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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was an important point at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when a manager approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and Bradley, last year’s U.S. captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned to finger-pointing.
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Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow American Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, Bradley and Thomas seemed to be pointing at the group in front of them.
“We just weren’t really on board with it,” Thomas said, citing the course conditions, high winds and difficult hairpins. “We were late. It wasn’t our problem… It was just the fact that we didn’t keep the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up in pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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Thomas had a long conversation with the official, while Bradley seemed to make his argument short and sweet — although he certainly wasn’t happy with the call.
This is a large PGA Championship course, with 156 golfers on the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with only 25 players below par at the time of publication.
Aronimink also offers a shared tee box on 1 and 10, intersecting holes 9 and 17 and a long, problematic par 3 eighth hole. Three par 3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457 yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup said Friday: “You’re not going to get four-and-a-half hour rounds here.”
