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.