Mudballs, double bogeys, and a shared lead at the PGA Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 107th PGA Championship began Thursday at Quail Hollow Club with two of the stars whining about muddy fairways, a local club pro who didn’t whine about anything sharing the lead, and the guy who won on this course four times so miffed by his score he refused to talk.

In other words, it was a properly imperfect beginning to the second major of the year. The top of the leaderboard was shared at 5-under par 66 by a player who was a surprise, Ryan Gerard, and a player who probably wasn’t, the 2022 British Open Champion, Cam Davis, the Aussie.

But the most intriguing part of the round was the way the defending champion, Xander Schauffele, and the world No. 1 and favorite, Scottie Scheffler, were bewildered and angered by what they found to be a soggy fairway they believed was anything but fair— the 529-yard par-4 16th fairway.  The sun was high and the temperature was in the 80s on this historic opening day, but the leftovers of the thunderstorms earlier in the week proved a bit too much for Schauffele, Scheffler, and the man who recently won the Masters to complete his personal slam, Rory McIlroy. Each double-bogeyed that hole. 

Schauffele and Scheffler were hitting what they claimed were mud-covered balls into the permanent water hazard, and McIlroy was pulling his tee shot into the wet rough. Scheffler would finish well enough, a 2-under 69, while Schauffele shot a 1-over 72. McIlroy came in with a 74, his worst score at a place another player nicknamed “McIlroy Country Club.”

Asked if he could comment about the round, Scheffler, who rarely shows emotion and is almost never critical, said, “It’s going to be a challenge.”

He meant not bad-mouthing the course. 

“It’s one of those deals where it’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go,” said Scheffler. “I understand it’s part of the game, but there’s nothing more frustrating for a player. But I don’t make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules.”

And dealing with them is the primary part of golf. Everyone is playing the same course, and the player who can handle the difficulty and frustration usually is the player who performs better. 

Schauffele, who won the PGA last year at Valhalla, also turned 16 into a mini-disaster.  

“I had a ridiculous mud ball on 16 with Scottie. We were in the middle of the fairway, and we had to aim right of the grandstands, probably. I aimed right of the bunker, and it whipped in the water, and Scottie whipped it in the water as well.” 

While it is true that mud or dirt clinging will alter the shots’ direction, it is also true that you don’t necessarily have to hit the club you would use if the ball were clean.

As the great Jack Nicklaus once said, “If you can’t get the ball in the fairway with a driver, use a 3 wood. If that doesn’t work, use a 5 iron.” 

And if you can’t control it with a club you want, use a different club, one that may cost distance but will not cost a double bogey.

McIlroy is wonderfully popular, but at times can be immature. He refused to come to the media center after botching closing holes at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2024 and then went silent Thursday after his troubles.

Nicklaus never would have done that, nor would Arnold Palmer. Learning to deal with defeat is no less important than learning how to deal with success.