The U.S. Open Is Here, A Few Final Thoughts
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After three very dry, pleasant and perfect weather days, the U.S. Open kicks off at Congressional with an uncertain weather forecast and an even more uncertain future for the putting surfaces. Normally changes in color from Monday to Wednesday would not be of great concern except that these are not even two-year old greens and the most stressed areas appear to be in rapid decline. Exactly how the warmer temperatures and continued stress placed on the greens by traditional course preparation measures impacts play remains to be seen.
More of interest to players and fans will be the impact this has had on firmness. Despite the mild temperatures, the crew kept the greens moist all day Wednesday and the lack of full fledged U.S. Open firmness, combined with the perfectly conditioned fairways, should make Congressional vulnerable to low scores. That's assuming someone can get on a roll over the course of a slow round caused by the reachable par-5s, several long back nine walks between tees and greens, and everything else that goes with a U.S. Open.
It's been called a wide-open Open and it's hard to disagree. And the softer the course gets, the more players it brings into the equation. That's great for fans, but not necessarily the way to crown the best possible winner.
Stay tuned all day for site updates and special Thursday open thread to comment on what you are seeing.
