Trevor Immelman suggested why he thought many players were surprised by Aronimink’s setup during the PGA Championship.
Indeed, last week’s PGA Championship seemed to completely divide fans and players. Some were happy that this year’s second major tournament did not turn into a birdie fest.
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But some players weren’t so enamored with Aronimink.
Why some players were caught off guard by Aronimink at the PGA Championship
Shane Lowry says the PGA got it set up wrong and Rory McIlroy should have made his criticisms clear during the tournament.
McIlroy felt the crowded leaderboard was proof that mistakes were made and players couldn’t really differentiate themselves no matter how well they were playing.
The Northern Irishman had been in the headlines before the tournament, with McIlroy suggesting that most of the courses required no strategy from the tee.
But those who thought they could drive anywhere are in for a nasty surprise. Aaron Rye was the only player to score under 6 under during the week.
Photo by: Karl Lesseen/Getty Images
And Trevor Immelman spoke on Fried Egg Golf about why Aronimink caught so many people off guard.
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“When I talked to the players who have traveled there, the general consensus was that there were going to be a lot of wedges to attack and a lot of chances to score. I think part of it is also the mental aspect of it when you’re going scouting. When you’re playing practice rounds, there’s no result. Part of it is that the conditions were more moderate when they went there,” he said.
“And the hole locations that were being used during that practice round were also softer. So, not only the pressure of playing in a major championship, but the location of the 10th hole on Sunday suddenly was a yard further to the right, closer to the falloff, and the wind started to pick up there. And then everything went up a few notches and the golf course really showed its teeth throughout the week.”
“I also think that the players who went a week or two ago, because of the weather, the snow, the rain, and the late-season work in the Northeast, probably underestimated how much of the rough was going to fill in and grow during the scouting trip from a few weeks or a week ago to the start of the tournament on Thursday.
“I don’t know what product they used, but the material was pretty thick. It was dense. And we finally topped it up on Tuesday night to get it evened out, but by the end of the week it was pretty bad.”
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Aronimink provided a great platform for major championship testing
Major championships require the most thorough, most intensive testing during matches.
Ideally, important decisions should be made on every hole. And Aronimink gave his players a chance.
Perhaps the pins were particularly difficult to place, which caused them to be unbalanced at times. There were probably many players who felt there was little need to attack the most troublesome flags because the scoring was so crowded.
However, players should stand on the fairway considering whether it is time to attack. Eventually, Aaron Rye was able to find that gear as his smart and methodical approach opened the door to more opportunities.
What is certain is that many fans will be happy when Aronimink gets the opportunity to host another major tournament in the future.
