Giving the examples of the 10th and 14th pins, Scottie Scheffler pointed out the difficult pin locations at Aronimink Golf Club after a challenging Round 2 of 1-over. But despite the growing criticism from him and others, the PGA of America is ignoring the criticism. The details of another absurd pin at a new hole have come to light.

“This hole has been diabolical. Ken, you’re at the eighth level. You’ve seen nothing yet, I have to say. The tee-up on the hill there, it’s on a forward tee, but you’ll see why when I show you where the flag is today. Well, it’s a huge green; it’s like Wrigley Field, but they’ve missed most of it. This back-left, front-left corner is really, really tricky. This little area of flat, that’s all there is,” commentators at the PGA Championship 2026 said.

“If you’re just a fraction down this side, off they go. It’s narrow; it’s like a postage stamp, and when it runs off, it’s a bit like the 15th hole at Augusta. It just keeps running. So the area there is 12 feet by 5 feet. That’s what you’re aiming at. The wind will freshen this afternoon, and the green will dry out. It really is treacherous. I honestly don’t know how you can get on that little area. I wonder if anyone will.”

The 8th hole at Aronimink is a par-3, 245-yard hole. It was reduced to 173 yards on Friday. The best way to put it in perspective will be through Patrick Reed’s words. He had played the course during the 2018 BMW Championship. After his second round of 2 over, he said it was a dumb hole then, and it is a “dumb hole now.”

The wind will make it challenging, especially in the afternoon. The weather forecast for Saturday shows no signs of rain. However, the wind will increase from SW 6-12 G16 at 8 AM local time to SW 10-16 G28 by the afternoon.

With just a very small flat area, it resembles the pin location at the 14th. After his challenging second round, the world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler called it one of the hardest pins he had played in a long time. Many, including Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, scored a double bogey on the 14th in their second round.

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

He described the 14th as a pin sitting on a spine with minimal flat area. And he was not alone in thinking like that. Shane Lowry specifically pointed out the 10th, while Chris Gotterup said, “You have no margin for error” at a lot of holes.

“I think a bunched leaderboard like this is a sign of not a great setup,” Rory McIlroy said, criticizing the course setup.

He even had to face backlash from fans over his harsh comments on the setup. Echoing similar feelings, Justin Thomas also noted how bunched the leaderboard was. At one point, he was even laughing while looking at it.

While both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have similar thoughts on the course setup, they differ in one critical way.

Scottie Scheffler’s and Rory McIlroy’s contrasting approaches to Aronimink

The World No. 1 and No. 2 have a striking difference when it comes to preparing for the majors. Scottie Scheffler is someone who likes to keep his schedule clear before playing in the majors. On the contrary, the Northern Irishman said that he likes to play the week before. He did prove that in action by playing in last week’s Truist Championship.

Scheffler said his focus is on studying, preparing for the course, and ensuring he is hitting his checkpoints. But unlike him, the 2026 Masters champion said he didn’t have any strategy off the tee for the second major of the season. Instead, he felt like the biggest hitters would be at a huge advantage at Aronimink.

While they both viewed and prepared for the event differently, the course setup prompted them to adjust their plans. Neither McIlroy nor Scheffler was able to make the most of their powerful drives, nor were they able to keep their calm during Round 2. And now, the PGA of America will be testing its strategy once again on Saturday.