FRISCO, Texas – No LPGA player has been involved more in the making of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship than Stacy Lewis. In fact, when this championship first came together a decade ago, former KPMG chair John Veihmeyer said the firm’s involvement wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t first formed a relationship with Lewis.
So, when the two-time major champion and former No. 1 offers critical comments about this week’s championship, rest assured she’s put a lot of thought behind it.
Round 1 of the KPMG Women’s PGA at Fields Ranch East took more than six hours for those who finished late in the day, including Peacock featured group Lexi Thompson, Yealimi Noh and Yuka Saso. There were 25-minute waits on par 3s, with several groups backed up on Nos. 8 and 13.
The slow-play issue, Lewis says, is a setup issue, and it was more of the same in the second round.
“Today it was just hole locations again, on sides of hills,” said Lewis, who won’t play the weekend. “Then you throw the wind in there, there was no way to stop it on No. 8 again today. We should be playing the front of that tee, probably 120 yards … can’t hold the green.”
The women played the eighth hole from 157 yards on Friday and less than 20 percent of the field hit it in regulation.
After Lydia Ko hit a beauty into the green on No. 8 late Friday that didn’t stop, NBC analyst Morgan Pressel said it was a hole setup that didn’t reward good shots.
“Not my favorite thing to see,” she added.
Golf Channel analyst and PGA Tour winner Brandel Chamblee has long thought that LPGA setups are far too long, making note of it several times on recent Live From shows at U.S. Women’s Opens. Famed reachable par 5s that often elicit much drama in the men’s game – such as the 18th at Pebble Beach – are often three-shot holes for the women.
The 75.58 scoring average on Thursday was the fifth toughest day at a major championship on the LPGA in the last 10 seasons. Friday’s average is now the highest scoring average at the majors in a decade.
As a player, Lewis doesn’t really care if 12 under wins a major. What she cares about is whether or not the golf course is playing the way it was designed to be played. So often, she feels that officials move the tees back to get to a certain total yardage.
“Almost play it backwards,” said Lewis of how it should be done. “You see a green, OK what club should we get them in on this hole, and let’s go find a tee box that gets us there.”
She’d also like to see the bunker in the middle of the fairway on the 18th be removed. The hole, which makes for an awkward tee shot for players who can’t hit driver off the tee without running through the fairway but also can’t carry the bunker at 237 yards with a 3-wood, has yielded more doubles than birdies the first two rounds.
Officials had to switch the ninth and 18th holes for the event to make room for hospitality. The 2023 Senior PGA ended on a reachable par 5. The two nines will be switched altogether for the 2027 PGA Championship to accommodate hospitality down the stretch.
One of the unique aspects of the Gil Hanse design, which opened in 2023, is that there are no traditional tee boxes. Hanse used what he calls ribbons tees, which offer loads of flexibility as they’re essentially extensions of the fairway. So much so that it can be difficult to find a flat spot to tee up the ball.
Fields Ranch East was set up at 6,532 yards on Friday, when winds gusted up to 30 mph and temperatures soared into the triple digits. They’ll be able to stretch it back to 8,000 yards for the men someday if desired, a modern design at the Home of the PGA of America that, as Jerry Kelly said at the 2023 Senior PGA, is “future-proofed.”
Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom said she’s heard mixed reviews from players on Fields Ranch East, which will host the PGA Championship in 2027 and the KPMG once again 2031.
“I think you can be rewarded for good shots,” said Sagstrom. “You definitely get punished for bad shots, so that’s good. It’s in beautiful condition.”
The Northbridge Bermuda rough is penal. Miss a fairway by mere inches and it might be necessary to wedge out as the ball sinks down out of sight.
Major champion Ashleigh Buhai said her group noted there were a lot of Sunday pins on Thursday, though she liked the challenge.
“I don’t mind it,” said Buhai. “You’ve got to think. I don’t mind using my brain and having to hit the different shots. Sometimes, leaving it 30 feet is a good shot.”
Angel Yin had a decidedly different take, telling scribes on Thursday that she thought it was quite boring.
“It’s just kind of repetitive,” said Yin, “and there are challenges, but it’s very subtle.”
Lewis disagreed with Yin’s “boring” take, but did say she’s heard from a number of disappointed players.
“We had such a good run with this championship at very good golf courses and then we come here,” said Lewis, referring to recent venues such as Baltusrol, Atlanta Athletic Club, Congressional and Sahalee.
“The issue of this all too is, make us look good,” she continued. “We’re trying to get more people to watch women’s golf, and to watch us play golf, and setups like this, they don’t help us.
“And this is when we have our biggest stages, network TV and all of that, and we’re making very good players look silly.”
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