When Scottie Scheffler stepped onto the 14th tee box at Aronimink during his second round of the PGA Championship, he wasn't just battling a rough start—he was staring down one of the most outrageous pin placements he'd ever seen.
"That was one of the craziest pins that I've seen," Scheffler said. "Extremely good."
After making three bogeys in his first four holes, the world No. 1 was already feeling the pressure. Then he saw it: a yellow flag tucked all the way back and to the right of the 215-yard par-3, hidden behind a bunker, perched atop a ridge at the highest point of the green. A cold wind blew straight into his face. It was a setup that would test even the steadiest nerves.
"Your ball wasn't going to roll off like 50 yards away," Scheffler added. "But that was like they put the pin on this microphone, like it was just a high point. I hadn't seen anything like it."
His tee shot landed in the middle of the green, well below the ridge, leaving him nearly 80 feet from the cup. He lagged it to three feet and saved par—a moment that, given his shaky start, felt like a victory in itself.
Scheffler isn't alone in his frustration. The PGA Championship hasn't seen leading scores this high through 18 and 36 holes since Oakland Hills in 2008. Players were three-putting on roughly 6% of holes during Friday's round. The wind is tough, sure. A dry week has made the course firm and fast, making shots harder to control. But the real monster? The greens themselves.
Aronimink's putting surfaces are a roller coaster of knobs and valleys, and the pin placements have been downright diabolical. "There were some pins that didn't even look like they were on the green," said Chris Gotterup after shooting a 65—the low round of the championship so far.
The 11th hole has become a favorite topic of conversation. The green's severe false front has been sending golf balls tumbling 40 yards back down the fairway all week. On Friday, the hole was cut on a small shelf front and right. Players were hitting nothing more than a wedge, but if anyone landed closer than eight feet—usually a routine shot for the world's best—it was considered a happy accident.
Justin Thomas tried to lay back off the tee, leaving himself a full sand wedge from 124 yards. Even that wasn't enough to tame Aronimink's bite. At this year's PGA Championship, it's not just about hitting the green—it's about surviving once you get there.