Video: Rogue Ball Attacks Carl Pettersson's Ball!

From an unbylined Sky report on day two of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.

When asked about the freak incident on the fifth, Pettersson admitted he "had no clue" as to who hit the rogue shot, which was likely to have come from the adjoining second hole.

"I was getting ready to go and pulled the club back and a ball bounced and hit my ball, so I managed to stop," he said. "I've never seen that or experienced that before.

The video:

"If somebody is going to wreck your grass, who else would you want fixing it than the USGA?"

It's day five for me at Merion and I'm still wrapping my head around entering the property through someone's backyard, and that's one of the least bizarre things about this U.S. Open.

Rick Reilly with a vintage column on the surreal scene players have mentioned at the registration and locker room site down at the West Course.

"I'm sitting there eating breakfast this morning with some guy's kid," says Mike Weir. "He was sitting on the couch, eating, oblivious to us even being there. Their dogs are running around. The guy's wife is coming in and out. We're watching "SportsCenter" and the kid changes over to the Golf Channel. I start to say, 'Hey wait a minute, kid … ' and then I realized, oh, yeah, this is his house.

The Gravinas' backyard? It houses the giant tent that is serving as the Player Locker Room. Why can't they just use Merion's actual locker room? Because it's the size of a U-Store-It (Reason No. 117).

2013 U.S. Open Second Round Comment Thread

We're starting the day much cooler and guess what, rainy! I'm heading out to watch some golf, so enjoy the coverage.

(Click to enlarge)ESPN is on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.

NBC covers the 3-5 p.m. slot.

The scoring is here.

Tee times here, which are all pushed back three hours.

Update on 2013-06-14 18:03 by Geoff

**The USGA course setup notes:

COURSE SETUP: ROUND 2 OF THE 2013 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

The following are details on the course setup for Round 2 of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, from Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director.

Weather Forecast for Friday (provided by Jake Swick of Thor Guard Weather) – About a tenth of an inch of rain fell overnight and with the on-again, off-again showers and sprinkles this morning, we could see up to another tenth of an inch of rain at the most. The other main story to start this morning is the cool northerly winds gusting over 20 mph at times that will keep temperatures below normal today. Winds will decrease throughout the day and as the sun comes out more this afternoon, we will have to watch out for a shower or even a storm, especially around 5 p.m. The clouds should clear out quickly this evening and we are still looking at nearly perfect weather on Saturday under lots of sunshine. Then the next storm system quickly races into Pa. on Sunday bringing back the chance of a shower or storm.

Winds in the morning could reach 10–20 mph out of the north, then will soften as the day goes on.

Green Speeds – Today’s green speeds are roughly one-half foot slower than yesterday due to overnight rain (1/10th inch) and our caution with predicted winds of upwards of 30 mph.  The speeds will range 12½ to 13 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter during the day.   

Fairway and Rough Grass – Most fairways were cut this morning, but only four were rolled due to standing casual water. Roughs were not cut during yesterday’s p.m. maintenance due to rain.  
Total Course Yardage for Thursday (tee marker settings to flagstick) = 3,689 yards out; 3,212 yards in = 6,901 total yards

Hole-by-Hole Information:

Hole 1 – 356 yards; the hole location is three-quarters of the way back hugging the right side. 
Hole 2 – 557 yards; the hole location is in the center left portion of the green.  
Hole 3 – 203 yards; tee markers are on the forward teeing ground with the hole location placed 7 paces past the front edge of the green; tee shots should be played downwind.  
Hole 4 – 628 yards; the hole location is on the front left “ledge” of the green.
Hole 5 – 504 yards; the hole location is in the center of the green; the hole should have a helping wind out of the right.
Hole 6 – 491 yards; the hole location is in the center of the green; this hole will also have a helping wind out of the right.
Hole 7 – 368 yards; the hole location is placed in the center left portion of the green just short of the back left “bowl.”
Hole 8 – 363 yards; the hole location is in the back left portion of the green; most putts on the green will be uphill to the hole.
Hole 9 – 219 yards; the hole location is in the front portion (6 paces on) of this kidney-shaped green; shots played from past the hole will be fast coming back down the hill.
Hole 10 – 313 yards; tee markers are on the back teeing ground; the hole location is in the back left portion of the green.
Hole 11 – 363 yards; the hole location is in the center right portion of the green.
Hole 12 – 405 yards; the hole location is in the center left portion, just left of the “spine” that runs front to back through the green.
Hole 13 – 123 yards; tee markers are placed on the left side (upper) of the teeing ground; the hole location is center back of this “bowl” green; tee shots played with less spin will be advantageous.
Hole 14 – 453 yards; tee markers were kept on the forward teeing ground for round 2 because of the headwind on tee shots; the hole location is placed back left, bringing the closely mown mound left of the green into play.
Hole 15 – 414 yards; the hole location is tucked behind the bunker that fronts the right portion of the green.
Hole 16 – 434 yards; the hole location is placed five or so paces above the front right bowl.
Hole 17 – 206 yards; the tee markers are placed on the forward teeing ground; the hole location is in the front right portion of the green just above the false front; the tee shots are into the north wind.
Hole 18 – 501 yards; the tee markers are again placed on the penultimate teeing ground even with the northerly downwind tee shot; the hole location is on the front left portion of the green; the hole should play downwind.

How Did Merion Hold Up So Well?

Merion was soft and yet scores weren't low.

The theories range from playing long, to greens remaining firm, to hole locations in the back of greens, to local knowledge, to the difficulty of the weather and even the shaggier fairways. Or maybe all of the above?

