Justin Rose has responded to comments made by Rory McIlroy about Aronimink Golf Club ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship.
McIlroy enters the second major of the season as one of the favorites following his victory at The Masters last month. The Northern Irish golfer has played only once since winning his sixth major championship, finishing just inside the top 20 at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.
Ahead of Thursday’s opening round at Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, McIlroy shared his thoughts on the course setup during his pre-tournament press conference.
Rory McIlroy Questions Strategy at Aronimink
Speaking to reporters, McIlroy explained that he likes several elements of Aronimink’s layout, including its bunkering and variety of hole lengths.
“I like the style of golf. I like the bunkering. There’s a lot of bunkers. I think it provides quite a nice bit of variety with shorter par fours, a couple of longer par fours. The par threes, there’s three pretty long ones and a shorter one,” McIlroy said.
However, he suggested that strategy off the tee may not play as significant a role this week.
“I think in this day and age I’m not sure if it’s going to test all aspects of your bag. Again, as I said, strategy off the tee is pretty non-existent,” he said.
“It’s, basically, bash driver down there and then figure it out from there, which I think is a lot of these newer, newly renovated, I think about Oak Hill in 2023, here. When these traditional golf courses take a lot of trees out, it makes strategy not as much of a concern off the tee.”
McIlroy added that the course’s greens could become the biggest challenge for players throughout the week.
“But the greens are, as I said at the start, the greens are the main focus this week, and I think getting yourself in the right sections of the greens, making sure you leave yourself below the hole for the most part. That’s the key this week,” he said.
Justin Rose Says Aronimink Still Demands Accuracy
Rose was later asked about McIlroy’s comments during his own media availability. The English golfer admitted he was disappointed to hear the assessment of the Donald Ross-designed course.
“Yeah, that’s a shame to hear that because that’s not what a Donald Ross course is designed to be or historically has been,” Rose said.
Rose acknowledged that renovations and modernization efforts have changed parts of the course layout over time.
“So I think that that’s the modernization of the golf course a little bit as it’s been cleaned out a little bit and lengthened a little bit. And there’s definitely some bunkers at 310 or 305 that if you can carry those the fairway does get much wider,” he explained.
Rose also noted that several players in the field have the distance to take advantage of those opportunities.
“So from that point of view I think if you have that gear I think there’s a lot of players in the field that that is the case, it’s not just going to suit particularly Rory, it’s going to suit a lot of guys that can carry the ball 300 plus,” he said.
Still, Rose believes accuracy will remain important because of the course’s thick rough.
“But, yeah, the rough’s definitely creeping up though to the point where you got to be respectful I think,” Rose said.
“It’s a different type of rough actually it’s a very thick rough it’s almost like a Kikuyu. It feels like very, it’s like a very dense rooty type of grass. So, yeah, I think there’s a little bit of respect needed to make sure you are hitting the fairways. The fairways are generous, but you still need to be on them.”
The 2026 PGA Championship round 1 is on Thursday, May 14.
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