"Most players aren't complaining. I'm complaining, and maybe some of the fans roaming the property are, too."

Sal Maiorana nails it with this column on the over-the-top, one-dimensional setup at Oak Hill, though this won't win him any friends at the club or PGA of America.

There is no border. The line has been crossed.

It's too tough, and my fervent wish — wishful thinking is all it is, though — would be that the PGA of America trim the jungle-like rough this morning and give these players a chance to give the large galleries something to cheer about.

Sure, this has been a glorious week for Rochesterians as the hometown hero, Jeff Sluman, has been in contention since the opening bell Thursday and has a very real chance of pulling off a victory for the ages today.

However, let's be perfectly honest. Outside of rooting for Sluman and watching the Great White Shark, Greg Norman, make one of his rare tournament appearances with fiancée Chris Evert in tow, there hasn't been a whole lot of excitement at Oak Hill.

The answer to me is as clear as the rough is deep:

The rough is too deep.

When a ball ends up in the tall, thick, gnarly stuff, there really is no other choice but to hack it back into play somewhere in the fairway — if possible — and then try to save par, or more likely, make bogey.

It was the same thing back in 2003. Miss a fairway, forget birdie and thank your lucky stars if you can make par.

Most players aren't complaining. I'm complaining, and maybe some of the fans roaming the property are, too.

The players understand the course is brutally difficult, they aren't whining that the rough is too long and lush and they are more than willing to swallow their medicine when they drive their ball astray.

They don't have to grind like this every week, especially on the Champions Tour, and believe it not, on the whole they seem to be enjoying the challenge that has been put forth.

That's great. I'm all for challenging the best players and making them work hard to earn this prestigious championship. I'm just not enamored with watching player after player gouge out of the rough after missing the fairway and then wedging onto green after green in search of a par.

It would be nice if, once in a while, someone had the option of making the bold play and trying to hit a risk-reward type of shot out of semi-playable rough in search of a birdie.

It was this kind of golf that I felt plagued the 2003 PGA Championship and turned that tournament into a snooze until Shaun Micheel hit his remarkable game-clinching 7-iron to within two inches at 18.