Min Woo Lee left shocked by one decision PGA Championship organizers made on day two

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Min Woo Lee was surprised by one decision the PGA Championship organizers made before the second round.

There were concerns that the Aronimink Golf Club would not provide a sufficient test before the tournament started.

Rory McIlroy even suggested there would be little strategy needed, as most holes would just require long drives without any precision off the tee.

However, McIlroy has already been proven wrong as the golf course has played much tougher than expected.

While most players have struggled to post low scores, Lee is in the top three on the leaderboard at three under par.

The Australian has reflected on the challenges facing the players at Aronimink, highlighting an eye-opening hole.

Min Woo Lee surprised by ‘very tough hole’ at PGA Championship

Even though many expected a birdie-fest this week, Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy are leading at just four under after two days.

Therefore, Min Woo Lee’s latest claim that the golf course at Aronimink is playing more like a US Open than a PGA Championship is justified.

“I wouldn’t say the toughest [conditions], but it is very tough,” Lee said after the second round. “I think the fairways are wide enough, I think, to not make it the hardest course. But the scores are showing that it is very tough.

“It feels like a US Open course, with the rough pretty thick, especially around the greens. And it’s windy, that doesn’t help.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

“Then obviously the undulating greens, it’s tough. I saw plenty of putts miss from short range, even myself, and it’s just one of those where you can’t let your mind spiral.

“But it is tough, I’m not going to say it isn’t tough, because it is tough, but, yeah, that’s what you expect at a course like this.”

The par-3 8th hole at Aronimink was the toughest on the course during the first round of the PGA Championship.

The event organizers decided to extend the hole to an enormous 245 yards on day one, then shortened it to just 173 yards on day two.

Lee was expecting to be challenged at this week’s major championship, but the changes to the 8th hole have taken him by surprise.

“Obviously, the one on 8 going from the hybrid to an 8-iron is a very big difference,” he added. “But I think we all learned that 8 yesterday was a very tough hole.

“It went from the toughest to the easiest hole today. So, I don’t think that was expected yesterday.

“Even Shane, my caddie, and I were out there, and we hit 4-iron into there on a practice round, and then you go out there, and it could be a hybrid, and that’s a 20-yard difference between 4-iron and hybrid.

“So it kind of took us by surprise a little bit. But you expect that at a major championship, it’s supposed to be hard.

“Some pins were on hills, I would say, and I did see a lot of missed putts on the coverage in the morning when I was up. But again, it’s expected, it’s tough.”

Lee has only ever finished in the top 10 at one major (T5 at the 2023 US Open), so he lacks experience of contending over the weekend.

Hopefully, the 27-year-old can put an end to his barren run at the biggest events over the next two days at Aronimink.

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