Golf Glance

Golf Glance










The Sports Xchange May 20, 2013 11:40 AMThe SportsXchange



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Zach Johnson holed a five-foot putt for par to give him what appeared to be a three-stroke victory overJason Dufner for his second title at Colonial in three years. However, Johnson forgot to re-mark his ball after moving it because his coin was in Dufner's line, and he was assessed a two-stroke penalty, leaving him with a one-stroke victory after a closing even-par 70. Johnson also won the John Deere Classic in July, giving him two victories in a season for the third time in his PGA Tour career. Dufner, a 35-year-old journeyman who had never won on the circuit before 2012, seemed to be headed for this third victory in four tournaments by opening with scores of 65-64-66 before closing with a 74 that included a double bogey and a triple bogey.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: 74th Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, noon-3 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Roger Chapman of England built a nine-stroke lead early in the final round and held on to claim his first victory on the Champions Tour by two shots over John Cook at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich. The 53-year-old Chapman, who had only three professional victories previously, added the U.S. Senior Open less than a month later. In the Senior PGA, he built a five-stroke lead after 54 holes with rounds of 68-67-64 before closing with a 1-over-par 72, carding bogeys on three of the last five holes. Kenny Perry posted a tournament-record 62 in the final round, but all it got him was a tie for ninth, five strokes behind Chapman.



LPGA TOUR: Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at Ocean Club Golf Course in Paradise Island, Bahamas, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: This is the inaugural tournament and the first time an LPGA Tour event will be played in the Bahamas.

Tucker brothers writing special history at Bellerive

Tucker brothers writing special history at Bellerive











PGA.COM May 20, 2013 11:53 AM

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PGA Professionals Mike (left) and Jerry (right) Tucker are brothers with a rich history at Bellerive …


PGA Professional brothers Jerry and Mike Tucker each earned a college degree in journalism, and have been writing their own special chapters in their respective careers. This month, they happen to be sharing a piece of the stage at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, which opens its doors, May 21-26, to host the 74th Senior PGA Championship present by KitchenAid.

Jerry, 63, the oldest of three brothers, is a member of the 156-player field that will compete in the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf. Tucker is a PGA Life Member who owns the Jerry Tucker Golf Academy in Stuart, Fla.

Mike Tucker, 48, succeeded Jerry in 1996 as PGA head professional at Bellerive, and is a past Gateway PGA Section president and former District 7 Director on the PGA Board of Directors. Middle brother, John, 61, is an engineer and will be a member of the gallery at the Senior PGA Championship.

It was evident from the beginning that the Tuckers, born in Carbondale, Ill., and Southern Illinois University graduates, didn't want to stray too far from their roots.

"There is something about the Midwest that is different from other parts of the country," said Jerry. "It's easy to make friends, the people are polite and there's just good values. That was what made me so comfortable at Bellerive. It was a family club and had legacy membership. We accomplished many things there, and it was a highlight of my life."

Jerry Tucker served 15 years as PGA head professional at Bellerive Country Club, the last stint from 1987-97. During that period, he was the first PGA Master Professional to compete in a major championship, when he teed it up in the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes in Hawthorn Woods, Ill. In 1992, while busy overseeing his staff at Bellerive, he had time to become the last host PGA Professional to compete in a PGA Championship.

That Championship also was special for Mike, who served as his brother's caddie.

"It was a great experience for both of us, a great week overall," says Mike. "Growing up, and with Jerry 15 years older than me, I looked up to him. Somewhere in my mid-20s, I began to compete. It was pretty tough catching him."

Mike won't serve as caddie this month for his oldest brother. That honor goes to someone Jerry gave instruction to over the years, Brett Burton, son of Professional Bowling Hall of Famer Nelson Burton Jr.

Jerry Tucker graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1976, and turned professional that year. Mike graduated from the same alma mater in 1987, and in 1989 began a two-year term as an assistant professional at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, site of the 1971 Ryder Cup. He followed by serving from 1990 to 1993 as PGA head professional at Green Hills Country Club in Mount Vernon, Ill.


In 1994, Mike Tucker was named associate professional at Bellerive, and two years later became co-head professional with Joe Schwent. The arrangement was unique, but not exclusive.

"I was asked by the board my opinion who I would recommend to succeed me," says Jerry. "I knew that both Joe and my brother were the best in-house candidates. I said that we had 94 percent membership approval in surveys, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I also added that if Augusta National could have two professionals for 23 years sharing the job, it could work here, too."

The arrangement worked to perfection, and Schwent would ultimately land a PGA head professional position in 2006 at The Country Club of St. Albans in St. Albans, Mo. From that point, Mike Tucker has been the sole leader of his staff at Bellerive.

"We are very fortunate to be able to do some neat things in golf," says Mike. "I am very happy with where I am, and the great staff here at the club."

Mike proved that he also has game and versatility in his position. He was the 2003 Gateway PGA Player of the Year, the 2004 Gateway PGA Golf Professional of the Year and was a two-time Section Merchandise of the Year, from 2003-04. Mike has competed in eight PGA Professional National Championships.

