Rory McIlroy criticizes PGA course setup at Aronimink: ‘Not a great setup’

So far in the 2026 PGA Championship, Aronimink THERE cheated the best players in the worlddisproving early expectations of a fowl feast in the process.

Devilish placement, especially when it comes to needle positions, has already inspired the adjectives “absurd” and “dicey” by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, respectively.

On Friday night, Rory McIlroy added to the wave of judgments by criticizing the PGA of America’s hosting of Aronimink this week, which he claimed has negatively affected the competition in a specific way.

Rory McIlroy talks ‘difficult’ PGA set-up despite 7-stroke improvement

On Thursday night, after an ugly finish in his opening round that left him in four over, McIlroy focused the criticism on his playingdescribing his game as “s—.”

By Friday night, everything had changed, both for McIlroy’s game and his judgement. In the second round, six times major champion rallied with a three-under 67 to improve to one over.

Heading into Saturday’s third round, McIlroy is just five shots off the lead as he looks to win his third PGA Championship.

But when he reviewed the setup in his post-round press conference, McIlroy didn’t look like someone who had just improved his score by seven strokes from the day before.

“It’s tough, it’s been tough to make birdies there because obviously, one, the wind the last couple of days, but also where they’ve put these holes,” McIlroy said Friday night.
“I feel like they’ve really tried to defend the course the first couple of days. So it looks like they’ve worn out a lot of the really tough ones,” he added hopefully.

As for his dramatic improvement from Round 1 to Round 2, McIlroy admitted he was “too aggressive” on Thursday, adding that he didn’t expect Aronimink to play as hard as he has this week.

“I probably went out there yesterday being a little too aggressive thinking the guys were going to go lower than they were,” McIlroy said. “Because I certainly haven’t, in the practice rounds, I certainly haven’t seen him play as hard as he has.”

Rory McIlroy at Aronimink PGA: ‘Not great facilities that bring it all together’

Later in his press conference, McIlroy was asked specifically about the setup, and that’s when he unleashed his most direct criticism.

That the leaderboard is so crowded halfway through, McIlroy argued, is evidence of poor course organization.

“The only thing I would say is, I think a stacked leaderboard like that, I think it’s a sign of a not-so-great organization,” McIlroy said. “I think when it’s as stacked as it is because it hasn’t really allowed anybody to break away. It’s like, you know, it’s easy to make a ton of pars, it’s hard to make birdies, and not that it’s hard to make bogeys, but it feels like bogeys are the worst score you’re going to shoot on any hole.”

He went on to call this week’s PGA setup at Aronimink “good,” but then hinted that it was among the “not great setups” in the next sentence.

“There’s not a lot of risk. There’s not, you know – yeah, I think the set-up is good, as the golf course is good, the pins were strong and the wind was also what it was. But I just think, yeah, I’ve always felt like really good set-ups, it starts to spread out on the course a little bit and not put everyone’s set-ups together like the last couple of days.”

Whatever you make of McIlroy’s criticism, there’s no arguing with one point he made: The 2026 PGA Championship the leaderboard is of course assembling. Six players are tied for second, one shot off the lead, with another seven players two shots back. Forty-three players are within five shots with 36 holes to play.

As for his argument that it’s “easy to make a ton of pars” this week, his scorecards can be seen as proof. Through two rounds at the 2026 PGA, McIlroy has made five birdies and six bogeys. Halfway through the 2026 Masters, which he wonMcIlroy had made 15 birdies and just three bogeys.

However, McIlroy also expressed hope for calmer winds and, perhaps, easier pin positions Saturday’s third round. If that happens, he argued, everyone “has a chance.”

“So depending on the slightly calmer conditions and maybe some more favorable hole locations, I think the guys that have, that are here for the weekend feel – I think everybody should feel like they have a chance,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, there’s — it’s stacked, but you start a wedge run on that front nine and shoot four, five down and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of things.”