Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee: the Course is Winning the PGA Championship

After one round at the PGA Championship, Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee had his verdict ready.

The golf course is winning.

Chamblee told the show that the field had been working under the wrong assumption all week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday looked easy. Wide fairways. No trees. Light rough. Nobody complained.

"I didn't hear any bitching the first three days," Chamblee said. "And that is so unusual for any major championship. But it was almost as if these guys just thought it was going to be a walk in the park."

There was history to support the assumption. In 2018, the last time players were at this course, there were five scores of 62.

"There was a sense that the course was going to be pretty simple," Chamblee said. "Anything but yesterday."

The lowest score in round one was 67. Friday morning had it playing brutally tough. Cold conditions. The rough mattering more.

The shock names were everywhere.

"Rory McIlroy was a big surprise in round number one," Chamblee said. "Bryson DeChambeau was a big surprise shooting 76. Scottie Scheffler played some really solid golf yesterday. But there were a number of surprises, cuz there were seven players tied for the lead after round one."

Tom asked Chamblee how this kind of leaderboard plays out into the weekend. Nobody is running away.

The data Chamblee had ready was the all-time stat.

"Since they've been playing majors since 1860, there had never been 33 players after round number one within two shots of the lead," Chamblee said. "And that's what we had yesterday."

His analogy for the pacing was a marathon.

"Everybody starting at different places on the track, and you really don't know who's leading till the final round," Chamblee said. "It's kind of got that feel to it."

The course's lethality, in his framing, is quiet but constant.

"It's not as ominous as Oakmont, or it doesn't look as ominous as an Oakmont," Chamblee said. "The course sort of just pickpockets you all day long. It's like paper cuts all day long."

He admitted he could not remember covering a major he had less of a feel for after the early rounds.

"At this point right now, it looks like nobody's going to avoid the train wrecks," Chamblee said. "It's going to be more of a scrambling and putting contest."

Tom pushed Chamblee on what actually wins a tournament like this. Patience instead of birdie-hunting. Par as a friend.

Chamblee said the historical data supports the read.

"The three where we do have data, great data, the players that have won were first in strokes-gained putting, first in strokes-gained putting, and third in strokes-gained putting," Chamblee said. "So it's pretty clear previously that this has been sort of just a putting contest."

The current leaderboard is following the precedent.

"The data that most looks like the leaderboard is who's putting well," Chamblee said.

The image Chamblee landed on for Aronimink was perfect for the deception of the week.

"It's a bit like you're at a party, and a guy looks like an accountant, and he turns out to be a Navy SEAL," Chamblee said.