A Quick First Round Post-Mortem, Second Round Preview
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Thursday felt like a survival day for all of the rookies and the course setup team. It appeared that several undesirable hole locations were used because of their proximity to stress areas, while the back tees were used on the three par-5s in likely effort to keep play moving.
During Wednesday's USGA press conference, Mike Davis said Congressional would range each day between 7,200 and 7,400 yards. The official course setup memo for Thursday's first round pegged the distance at 7,514. Eight holes listed at more than the scorecard yardage, four on each nine. That included 18 yards over the card at the sixth, which played 573 yards.
The setup was extremely straightforward with a nice move of the 7th hole to a shorter tee and forward left hole, but otherwise seemed to be designed to move players through and to set the stage for some more aggressive setup touches the next few days.
On the unfortunate side for those hoping to see classic U.S. Open difficulty, a wicked thunderstorm came through the area in the later hours, drenching the course and eliminating any firmness that might have existed earlier in the week. Congressional the long slog will be back and that has to favor the longer drivers.
As for the tournament, I enjoyed following the 2:41 tenth tee Brian Locke group which also featured amateur Brett Patterson and Bennett Blakeman. I've come to enjoy watching a lesser known group like this much more than a celebrity threesome. The emotions are raw, the pressure immense and the joy of family and friends impossible not to savor. I'll be out again tomorrow watching to see if Locke can make the cut after his opening 75. And also to see just how well Congressional fared in the heavy overnight rain.
