Yeah, pretty obvious the HDR isn't pinched, but I did offset the HDR on the U and the V so I could position the sun and shadows. If the V is offset enough, you will see the pinch. So this got me thinking. What happens if I rotate the Sky Object itself? To my surprise, this crazy idea worked. At least as a workaround. I was able to get the lighting almost exactly placed as before. Also, as you can see, the Normals appear to be "normal." Sorry, couldn't resist.
So what's the best way to get great outdoor lighting? Just HDRI? HDRI+Sun? Image for reflections, then a Sub Object?