Justin Thomas has questioned the decision to warn his group about their pace of play during the second round of the PGA Championship.
The warning came during a challenging Friday at Aronimink Golf Club, where gusting winds, tough greens, and difficult shots contributed to slow play. Most of the morning wave took over five and a half hours to complete their second rounds.
Thomas Voices Disagreement with Ruling
Thomas’ threeball, which included Keegan Bradley and Cameron Young, was warned about slow play by a rules official. The group was then put ‘on the clock’. This means they were under official observation for slow play. However, the group was removed from the clock soon after, as Thomas closed out his second-round 69.
Thomas expressed his disagreement with the warning. He questioned how time par could be the same on the course when the conditions included strong winds and tough pin positions. He also enquired whether time par changes daily.
“We just didn’t really agree with it [warning],” Thomas said. “What is time par? How can time par on this course be the same, when it’s blowing 25 and the pins are tough? And does time par change every day? There are just so many factors that go into it.
“We were behind. That wasn’t our issue or being annoyed by it, it’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us. It seemed like every time we were on the green, they were on the tee and so on and so forth.
“The hard part to me with the whole pace-of-play thing is that there’s so much that goes into golf and there’s so much that goes into hole to hole.
“Are you hitting it close, are you able to tap it in, or do you have to mark it, stuff like that, to are you holding the group up or are you not, to where it’s very hard to make that call. We just didn’t agree with it, to be honest.”
Smalley’s Experience on the Clock
Alex Smalley, who was the morning clubhouse leader, and his group were also put on the clock during their second round. Smalley admitted that it wasn’t his first time being timed.
“I don’t know if it really affected me a whole lot,” Smalley admitted. “This isn’t my first time being on the clock. 17 and 18 are tough holes; we had a couple of bad breaks on 18, so I probably knew that we were going to be timed because we had been warned earlier in the round.
He said that it can be disconcerting to feel rushed, but he tried not to let it affect him. He didn’t attribute his three bogeys to being on the clock.
Scheffler Questions Pin Positions
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler questioned ‘absurd’ Aronimink pins. He heads into the weekend on one under after a one-over 71 on Friday.
Thomas and Young both head into the weekend on two under.