PGA Championship: Golf’s best thought Aronimink would be easy. They were wrong

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Player after player walked from the Aronimink scoring tent looking a bit dazed. McIlroy was the most succinct, but many others held forth with a bit more detail.

“If you just go by some of the numbers, some of the fairways are wide, the greens aren't crazy firm. But a lot of those fairways are sloped in a way that they play very narrow,” said Jon Rahm after a -1 round. “Then the rough doesn't look as long as many other majors, but it's such a thick blade of grass that, even when the lie looks okay, it catches you so bad. So I can see how in appearance it might (seem) easier, but it's not. You need to play really good golf to shoot lower than 3-under.”

“It's hard. It was windy,” said Xander Schauffele after a -2 round. “Guys were hitting 300 (yards on par 4s) … that means you're going to have anywhere between 80 to 100 yards to a back pin, and you're trying to land it in a tiny window.”

“Around the greens is kind of tough. I think you've got to get somewhat lucky,” added Min Woo Lee, -3 on the day. “It can be unpredictable. The (lies) that sit down, you give it a little bit more (effort), and then it just jumps. Then the ones that sit up, you think it's going to come out hard, and it comes out soft.”

If the PGA of America is determined to work over the players for the rest of the weekend, this could be a rough go. Friday morning is expected to be chilly, winds will be swirling all weekend, and there’s no more rain in the forecast to slow down the greens. Whatever else this weekend will be at the PGA Championship, it won’t be anything close to easy.