Michael Kim Joins Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on PGA Championship Setup

“It was a very unique challenge with the greens and pin locations. But some holes like 8 yesterday was… aggressive. It’s a 205-yard shot into the wind where you had to hit high to have any chance at holding the green from an elevated tee into the wind. I don’t know what the GIR there was, but it couldn’t have been higher than 15%.”

Kim acknowledged that his job is to score, not critique the setup. He said that upfront. But hole 8 was not the only one that gave him problems.

Holes 10 and 15 were just as difficult. He wrote that they “totally ate my breakfast, lunch and dinner,” especially for players who could not work a cut with their driver.

An out-of-bounds shot on 13 with a 3-wood on Sunday added to a frustrating week.

Kim finished tied for 44th at 2-over par, and he also said he will take one week off before playing at Colonial. He ended the week with another up-and-down result, showing flashes of quality marred by costly mistakes.

McIlroy and Scheffler Had Already Gone Public About PGA Championship Setup

McIlroy, in his post-round press conference, addressed both his improvement and the setup.

“I think a bunched leaderboard like this, I think it’s a sign of not a great setup,” McIlroy said. “It hasn’t really enabled anyone to separate themselves.”

Scottie Scheffler had used the word “absurd” earlier in the week. Patrick Reed called the pin positions “dicey.” After 36 holes, six players sat tied for second, one shot back. Forty-three players were within five shots.

McIlroy left the door open for the weekend.

“You get on a run with wedges on that front nine, and you shoot four, five under and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” he said.