"So watch out, this thing could get ugly."

It was interesting to observe a few signs of stress on and around the Congressional greens Tuesday as compared to Wednesday. Most of the afflicted areas are in high traffic or shade prone spots and not a big deal. Hopefully the surfaces hang in for the tournament and after for the members, but as John Huggan notes, even with today's moderate temperatures and cloud cover, the young greens could be at risk as the USGA tries to get to the 14.5 Stimpmeter readings anticipated for Thursday.

Already, the Congressional greens - regrassed as recently as 2009 - are showing signs of wear and tear. A close inspection on Tuesday morning revealed much of the grass around the edges to be already displaying signs of stress -- brown, dead looking patches being far from uncommon. Some of that is simply due to foot traffic, but most is down to the recent heat wave that last week saw temperatures soar into three figures, combined with the perennial fact that course setups at US Opens get closer to the edge of sanity than at any other major.

No USGA official was saying anything on the record, of course, but it would be surprising if some concern was not already being felt in high places. So watch out, this thing could get ugly.