Scottie Scheffler is frustrated but still in the hunt at the PGA Championship, where a brutal setup and defensive scoring have transformed expectations into a grueling test of nerve rather than firepower.
Two rounds into the tournament at Aronimink, a score of two under par is enough to hover near contention. Three under has become a legitimate favorite's position. This wasn't the script. Bookmakers had predicted a winning score around 14 under when the field arrived for the first major held here in over 60 years. Instead, the world's best are grinding for pars.
Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy lead at four under. Behind them, Hideki Matsuyama sits two shots back after a solid 67, tied with Chris Gotterup, whose 65 was the day's best round, and Min Woo Lee. Scheffler carded a 71 to reach two under overall, where he shares ninth place with Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, and Ludvig Ãberg.
The culprit, according to Scheffler and others enduring Thursday and Friday, isn't the wind or cold at Aronimink. It's the pin placements. The tournament committee has positioned flags in spots Scheffler describes as unreasonable, perched atop the massive, rippled greens in ways that defy conventional strategy.
"Most of the pins today were kind of absurd," Scheffler said after his round. "This is the hardest set of pin locations that I've seen since I've been on tour, and that includes US Opens." He singled out the 14th hole as particularly extreme, where officials placed the flag on a narrow spine with virtually no margin for error. Scheffler managed a two-putt par from 80 feet.
The setup has had its intended effect: compression. When even elite ball-strikers struggle to position themselves for birdie opportunities, scores bunch together. The field hasn't separated, and the skill gap narrows. Scheffler himself dropped three bogeys in his opening four holes before stabilizing, a start that would have buried most players but merely left him grinding from inside the top 10.
"It's very difficult to get the ball close to the hole, and it's very difficult to hole putts," Scheffler explained, questioning whether this particular brand of difficulty serves the tournament well. "It's the hardest game in the world and we're trying to make it harder." The comment carried a philosophical edge, suggesting that pure penalty golf might not be the purest test after all.
Not everyone at the top is a household name. Smalley, 29, has never won on tour despite seven years competing at the highest level. McNealy, 30, has one victory, the 2024 RSM Classic, but carries a different kind of advantage: his father is a multi-billionaire, making McNealy reportedly the richest player in professional golf. Both have seized the moment when the course is humbling everyone.
Aldrich Potgieter, the 21-year-old South African in just his fifth major championship, flashed brilliance before faltering. The former wrestler, who leads the tour in driving distance, sat five under until back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 knocked him back. His power game, suited for open fairways, doesn't automatically translate to the finesse required when pins are hidden in hostile corners.
Rory McIlroy is still digging out from his opening day collapse. Four consecutive bogeys early in the tournament have left him buried deeper than most contenders. His second-round three under moved him in the right direction, but the deficit is substantial heading into the weekend.
If Aronimink's greens soften as the forecast suggests, scoring might improve. For now, two under is respectable, three under is excellent, and anyone within striking distance is where Scheffler remains: close enough to pounce if the course ever relents.
Author James Rodriguez: "Scheffler's right to push back. You don't need greens set like minefield booby traps to prove who the best golfers are, and watching world-class players two-putt from 80 feet isn't a feature, it's a bug."
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