Aronimink Is About to Humble the Best Golfers on the Planet, and 174 Bunkers Are Ready

The PGA Championship rolls into the Northeast this week, and Aronimink Golf Club just outside Philly is set to separate the pretenders from the real deal. This isn't going to be another birdiefest where guys light up the scoreboard. This course has teeth, and after a 2016-17 restoration by Gil Hanse, it's meaner than ever.

Last Year's Lesson: Even Scottie Scheffler Had to Sweat It Out

Remember last year at Quail Hollow? Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA Championship, and yeah, he came into Sunday with a 3-stroke lead. But don't let that fool you into thinking it was a coronation. Scheffler started rough, bogeying the first hole and playing the front nine at 2 over. Jon Rahm got hot fast, birdieing 10 and 11 to catch him at 9 under. For a second there, it looked like we had fireworks. Then Scottie answered with a birdie at 10 and took the lead for good. Rahm completely fell apart from there, going bogey-double-double and tumbling back to T-10. By the time Scheffler birdied 14 and 15, he'd reopened his 5-shot cushion. Final margin: 5 strokes over Bryson, Harris English, and Davis Riley. The only guy in the entire field who hit double digits under par at any point.

Aronimink Doesn't Care About Your Resume

This is a par 70 playing at 7,394 yards, and it's a classic Donald Ross design built way back in 1928. The headline here is simple: 174 bunkers. They're everywhere, lining fairways, even crossing them to force tough decisions off the tee. The rough is thick, the greens are tiered, and fairways have been narrowed to punish anything offline. If you can't control your ball, this course will make you pay.

The best hole on the card? The par 3 17th at 229 yards. Long par 3s down the stretch create drama, and this green is big enough to hide multiple pin positions. Expect one tucked back left with water eating into your options, one short right that's nasty, and one somewhere back middle-right on the high side. Any shot left of the green finds the pond running the entire left side. The "safe" middle of the green? That's probably a two-putt waiting to happen.

The Field and the Format

Stroke play, 72 holes, 156 golfers competing. The PGA Championship still uses a Top 70 and ties cut, different from the PGA Tour's 65-man setup. If it goes to a playoff, it's 3 holes aggregate using holes 10, 17, and 18, with 18 repeating if needed. The field mixes world-class merit-based players, past PGA winners, and 20 PGA professionals who came through their own qualification. Most of those club pros don't make the cut, so realistically you're looking at around 125 true contenders fighting for it.

What's Coming

ESPN and CBS have the coverage this week. One thing's clear: Aronimink isn't going to let anyone sleepwalk to a championship. If Scottie Scheffler was the only guy to go double digits under par last year, don't be shocked if a single digit under score takes it this week. The course is ready. The test is on.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.