Scheffler and Schauffele complain about mud balls at PGA Championship: “Kind of stupid”
Quail Hollow got soaked with rain the two weeks prior to the PGA Championship, but officials said players had to play the ball as it lied on Thursday.
It’s unusual to see two of the top five golfers in the world hit a ball into the water from the fairway on the same hole. And that’s exactly what happened on the 16th at Quail Hollow this Thursday during the first round of the PGA Championship. The mud was to blame, and by extension the PGA of America, and the victims were Scottie Scheffler, the number one ranked player, and Xander Schauffele, the reigning tournament champion and third in the world.
Both players emerged with a double bogey (as did Rory McIlroy, who completed the trio, although in his case without hitting the water), which under other conditions would have been difficult to achieve for those who are considered two of the most reliable players on the scene. After Scheffler finished with a -2 and Schauffele with a +1, both commented on the incident before the media microphones. Schauffele explained his point of view on the mud ball situation.
“Had a ridiculous mud ball there on 16 with Scottie. We were in the middle of the fairway, and I don’t know, we had to aim right of the grandstands probably. I’m not sure. I aimed right of the bunker and it whipped in the water and Scottie whipped it in the water, as well,” Schauffele said. “It is what it is, and a lot of guys are dealing with it, but it’s just unfortunate to be hitting good shots and to pay them off that way. It’s kind of stupid.”
⛳️🏌️ #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
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 15, 2025
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Scottie Scheffeler wasn’t happy either. “When you think about the purest test of golf, I don’t personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway you should get punished for,” he explained. “On a golf course as good of conditioned as this one is, this is probably a situation in which it would be the least likely difference in playing it up [with preferred lies] because most of the lies you get out here are all really good.”
German golfer Stephan Jaeger, who shot 4-under par on Thursday gave his opinion on the situation. “I was a little surprised we played it down. We had a bunch of mud balls out there. We all get pretty decent at judging some of the mud stuff, but you’re still hitting 215- to 220-yard 5-irons that you’re trying to figure out the mud, right? It’s hard enough as it is.”
With no rain Thursday night, despite the criticism, nobody is expecting the PGA to change its mind and players will have to play the ball down again on Friday.
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