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Scottie Scheffler ‘punished for hitting fairway’ at PGA Championship

Originally posted on Golf on ClutchPoints
By Kendall Capps | Last updated May 15, 2025 5:57 PM ET

The 107th PGA Championship got underway Thursday from the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Several top stars on the PGA Tour have struggled to score, with an unexpected leaderboard taking the forefront. But despite not having his best stuff, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler managed to card a 2-under 69.

With the afternoon wave still out on the course, that score is still good enough for a spot in the top 20. But if you ask Scheffler, it should have been even better.

The Quail Hollow course took on a ton of rain all week. That brought with it the idea of the ‘preferred lie’ rule being enacted at the 2025 PGA Championship. Even though that is rarely the case at major championships, Scheffler believes the PGA of America made the wrong decision.

“When you think about the purest test of golf, I don’t think hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway, you should get punished for,” Scheffler said bluntly.

The 2-time Masters champion is referencing what happened on his seventh hole, the par-4 16th (he started on the back nine).

Following a tee shot that split the fairway, Scheffler’s approach sailed left of the green and bounced into the water. Moments later, reigning PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele did the same thing, from the same spot.

#WATCH: World #1 Scottie Scheffler sounds off on mud balls at The PGA Championship: "You shouldn't be punished for hitting it in the fairway!" @SchefflerFans

Do you agree?l

pic.twitter.com/6YeQZKbP1h

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 15, 2025

Scheffler was not done with his assessment, though. He spoke for more than two minutes about the decision not to ‘play the ball up.’

“If you are going to go play links golf, there’s absolutely no reason on a links golf course you should play the ball up,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much rain they get. The course could be flooded under water, and the ball is still going to bounce somehow because of the way the turf is and the ground underneath the turf.”

“In American golf, it’s significantly different,” he added. “When you have overseeded fairways that are not sand capped, there’s going to be a lot of mud on the ball… When I look at golf tournaments, I want the purest, fairest test of golf, and in my opinion, maybe the ball today should have been played up.”

Scheffler rarely gets this candid during interviews. But it was clear he was frustrated with how the lack of ‘preferred lies’ affected his round.

“It’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it. You just have no idea where it’s going to go. I understand it is part of the game. But there is nothing more frustrating for a player.

“You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball and because of a rules decision, all of a sudden you now have no control over where the golf ball goes.”

The world’s best then backtracked a bit, not wanting it to come across as though he was complaining.

“I don’t make the rules. I deal with what the rules decisions are and I could have let that bother me. When it cost me, it cost me possibly two shots on one hole… I was proud of how I stayed in there and didn’t let it get to me.”

Schauffele also discussed his views on the lack of ‘preferred lies’ after his round. He joined Scheffler in stark disagreement with the PGA of America. But whether they like it or not, they and the rest of the field have to deal with mud balls.

Scheffler (2-under), Schauffele (1-over) and Rory McIlroy (3-over) will tee off Friday afternoon at 1:47 pm ET.

This article first appeared on Golf on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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