Rickie Fowler after his opening 70:

There's some nasty rough out there. It is short on the card, and it was playing soft today, which makes it play longer.  I actually think this course plays more like a 7400 or 7500 yard golf course just because of you have the stretch from 7 through 13, besides the fact that No. 9 being a long par‑3.

Other than that, some very short holes. Which if you made those regular length, it's going to add up the scorecard closer to 7400 or 7500 yards.

Jerry Kelly explains the hole location issue:

Q.  There was soft conditions today, a little‑to‑no breeze at times, how surprising is it that 9‑under is leading right now and guys aren't going low?

    JERRY KELLY:  You saw where they put the pins, didn't you?  Every single one of them was in the back.  You can't get to them on soft greens.  So you can hit pitching wedges and irons from 80 yards, but you're not going to do that.  You're just going to knock it up there and if it spins back, it spins back.

    So it was a little deceiving thinking, oh, we had easy pins in the back back there.  No.  Those are very hard when the course is playing a little shorter.

And Ron Sirak sums up the variety of elements that made Merion so tough on day one, including the bizarre flow to the rounds for players before they were delayed for several hours.

And then there are the mechanics required to stage the Open at this golf course. Not only was there the three-and-a-half hour delay on Thursday, but the locker room and practice range are on the West Course, about a mile from the tournament East Course.

Rory's Ryder Cup Cop Lands New Gig

Thanks to reader Barry for this story on Lombard Police Deputy Chief Pat Rollins, he of Ryder Cup rescuer fame, landing the job as Sugar Grove Police chief.

Think he put Rory down as a reference?

2013 U.S. Open First Round Open Comment Thread

A little late but now that we have hole locations and setup notes, oh, and golf, the U.S. Open at Merion is under way!

ESPN is scheduled to sign off at 7 ET, but that may change.

First Round setup notes:

(Click to enlarge)COURSE SETUP: ROUND ONE OF THE 2013 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

The following are details on the course setup for Round 1 of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, from Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director.

Green Speeds – Today’s green speeds before the rain were in the 13- to 13½-foot range on the USGA Stimpmeter. They will likely settle out in the mid-to-high 12s when play resumes.

Rough Grass – In anticipation of today’s weather event, the closer-in (roughly 18 feet in width) rough grass in the drive zones, as well as the closer-in (9 feet in width) greenside rough on some of the holes, was mowed last night.  

Weather Affecting Course Setup Decisions – Hole locations for Round 1 were chosen based on the forecast for heavy rains. Further, teeing grounds and hole locations that have more slope were chosen based on the forecast for winds predominantly out of the south for Thursday. However, winds will switch to predominantly from the north on Friday (when we will likely still be playing Round 1). The intent is to provide fair conditions with the knowledge that there will likely be wind in opposite directions for Round 1.  

Total Course Yardage for Thursday (tee marker settings to flagstick) = 3,760 yards out; 3,206 yards in = 6,966 total yards

Hole-by-Hole Information:

Hole 1 – 340 yards; the hole location is front left, which presents very fast putts coming down the hill from the center of the green. 

Hole 2 – 567 yards; the hole location is in the right-back portion of the green.  

Hole 3 – 246 yards; anticipating southerly winds on Thursday, tee markers are placed on the front of the back teeing ground with the hole location in the center, right lower section, hugging the right bunker.

Hole 4 – 640 yards; hole location is on the right side; putts coming from the center of the green are very fast.

Hole 5 – 499 yards;  the hole location is front left; putts coming from beyond or to the right of the hole are extremely fast.

Hole 6 – 489 yards; the hole location is in the center-left portion of the green, hugging the left bunker.

Hole 7 – 382 yards; the hole location is in the center-rear portion of the green.

Hole 8 – 360 yards; the hole location is in the front-left portion of the green.

Hole 9 – 237 yards; the hole location is two-thirds of the way back on the left portion of the green over the front-left bunker.

Hole 10 – 301 yards; tee markers are on the back teeing ground; from this tee, the players are able to see the flagstick; the hole location is front right just over the subtle false front, up against the back bunker.

Hole 11 – 375 yards; the hole location is in the back center; the putts in this area are very flat.

Hole 12 – 386 yards; tee markers are placed in the very front of the back teeing ground anticipating northerly winds on Friday; the hole location is in the front left portion of the green; putts from the center of the green are very fast coming down the hill.

Hole 13 – 102 yards; tee markers are placed on the very front portion of the right (lower) teeing ground; the hole location is just over the front bunker; this hole location should produce a fair number of birdies and perhaps even an ace.

Hole 14 – 446 yards; the hole location is in the right portion of the green; putts coming from the center of the green are very fast.

Hole 15 – 413 yards; the hole location is in the back “trough” on the left side of the green; this area has a pronounced pitch from back to front.

Hole 16 – 440 yards; the hole location is in the back left portion of the green.

Hole 17 – 243 yards; the tee markers are placed on the back teeing ground; the hole location is on the left portion of the green.

Hole 18 – 500 yards; anticipating a southerly wind for Thursday, the tee markers are placed on the front portion of the penultimate teeing ground; the hole location is in the right portion of the putting green, which is difficult to access but rather easy to putt up to.

2013 U.S. Open At Merion: Thursday Is Derecho Day?

I'm already tired of hearing about this storm that's going to take a course draining well and making a mess of Merion, if forecasts are to be believed.

Jay Coffin explains the meaning of a derecho, which is expected to halt play sometime after lunch and begin a property evacuation of sorts at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Golf Channel's Golf Central story previewing the weather and day one. (I had it embedded but it's another of the automatic video players that threatens to get you in trouble in the office.)