Scottie Scheffler felt hard done by after his opening round of two-under-par 69 at The PGA Championship on Thursday.
Scheffler was solid if not spectacular at Quail Hollow on day one of The PGA Championship, and if truth be known he was nowhere near his best.
The 28-year-old world number one addressed the media after his opening round, and he was clearly not happy at all.
Scheffler said the PGA’s decision to play the ball down cost him two shots, after his double bogey on the 16th hole, his seventh of the day.
He still managed to battle back and shoot a 69, but that could easily have been a 67 or better, had the PGA of America opted to put lift clean and place into play.
However, one player near the top of the leaderboard after day one wasn’t convinced at all by Scheffler’s complaints.
Aaron Rai completely disagrees with Scottie Scheffler at The PGA Championship
Aaron Rai shot a round of four-under-par 67 on day one of The PGA Championship.
The Englishman, who won the 2024 Wyndham Championship, was more than happy with the condition of the course in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday.
Rai said, “Yeah, I think the PGA TOUR and the PGA of America referees know what they’re doing. They know a lot more than us as players. That decision would have been based on the right reasons.
“There were a couple of spots that were pretty wet on the fairways, but that’s to be expected with just how much rain that we’ve had. But I think it’s extremely dry around the greens and the runoffs are extremely tight.
“I think without playing preferred lies, it brought in the challenge of the short game a little bit more, which I think is an important part of the course.
“So yeah, I thought the decision was good and the course played great overall.“
Paul McGinley weighs in on Scheffler’s complaint at The PGA Championship
McGinley is known for his outspoken nature, and that’s exactly what you want from a golf commentator.
He responded to Scheffler’s complaint after round one by suggesting that playing the ball down was a challenge he should have dealt with.
McGinley said, “Only once in major championship history have we had preferred lies. I don’t think it warranted it, that would have been my view. I think part and parcel of major championships is a test and difficulty and the challenges and if you do have a muddier ball it is a challenge and you have to be a little bit more conservative. Yes, you have mud on the ball on 16 and you have to say the chances are I can’t take on this flag.
“That would be my view. We are seeing a lot of this from current players, really challenging authority and not being afraid to voice decisions which don’t go their way. We saw Morikawa a couple of months ago saying he didn’t owe anybody anything and didn’t need to do an interview. There seems to be a lot of revolt from the players to authority at the minute and this is another example of it.“
I just can’t agree with McGinley there. I get that golf is supposed to be a difficult challenge, but it was quite simply unfair at times at Quail Hollow on Thursday.
Scheffler certainly didn’t deserve to have his ball in mud after hitting a pearler of a drive on the 16th hole during his opening round of The PGA Championship.
And the ensuing double bogey he made would have made him extremely angry.
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