw. It’s working wonders.
• Andrew Novak (1 under): Novak brought in a former Aronimink staffer to follow him around this week and show him some of the tricks of the trade. Now he’s firmly in the hunt. He gets bonus points for going off in the harder wave, too.

Parting shots

• 👍 A really steady, clean day from Rory McIlroy. Everything he wasn’t on Thursday. McIlroy made three birdies and no bogeys to pull himself back to 1 over at the midway point. Despite the first round struggles, he’s only five shots back.
• 👎 Disappointing day for Xander Schauffele. Two-under par to begin his round on the better side of the draw, the stars were aligning for the two-time major winner to reassert himself in the conversation at majors. Instead, he shot 73 and remains in the crowded pack with little fanfare, as has been the case for the last 18 months.
• ⏰ More than a few players were put on the clock on Friday as the windy conditions and tough pin positions had players taking some extra time out there. Justin Thomas said his group was put on the clock. “We just didn’t really agree with it … How can time par on this course be the same when it's blowing 25 (mph) and the pins are tough than if it's not?”
• 🇩🇪 A hearty applause to Stephan Jaeger, who carded the amateur’s dream round and the pro’s most agonizing one. Jaeger began at 3 under and finished at 3 under, making 18 pars in between. Congrats or I’m sorry, Stephan.
• 👏 Respect to Ben Kern, who shot 67, the lowest round by a PGA professional since 2000. He was the lone club pro to make the cut. Blockie who?
• 🇨🇦 Two days in and I’m on my second day of feeling sorry for Corey Conners. The Canadian shot 3 over today and is 1 over through 36 holes. Yet he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. Why has he struggled? He ranks 142nd in SG: Putting.