Day two at the PGA Championship badly exposes big golf problem which needs urgent fix

Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images

Against all expectations, Aronimink Golf Club has been a brutally tough test for the PGA Championship.

Almost every player from the opening group, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, tumbled down the leaderboard, unable to conquer the gusting wind and ensnaring rough of Aronimink.

The players looked miserable, and that’s exactly what we want to see from a major championship test. You want the Wanamaker Trophy? Okay. Earn it.

But the difficulty of the golf course exposed a massive problem for the sport which needs to be addressed immediately.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

PGA Championship exposed golf’s slow play problem

The morning rounds at Aronimink were so difficult that it took an age for the players to complete their rounds. It took Scottie Scheffler’s group over five hours to play 18 holes of golf. Ridiculous.

Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley and Cameron Young were put on the clock for their slow play, but their retort to the official was that they weren’t far behind the group ahead. That’s a testament to how slow the general play was throughout the field.

It doesn’t matter how hard it is out there, a six hour round cannot be acceptable. In no golf course in the world would an amateur get away with that without returning to an incredibly disgruntled clubhouse.

So why these players are not capable of playing a round in five hours, no matter how challenging the golf course, is beyond comprehension. And how they were allowed to creep along at a snail’s pace all day is absolutely ridiculous.

How golf must fix its pace of play problem