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Justin Rose admitted it was a "shame to hear" Rory McIlroy's remarks suggesting driving accuracy might not be essential at this week's PGA Championship. However, he cautioned that he still believes players must remain "respectful" of the challenges Aronimink can present. Rose caught wind of McIlroy describing Aronimink Golf Club as a venue where players could "bash away" off the tee, and the Englishman offered a gentle rebuttal ahead of the 108th PGA Championship.

The course holds historical significance having staged all three of the PGA's rotating majors, and Rose acknowledged that the influence of professional golfers discovering ever-increasing distance is regrettable on a layout crafted by the legendary Donald Ross. The year's second major commences on May 14 at Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The course is renowned for its demanding greens, treacherous slopes, and 75 bunkers that favour accuracy over raw power.

McIlroy, who begins play at 8:40am alongside Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm, indicated that accuracy might not prove as crucial at the course, particularly for some of the PGA Tour's finest drivers of the ball.

Rose will commence his opening round considerably later at 2:05pm with Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick, and interprets the setup quite differently. The 2013 US Open champion maintains the course can still penalise players who fail to respect the accuracy required around the fairways.

"Yeah, that's a shame to hear that because that's not what a Donald Ross course is designed to be or historically has been," Rose said when asked about McIlroy calling it a "bish, bash course".

"The rough's definitely creeping up, though to the point where you got to be respectful, I think," he continued. Rose described the rough as thick, dense, and almost Kikuyu-like, with a "rooty" feel that could make clean contact tricky.

Rose acknowledged that modernisation has diluted Aronimink's difficulty and that longer hitters can carry certain bunkers at around 305 or 310 yards. This opens up a wider fairway and hands a distinct advantage to players capable of carrying the ball beyond 300 yards.

The PGA ranks McIlroy in the top five statistically for driving the ball beyond 300 yards on 37 out of 44 occasions this season. His 84 per cent accuracy rate places him behind only Aldrich Potgieter, Gary Woodland, Michael Brennan, and Min Woo Lee.

The remarks carry added bite given that McIlroy and Rose remain intertwined through Masters history. McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam last season by overcoming Rose in a sudden-death playoff at Augusta National to clinch a fifth major title.

Rose was amongst the first to publicly congratulate McIlroy following that victory and reiterated his admiration after McIlroy successfully defended his Green Jacket with a further triumph last April.

Rose has endured the brutal fine margins of major championship golf for many years, managing to claim victory just once. The veteran Englishman has finished runner-up or tied second at the Masters on three occasions and twice at the Open Championship, before finally breaking through to win the 2013 U.S. Open.