Rory McIlroy looked pretty solid through the first two days at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. He opened with a 66 and followed it up with a 67, keeping himself in comfortable territory just a few shots off the lead. He didn’t seem to be struggling with the course—if anything, he looked relaxed, even confident. This tournament was supposed to be a good test run before the PGA Championship, which is happening on the same course. So when he came off Friday looking sharp, no one expected him to have anything critical to say about the setup.

Then came Saturday, and suddenly, things weren’t as smooth. The course had started drying out. The greens were quicker, the wind picked up, and the whole vibe just changed. What had felt manageable started to feel trickier—not impossible, but annoying in a way that throws off your rhythm. Putts that had dropped the day before were now lipping out. Rory didn’t collapse or anything, but you could tell it wasn’t flowing the way it had earlier in the week. It wasn’t just him, either; a bunch of players were visibly adjusting. The course was holding up, but, opened for play back in 1922, it was showing its age in how it handled modern play.

That’s what makes his post-round comment make sense. It wasn’t a rant just for the sake of it. When Rory said the course would be “awesome” if the ball went shorter and that it’s “probably 500–600 yards too short,” he wasn’t slamming the place—he was pointing out how golf tech has kind of outgrown some of these older designs. 

“If the golf ball just went a little shorter, this course would be awesome. Not that it isn’t awesome anyway, but just right now with the distances we hit, it’s probably 500-600 yards too short. It would be amazing to play courses like this the way the architect wanted you to play them,” the Northern Irish golfer stated. His tone wasn’t angry, more thoughtful. He likes the course. But like a lot of players, he’s seeing how distance has shifted the way these layouts play. 

However, it is not just Rory McIlroy who joins in praising the course. The ‘awesome’ layout was lauded by another PGA Tour pro after moving day.  Tony Finau talked to the press after his round 3 performance and was asked about the course and whether the Tour should consider more tournaments near this region.

Finau explained candidly, “We were talking about it there with Harry. I played with Harry English today and Homa yesterday. We were talking about it; within a 100- to 150-mile radius of this place, I think there’s some of the best golf in the world.” Finau also indirectly sends a message to Jay Monahan and co., imploring him to consider the Pennsylvania region early in the season rather than later. “I’d love to see the TOUR make a lot more stops here,” the six-time PGA Tour winner stated,

The subtle point Finau is trying to make has a bit of standing in it. This is the only event in the northern part of the country in the first five months of the 2025 season. While the weather might be a huge factor in this, the lack of tournaments despite having a good pool of golfing fans is a bit of a concern.

“I feel like these golf courses don’t play as hard as if they were, like, in August just because the grass just hasn’t grown in quite yet. On a golf course like this, if the rough were thick and long, it would be extremely hard. Fortunately for us this week, it’s not crazy even though it’s long. The season hasn’t grown in, so the grass just isn’t thick. So we’re still able to hit the greens and things. You play these types of golf courses more in the summer and the fall, and it’s a whole different type of test. I guess I say that just to say I’m happy we’re playing it at this time of year,” Finau further added.

After June, the PGA Tour opens up a bit more for the northern side of the country. The Memorial Tournament takes place in Ohio, which kicks off a northern swing for the PGA Tour with stops in Canada, Pennsylvania(US Open), Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky. This swing is great, but Finau’s argument here is that the golf courses pose a different kind of challenge during the early months of the year, something the PGA Tour should consider exploring.

It is to be noted that the competition usually takes place at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was shifted to Philadelphia as the PGA Championship is taking place there this year. However, the competition is a bit tighter than usual at the Philadelphia Cricket Club this time around, with 25 players currently within eight strokes of the lead.

Impressive performances on moving day

Tony Finau carded a solid 3 under par on Day 3 to move to 8 under par and six strokes off the leaders, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka. Both Lowry and Straka have been highly consistent across the three days, carding 3 under par and 4 under par, respectively, to share the lead after day 3.

Hideki Matsuyama, however, defined ‘moving’ on Saturday, after he scored 7 under par to move up 28 places to fifth and 4 strokes off the lead. This was after a below-par performance from the Japanese golfer on day 2, where he could only manage a score of 2 over par.

Justin Thomas also had a strong performance coming off his first PGA Tour win of the season at the RBC Heritage. The two-time PGA Championship winner carded a solid 4 under par to move into T3 alongside day 1 and day 2 leader Keith Mitchell. Tony Finau, Sungjae Im, Nick Taylor, and Sam Burns all carded 3 under par to finish 8 under par and in T6.

Do you think either Lowry or Straka can handle the pressure and claim the title at the Philadelphia Cricket Club? Or will one of the trailing pack outperform them and clinch the trophy?