
The 2026 PGA Championship's Friday hole locations feature a challenging setup, particularly on the eighth hole, which will be played at 173 yards. The flag's position behind a bunker complicates scoring, as slopes direct balls away from the hole.
Before the 2026 PGA Championship started, some pundits thought the winning score could be in the 12- to 15-under-par range, but after the first round, the overnight lead on the par-70 Donald Ross gem was 3 under.
"People thought it would be lower?" said Jon Rahm after he shot 1-under 69. "Have you been out there? Have you seen the golf course?"
At the end of the day, the scoring average was 72.261 or just a touch above 2-over par. The hardest hole on the course was the eighth, a par 3 that played to 245 yards on Thursday.
On Friday, the hole is being played shorter, at 173 yards, but as you can see in the hole location map below, the flag on Friday is tucked behind a bunker. What you can't see on that map is that the slopes all go away from that spot, so anything left should roll farther left while flying too far behind the flag will send the ball toward the back of the putting surface.
While long holes sometimes intimidate weekend players, pros see long par 5s as scoring chances. So, it should come as no surprise that the easiest hole on the course Thursday was the 605-yard, par-5 ninth hole. It played to a stroke average of 4.795. On Friday, it plays 590 yards, with a hole located in the front-middle portion of the green. It's tricky because the whole green funnels to that area, and while pros will want an uphill putt, coming up short endangers the ball rolling off the green. Look for plenty of birdies (there were 42 made on Thursday), but eagles will be rare.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Hole locations for Round 2 at the 2026 PGA Championship
The eighth hole will be played at 173 yards on Friday.
It is the hardest hole due to its length and the challenging flag position behind a bunker, which complicates approach shots.
The scoring average after the first round was 72.261, just above 2-over par.


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