{"id":409,"date":"2026-05-12T09:03:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=409"},"modified":"2026-05-12T09:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:03:55","slug":"pga-championship-at-aronimink-is-largely-about-the-big-slopes-on-big-greens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=409","title":{"rendered":"PGA Championship at Aronimink is largely about the big slopes on big greens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By DOUG FERGUSON<\/p>\n

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Justin Thomas had his caddie place hole-sized discs on every corner of the 17th green at Aronimink on Monday, all of them perched on knobs.<\/p>\n

Read more John Romano: How many wins will it take to convince the world the Rays are legit?<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether he was chipping or putting, it was a challenge.<\/p>\n

Aronimink is marked by its 180 bunkers that frame the landing areas, except for the longest hitters. The first official day of practice for the PGA Championship brought a reminder that accuracy this week is more about shots into the green than avoiding bunkers or the healthy rough.<\/p>\n

These are big greens with big slopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOff the tee it\u2019s not extremely challenging,\u201d said Keegan Bradley, who won on a soggy Aronimink in 2018 at the BMW Championship. \u201cBut the greens get really crazy, and they are really mounded and hilly just like a lot of Northeast courses. So to put the ball in the right spot is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course was full, inside and outside the ropes, despite temperatures that struggled to reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), which can happen with the PGA Championship moving to May and being held in northern part of the United States. Bethpage Black was even colder in 2019 until it warmed as the week went on, and that\u2019s expected to be the case this week.<\/p>\n

Thomas was among the few who made a scouting trip during one of his weeks off. It was a chance to get reacquainted with a course that has fewer trees than the last time he played in 2018, and was in perfect condition. The last day for member play was Nov. 2.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty generous off the tee,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI don\u2019t remember, but it feels like at some point you can tell they took out a lot of trees. The holes that feel open, the rough is healthy. But the greens have a lot of slope. It\u2019s going to be dependent on how firm and fast they can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was another reason for an early trip to Aronimink. He could get in 18 holes without feeling as though he lost an entire day. That\u2019s typical in the days leading to a major championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cPractice rounds at the PGA are the most miserable ever,\u201d Thomas said after playing nine holes Monday morning as the first one out on the back nine. \u201cUnbearably slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than the U.S. Open?<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTied for last,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

And to emphasize the importance of the heavily contoured greens, Thomas said practice rounds look like players working on the short-game area with so much chipping and putting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly seems like it\u2019s going to be distance control on your approach shots,\u201d Jordan Spieth said. \u201cBecause if you\u2019re able to really be hitting your mid- to short irons, controlling the spin and getting it into these tiers, you can actually \u2026 have a lot of pretty close looks for birdie if you get in the right section. If you miss the section, they are going to be really difficult to either get up-and-down or to two-putt. Just lots of pitch on the greens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Orlando Pride starts critical road trip against expansion side Boston<\/a><\/p>\n

Spieth has a lot to gain this week, as has been the case since he showed up at the PGA Championship in 2017. A victory would give him the final leg of the career Grand Slam, a feat achieved by only six players, most recently Rory McIlroy last year at the Masters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can win one more tournament in my life, it would obviously be this one for that reason,\u201d Spieth said. \u201cBut the easiest way to do that is to not try to, in a weird way. Just go out and get ready for the first hole, get a good game plan in and attack it the way it needs to be attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandt Snedeker and Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Canada were the final two additions to the 156-man field at Aronimink. The 45-year-old Snedeker qualified by winning the Myrtle Beach Classic last week for his first PGA Tour title in eight years; Yellamaraju was added because the winner of the Truist Championship, Kristoffer Reitan, already had qualified through his world ranking.<\/p>\n

Tom Hoge got in as an alternate when Jake Knapp was forced to withdraw with a thumb injury.<\/p>\n

The PGA Championship strives to have the top 100 in the world ranking, and it was close until Lucas Herbert won LIV Golf Virginia and Shaun Norris was runner-up (by 14 shots) on the European tour. Both cracked the top 100. Neither is at Aronimink.<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler, the world\u2019s No. 1 player and defending champion, played nine holes. That was the case for most players, with Matt Fitzpatrick being an exception. This is his first time at Aronimink, and he saw the entire course. One part stood out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe green complexes, yeah, for sure,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cThey are very severe in spots. It will be interesting to see where obviously the pins get put. There\u2019s certainly two or three holes where you can\u2019t have more than four pins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at the golf course that I just played, and it definitely favors length off the tee because a lot of the bunkers will be taken out of play,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think for me, the greens are going to be the defense for the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Gators earn No. 6 seed in NCAA Regional, eye another WCWS appearance<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP golf: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/golf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DOUG FERGUSON NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Justin Thomas had his caddie place hole-sized discs on every corner of the 17th green at Aronimink on Monday, all of them perched on knobs. Whether he was chipping or putting, it was a challenge. Aronimink is marked by its 180 bunkers that frame the landing areas, [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nPGA Championship at Aronimink is largely about the big slopes on big greens - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=409\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PGA Championship at Aronimink is largely about the big slopes on big greens - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By DOUG FERGUSON NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. 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