ROCHESTER | Even without rain or wind, Oak Hill’s East Course sixth hole appears to be a frankly difficult monster to tame in about twenty minutes. If you add the elements today, it’s a blank that makes a round blade.
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Of the 23 players included in the top 20 of the PGA Championship of America after all players went through the “Double Trouble” pennant this afternoon, eight entered bogeys.
In the third round, he only competed for four Sparrows. In contrast, there were 31 bogies and six double bogies. Overall, the 76 players participating in the final rounds showed a performance of 39 strokes over par.
Screenshot PGA of America
Oak Hill sixth hole stats for the third round of the 2023 PGA of America Championship.
505 annoyance meters
This endless par 4 measures 505 yards. The fairway, which is relatively narrow at the tee landing area, slopes slightly to the left where two pits await easy shots. To the right, a creek meanders near the swamps where Tom Kim remarkably got stuck in the mud on Thursday. Crosswinds make life difficult for golfers.
Getty Images via AFP
Grandstands and boxes line the left of the fairway and green at Oak Hill’s sixth hole.
Accuracy off the tee is paramount as a quick second shot to get back in play depends on where the ball is in the long grass. Allen’s Creek then crosses the fairway approximately 100 yards from the flag and runs left along the green. Obviously the right of this is protected by a pit. Also in this third round, the flag is placed in the back left corner of the area, near the creek.
After round two yesterday, several golfers heaved a deep sigh as they reflected on this beast in which 27 players made a mistake by scoring a double bogey or worse.
honestly hard
“Actually, it might be the toughest hole I’ve ever played,” said Scottie Scheffler. I don’t know what other people say about it, but it’s really hard.
If you’re second in the world, you don’t have to worry. This observation is generalized in his Brotherhood.
Mito Pereira also talked about his experiences last night. “The wind was straight in the face and water to the right and around the green. Long grass is unforgiving. I approached the pennant with a 4 iron and managed to save par. It’s incredibly difficult.”
The strategies differ. From the tee, golfers use driver and fairway woods to avoid obstacles and attack the flagstick differently. Canadian Corey Conners hit a fairway wood off the tee yesterday. His ball traveled 296 yards and landed in tall grass. He managed to get out with a long iron and save par.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this par 4 averaged 4.75 shots after the second round. To put things in perspective, the PGA TOUR had 90 par 5s that averaged lower.
Yesterday “Double Trouble” even reached an average of 4,808 hits. An average excess of 0.8 strokes over par on a single hole had not been seen at the PGA Championship of America in 30 years.
However, in a Grand Slam tournament, Shinnecock Hills’ very difficult par 4 of the 14th hole averaged 4.814 shots at the 2018 US Open.
Other blanks
And the problems don’t stop once the ball is down in Oak Hill’s 6th pennant cup. Par 4s measuring 461, 429 and 485 yards are connected through the ninth hole.
Getty Images via AFP
Danish golfer Nicolai Hojgaard reacts to a missed tee shot at the ninth tee at Oak Hill.
In addition, this ninth pennant is the most difficult of the third round, averaging 4,569 shots.
Seven of the week’s toughest nine holes took place on the first leg, as evidenced by course stats after the second round. The last time this happened was in Inverness in 1993. Paul Azinger won the Wanamaker Trophy.
And Sunday lovers?
With the pros drooling before the sixth flag this week, what would the average amateur playing around 90 do?
When he tees off the pro tees, the fairway begins almost 250 yards in front of him. The stream is then about 180 meters from the beginning of the fairway.
He should therefore reach the green on the third shot without slipping. Adding two rollers would make a bogey easier on the furniture.
Otherwise, the situations can be numerous… like the numbers on the map. A snowman at 25 degrees Celsius is annoying.