Sigel is surprised by Aronimink’s softness
NEWTOWN TWP. » The game of golf has been Jay Sigel’s passion for a huge chunk of his 74 years. A life-long Main Liner, Sigel was born in Bryn Mawr, has been a longtime Berwyn resident, and grew up learning and playing the game at Aronimink Golf Club. So who better to make sense of what’s happened in the first two rounds of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship?
First off, some background: Sigel attended Lower Merion High School, and played collegiately at Wake Forest. And if not for a freak accident that resulted in a serious arm injury, he probably would have had a long and fruitful professional career.
Undaunted, he went on to author one of the most accomplished amateur careers in all of golf. And then in 1994 at age 50, Sigel joined the Senior PGA Tour and flourished. He was that tour’s rookie of the year, and over the next decade he won eight times.
He knows, and has played, golf at the highest level, and he knows Aronimink inside out. And even Sigel is aghast at what he’s seen so far.
There is no way to sugar-coat it: the 70-player field, made up of the world’s top players, has been tearing up the club where Sigel has been a member most of his life. Halfway through the fourth event (of five) that makes up the FedExCup Playoffs, an astounding 63 players are at even-par or better.
“Sixty one players under par and we aren’t to the weekend yet,” Sigel said. “I don’t know what the Tour is going to do. They haven’t told us. And typically a course is (set-up) easier Saturday and then tougher Sunday.”
The 36-hole leader, Xander Schauffele, is at 13-under-par, which would have been the four-round winning score when Aronimink twice hosted the AT&T National earlier this decade. But the current playing conditions mean soft, receptive greens, which are Aronimink’s best defense. Add in wider fairways and some expanded greens — which were part of a recent renovation — and this is a perfect storm for low scores.
“The fairways are wider and the greens have been expanded, so it’s a question of where they put the pins,” Sigel agreed. “It’s kind of defenseless right now, and most of that is the weather.”
The reality is that if you have a stellar field of world-class players, and put them on a softened-up course that is forgiving off the tee, they are going to hone in on the pins as if throwing darts. And overnight rains only made the course more getable, and rain is in the forecast for Saturday morning.
“(I’m) not very afraid on the greens,” said Schauffele, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and current leader. “It’s just soft and the fairways are generous. I feel like you can be aggressive.”
Schauffele’s 36-hole score of 127 is one stroke shy of the best opening two rounds this season on Tour. He admitted that he’s never shot 63-64 in his career.
“Everyone is going low and birdies should be had,” said Tigers Woods, who equaled the course record on Thursday, but dropped into a tie for 12th place with an even-par 70 on Friday.
It’s not like Aronimink’s sloping greens can’t still be a challenge. But what astounds Sigel more than anything is the way the field has performed on the greens with very little advance knowledge after the renovation.
“It’s amazing to see the putts they’ve made,” he said. “The greens are slower and softer, and I see very few putts coming up short. They are all getting them to the hole so they have a better chance of making them.
“None of these guys came early (for additional practice rounds), that I am aware of, to learn the greens. I thought that was curious. But it looks to me like they are not having any trouble at all with the greens.”
It’s made for some incredible moments from a star-studded leaderboard. Eleven players are within four shots of Schauffele, including Justin Rose, who’s already won twice in Philly — including the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion — along with the likes of Ricky Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Justin Thomas. And, of course, Woods is still in the mix.
“The greens are perfect, the fairways are wide and it’s a little soft,” echoed Keegan Bradley, who is tied for third at 10-under. “That recipe is always out here on the Tour, no matter where you are, it’s going to be low scores.
“You know teeing it up here that the scores are going to be low.”
When chatting with Sigel, however, there is an undercurrent that the scores may be too low, the conditions too perfect, and that the Tour needs to do something – tucking pins even more, perhaps – in an attempt to protect par this weekend.
“I can’t speak for our members, but I do know at other events the membership likes to see their course protected,” Sigel said rather diplomatically. “It remains to be seen here. Clearly, the Tour is in charge so we don’t have much to say about it.”
He also understands that being able to identify a worthy champion is much more important at Aronimink than any issues of scoring.
“I think the course looks terrific,” said Sigel, who arrived late this week because his wife, Betty, had knee replacement surgery on Tuesday. “Spectator turnout is even better and there is overwhelming support from the members.
“We are very happy.”