Jack Hirsch/Golf
ROCHESTER, NY – Hideki Matusyama’s shot did not form a springboard Make the passage. Nor did Sungjae Im’s, Matt Wallace’s, or Russell Henley’s.
What do Dustin Johnson, Max Homma, Phil Mickelson, Cam Davis and Matt Kuchar have in common? They all fell into the swamp. None of them make equality.
Mickelson even went to the swamp to find his ball. He knew it was crucial in every stroke that was on the 6th.
Scotty Scheffler summed up his thoughts on the 6th hole at Oak Hill quite simply.
“Six is probably the hardest hole I’ve ever played,” he said. “I don’t know what other people are saying or the scoring average, but the stink is really hard.”
It wasn’t just the hardest hole he ever played.
At three-quarters of a stroke par, it was the hardest hole in a single round in the last 30 years in the PGA Championship, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That was as far as the data goes pit by pit.
There were as many swans (63) as the bogey, 24 double bogeys and three “others” – equal to the number of birds. Two of these three birdies came later in the day, when the rain had softened the track and the wind had eased. The change of wind was the most important. Played 503 par-4 yards in a 15-20 mph breeze every morning.
Why high scores? It begins with a tee throw, which must be played through a narrow gap between the trees to the touchdown area with bog and creek to the right and two bunker to the left, strategically placed 300 yards from the tee. The hole then curves slightly to the right, crosses a creek and approaches the green which is guarded on the right by bunkers, while the creek wraps around the back left.
On Friday, the pin was placed in the back right corner, on a plateau. Many chips and pitches have been rolled to this level only to catch the slope and come back down.
But it’s the tee shot that can give players nightmares.
Matsuyama clipped a tree and stopped just 229 yards from the tee. With 284 yards remaining, he didn’t even attempt a creek carry. He was lucky to escape by five.
Mickelson was less fortunate, pulling out of the bog but then having to cruise a third shot that required either going over or around a tree less than green – with fairway wood. He pulled the putt instead and it barely stayed on the bank, just above the left of the creek green.
Johnson, Houma, and Davis all did exactly the same. Davis got up and down for 5, but the remainder were doubled over. All told, 15 tee shots met a watery grave, while another 13 found Allen Creek closer to the green.
The real problem for the players was the length of the hole. Although the tee was actually moved forward on the box, the pin back made it play every bit of the scorecard’s space at 503.
“It’s very difficult,” said Mito Pereira. “It’s 500 yards, in the wind, and the water is right. If you hit it in the rough, you cut. The water is around the green. I mean, it’s really, really hard. I hit a good driver, hit a 4-iron, and did really well.”
Is it a fair hole?
Pereira paused.
He said, “Today, I don’t know.” “I mean, it plays for a very long time.”
This was actually as close as anyone could get to describing the pit as completely unfair. Rory McIlroy bogey but actually thought the hole was easier to play than it was on Thursday. He was still the toughest on the course in the first round but played a mere . 404 strikeouts with par.
“Whenever we got there, the wind was kind of straight to the right. It’s still a really tough hole of golf,” said McIlroy, who played in the afternoon wave, when the hole was about 14 strokes easier than in the morning. You have to stand up and hit two really good shots…the green is pretty slanted, so you still have a little bit of work to do after that.
“Definitely the hardest hole in the course these past two days.”
Of the nine under-par players for the week, only Bryson Dechambeau and Justin Rose committed bogey or worse in the sixth during the second round.
Victor Hovland par 6, 7, 8 and 9, getting more than a shot and a half on the field in the process.
He said he simply stuck to his game plan in an effort to get the bog out of play on the tee. Friday was more successful than Thursday, when he put his car into the creek and made 5.
“I was just going to try and hit it left and hit that sweet little chop,” he said. “If I hit the right way off the tee, 70 percent of the work is kind of done. I had a nice little 6-iron on the second shot, and I didn’t even think about that pin. I was just trying to hit it in the middle of the green and made it easy there.
“6, 7, 8, 9, it’s a very tough stretch. You can’t win it there, but you can definitely lose the championship there.”
Despite the difficulty of the hole, Hovland actually said he loved it. But that would make one change.
“I think as narrow and long as it is, I think the second bunker on the left is probably a little rough because that’s kind of a rescue,” he said. “That’s fine. There should be some bunkers to protect the save, but I think the lip is a bit too high for the shots.”