'Play It As It Lies, Suck It Up And Show Us What You Are Made Of' – What's Your Opinion On The Mud Ball Debate At The PGA Championship?

Day one at the PGA Championship produced some interesting storylines, perhaps the biggest of which relates to the prevalence of mud balls at a rain beaten Quail Hollow.

Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler weighed in on the mud ball controversy following their opening rounds at the second Major of the season, but do you agree with them?

Do you sympathise when you listen to elite level tour players complain about unfortunate breaks on the golf course, or is your stance very much play it as it lies and get one with it?

Either way, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter... comment in the box at the bottom of this article and we will share some of the best responses in a new article over the weekend.

My Opinion: Jeopardy Is Good For The Game Of Golf

I can sympathise with any elite athlete who spends their life preparing for their specialist sport only to be hampered by an ill-timed twist of fate - but that's also part of the reason we love to watch competitive sport.

The twists and turns, the jeopardy in the closing stages, it's all crucial to creating a spectacle - one that truly befits a Major Championship in my opinion.

I'm not saying that mud balls are a good thing for Major Championship golf, but I do believe that watching the same incredibly talented players rip up golf courses and post ludicrously low scores is an absolute snore-fest.

When you see the entire field negotiating a new challenge, like the one they are facing at Quail Hollow this week, it peaks the interest of the average golfer who wants to see how the world's best cope with the challenges that the everyday golfer struggles with.

If that means Scheffler and Schauffele hit one in the water and make a big score, so be it. The whole thing will even itself out over the course of the week, like it always does, and ultimately the one who copes best will emerge victorious.

Whether players find a divot, mud balls or bad bounces, the most resilient will battle back and surge up the PGA Championship leaderboard.

Coming down the stretch on Sunday, I'd love to see a few twists and turns, a battle against adversity and an exciting finish that could go one way or another until the final player finds the solace of the putting surface on 18.

My overarching sentiment - play it as it lies, suck it up and show us what your made of!

What Have The Golf Monthly Readers Said So Far?

As you might expect with a divisive issue such as this, there have been mixed responses, and after posting Scheffler's comments to our Instagram page yesterday, we received some interesting comments.

One said "Wake up and think of us club golfers playing every Sunday. We have mud on our balls. We have no sun like you do. We have no relief like you do. Get on and play the game".

Taking a similar stance, another wrote "Whining rarely comes off well when everyone is playing the same conditions and not complaining".

Interestingly, however, others had more sympathy for the players competing at the PGA Championship.

One said "Lift and clean should be standard...if in the fairway", while another added "I tend to agree, but now is not the time to be complaining".

Ultimately, the powers that be at the PGA Championship made the decision to play the ball as it lies, meaning you will naturally get some good and bad breaks. The question is, do you agree with that decision?