As well as hosting a PGA Tour event for the first time, Philadelphia Cricket Club is creating another small piece of history in the final round of the Truist Championship. That’s because the 14th in the final round has the shortest hole on the PGA Tour since the ShotLink era began in 2001.
In the opening round, the hole measured 109 yards, before it increased to 117 yards on Friday. On Saturday, that had become 127 yards, but ahead of the final round, the pin was moved to the front right of the green, leaving the hole measuring a mere 95 yards. There’s a good reason for that, too, with it being done to honor the Pennsylvania club’s original nine-hole St Martins Course, which opened in 1895.
Even though the hole, which played to a 2.77 scoring average over the opening three rounds, has a historically short yardage for the final round, it’s not the first time in recent years that most of the players in the field will have tackled a shorter hole during a prestigious tournament.
That’s because the 15th hole in the third round of the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club measured just 81 yards - the shortest in the modern era of the Major, eclipsing the seventh at Pebble Beach that played to 92 yards in the final round of the 2010 tournament.
Of course, shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier, with precision the order of the day, and to that end, players will need to be mindful of the small green and six bunkers guarding the putting surface, including one directly in front of the pin.
The pin position for the final round is just the latest curveball of a tournament that has so far offered plenty of variety for the field. Reasonably easy pin placements and benign weather conditions led to low scoring on Thursday, before any thoughts of record low scores at the tournament were put to one side with the arrival of rain on Friday and wind on Saturday.
Despite the challenges, the course, which is the temporary host of the tournament while Quail Hollow is being prepared for the PGA Championship, has won plenty of praise, with the 14th singled out in particular.
After the second round, Shane Lowry said: “I think the best par-3s in the world are all short ones. Obviously I'd say 14 is playing pretty easy this week because the green's soft, but I'd love to see this place firm and fast and see what it would be like set up for like a US Open.”
Justin Thomas concurred, saying: “I think 14 is an awesome hole, the short par-3. I will take that to my grave that short par-3s are just so much better than any long par-3. I don't think I've ever played a par-3 over 200 yards that I would call memorable for its design versus it seems like all par-3s that are short like that are great. So I think holes like that are fun.”
Sepp Straka is also a fan of the 14th. He said: “Yeah, 14's fun. I love a good short par-3. You hit a good shot, you've got a good birdie chance. But the green is pretty diabolical. So you've got to make sure you hit a good wedge shot.”
With its even shorter distance, it promised even more to look forward to as players made their way towards it during the final round.
