The PGA of America could have hardly asked for a better build-up to the PGA Championship, which Scottie Scheffler would go on to win by five shots at Quail Hollow.
There were so many fascinating storylines heading into the PGA Championship. Both Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler had won on their most recent starts before the second major of the year.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy had won The Masters at long last the previous month. He also had a phenomenal record at Quail Hollow, having won four times at the course previously.
And the likes of Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were showing the kind of form which suggested that they could be in the mix.
Bubba Watson criticises Quail Hollow following the PGA Championship
It had the potential to be the kind of event which changed the perception of the PGA Championship. In the eyes of most, it is surely the fourth best major. It suffers from not having the prestige of The Masters or The Open Championship, while the US Open is a test like no other.
Unfortunately, this year’s tournament did not live up to the hype. It was fairly reminiscent of Scheffler’s win at the 2024 Tour Championship in which there was only a brief moment of drama around the turn on Sunday. Scheffler put an end to that shortly after.
And perhaps the course setup played a role in the event not quite hitting the heights. Speaking on ESPN, Bubba Watson was critical of the changes made to Quail Hollow to prepare it for the major.
“First of all they are going to change the course a little bit. They are going to set it up tougher. They added tees. There were a bunch of holes over 500 yards which I thought was silly. Number nine is one of the toughest holes they play in the regular season. To add 40 or 50 yards was crazy,” he said.
“The rough is up and the greens are firmer. There are tougher pin placements. They are going to trick it up as much as they can.
“But then the atmosphere. The knowing what it is going into it. You are trying to win a major for the first time, second time, third time. Whatever it is.
“The media hype behind it is really where is just starts going in your head and your energy level and you start getting pumped up. But they trick the course up as much as they can.
“It’s the only sport where we keep changing the field. The three point line is the only thing we have changed in 50 years of basketball.
“Pebble Beach is played at the same place, but Pebble Beach when it’s a US Open nobody says it’s just a regular [tour stop]. It’s as hard as it can be when they set it up [for a major]. They did the same with Charlotte.”
Why Quail Hollow was not helped in the days before the PGA Championship
It probably did not help Quail Hollow that they had to deal with such bad weather in the days leading up to the tournament. Fans were stunned by clips of Hideki Matsuyama practicing in the downpours ahead of the event.
Suddenly, those long holes got even longer with balls stopping much quicker on the fairways. And that probably removed some of the excitement.
It is a real shame because this PGA Championship felt like a huge heavyweight boxing fight, with so many of the big guns impressing in the weeks leading into the tournament.
That definitely makes the manner of Scheffler’s win even more impressive. However, it is hard not to feel underwhelmed by how the tournament played out.
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