Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler came into this year's PGA Championship as the clear favorites—and for good reason. Together, they've won four of the last five majors. But after two rounds at Aronimink Golf Club, neither star is thrilled, and they're not alone in their frustration.

The leaderboard is tighter than a fairway on Sunday. Fifteen players are within two strokes of the lead, and no one has managed to break four under par. That kind of congestion usually promises drama for the weekend, but both McIlroy and Scheffler see it as a symptom of a bigger issue: a course setup they're calling "absurd."

Scheffler, who sits just two shots off the lead in his title defense, didn't hold back after Friday's round. He called the pin placements "the hardest set of pin locations" he's seen since joining the PGA Tour. "Most of the pins today were kind of absurd," he said. "I was a bit surprised how far they pushed a lot of these pin locations. It's difficult to get the ball close to the hole. It's difficult to hole putts, especially when you have big slopes and wind. That's why you see the scores so close to par."

McIlroy faces a tougher climb at five strokes back, but his frustration echoes his rival's. While Scheffler admitted he "loves" a hard test, he believes Aronimink crossed the line. "It's also the hardest game in the world," he said, "and we're trying to make it harder."

For golf fans, this kind of tension between players and course conditions is nothing new—remember Shinnecock Hills in 2018?—but it adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already packed leaderboard. Whether Aronimink softens its setup for the weekend or holds firm, one thing is clear: the world's best are being pushed to their limits, and they're not afraid to say so.