The most difficult hole on the course during the first round of the 108th PGA Championship at Aronomink on Thursday has been the 245-yard, par-3 eighth.
The average proximity of tee shots on that hole has been around 65 feet.
It’s quite the contrast to the par-5 ninth – a 609-yarder – which has played as the easiest, allowing players the opportunity for a quick bounce-back should things go awry at the eighth.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry learned just that.
He found a greenside bunker on No. 8 and couldn’t get up and down, settling for a bogey.
But No. 9 was a different story for the 2019 Open Champion.
Not only did he manage to erase the bogey at No. 8, but he did one better.
After a drive that found the middle of the fairway, Lowry had 256 yards left to the hole. His approach was well struck and settled in the left side of the fairway, 39 yards from the hole.
An eagle for Shane Lowry at 9! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/N00u8PIQsj
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 14, 2026
From there, he showed off his incredible short game skills and pitched in for an unlikely eagle. Just like that, he went from 1 over to 1 under and just two shots off the early lead.