Jerry keeps adding to his playing résumé, making his 10th Senior PGA Championship appearance, to go with trips to two PGA Championships, two U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens and 20 PGA Professional National Championships. He tied for 34th in the 1988 PGA Professional National Championship.

Already a 2002 Gateway PGA Section Hall of Famer, Jerry Tucker has just about achieved everything a senior could and more in the South Florida PGA Section (SFPGA).

In 2011, he became the first player in Section history to capture a regular Section Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year, and Chapter Player of the Year in the same season. He earned that distinction in May 2011 in Vero Beach, Fla., due to the weather-delayed SFPGA Section Championship, which was finally completed after being postponed from the previous fall.

For someone who has won what he calls "105 significant events as a PGA Professional," there were three moments that Jerry quickly recalls as "special" in his career.

"My getting to play golf three times with Arnold Palmer were my highlights," says Jerry. "The first was in 1989 at the PGA Championship, then in 1992, when he called to play a practice round with me, the host professional, at Bellerive before the PGA Championship. And, the third came just before the course closed in a practice round near dark and in misty rain at Ridgewood Country Club (in Paramus, N.J.) before the 2000 Senior PGA Championship. "Can you believe it? There were two spectators watching us on the third hole. I went up to one of the guys in between shots and said, 'Do you know I'm playing with? That's Arnold Palmer. I surprised the guy so much, we ended up having dinner together that night and remain friends today."

Multiple Winners Becoming Endangered on PGA Tour

Multiple Winners Becoming Endangered on PGA Tour











Adam Fonseca May 20, 2013 1:24 PM




COMMENTARY | Sang Moon Bae won the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday, May 19 for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. In doing so, he also became the eighth first-timer to win in 2013.

Needless to say, times are tough if you are a veteran player on the tour not named Tiger Woods.

This season has quickly become a type of resurgence on tour, beginning with Russell Henley's first win at the Sony Open in Hawaii last January. John Merrick accomplished the same feat at the Northern Trust Open one month later at Riviera. Two weeks later at the Honda Classic, Michael Thompson tasted the winner's circle -- and $1.08 million -- for the first time. Scott Brown quietly won the Puerto Rican Open during Masters week.

Kevin Streelman, while having turned professional in 2001 and a veteran in terms of tenure, finally broke through at the Tampa Bay Championship for his first win March 17. In April, The TPC Louisiana yielded another maiden-victory in the form of Billy Horschel at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Tour rookie Derek Ernst followed suit the following week at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.

With Bae's victory in Texas, debut winners now account for a third of all winners on Tour this season. When you include the four additional victories from world No. 1 Woods, more than 50 percent of events on the PGA Tour schedule (12 out of 21 total) have either been won by the best in the world or a first-timer. I cannot find a year in recent history that the same can be said prior to 2013.


So what does this trend mean for past winners on tour? Simply put, the talent bar has been raised yet again.

Being an experienced winner on tour no longer makes you a favorite to win a tournament on any given week, at least this year. Forget about playing the odds. As the season has progressed up until this point, we are more likely to see either Tiger Woods or someone who has never won a PGA Tour event come out victorious than the opposite.

At last week's HP Byron Nelson, former major winner and Ryder Cup fan-favorite Keegan Bradley attempted to become the tournament's first wire-to-wire winner since Tom Watson in 1980. Former winners like Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Scott Piercy were in contention throughout the week, but it was Bae's perseverance and determination that earned him the victory over others who have been there, done that.

Of course, pure logical reasoning suggests the current trend is a bit of a fad. With 20 events remaining on the PGA Tour schedule, including the FedEx Cup Playoffs, a handful of former champions are sure to start winning again. Experience and time-tested methods have to count for something. Surely everything will balance out in the end.

Then again, nobody could have guessed that names like Henley, Merrick, Thompson, Brown, Streelman, Horschel, Ernst or Bae would have more PGA Tour wins in 2013 than names like Garcia, Westwood, McIlroy or Kaymer at this point in the season. If there is anything certain about the tour, it is that there is no such thing as a sure bet these days.



Adam Fonseca has been a golf writer and blogger since 2005. His work has been featured on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Adam can be found on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Lee wins shortened LPGA event

Lee wins shortened LPGA event










The Sports Xchange May 26, 2013 9:30 PMThe SportsXchange



Ilhee Lee captured the wet and shortened Bahamas LPGA Classic by firing a 5-under-par 42 over 12 holes on Sunday, giving her a two-shot victory over Irene Cho.

She finished the event in Paradise Island, Bahamas, with a 36-hole total of 11-under 126 for her first tournament victory of the year.

"I can't believe it right now," said Lee. "It feels amazing. This is the best day in my life. I'm so happy right now."

Heavy rain had caused the event to be shorted to 36 holes, the fewest number of holes required for the event to be considered official.

Thursday's play was canceled, and players played 12 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The final round at the Ocean Club featured strong winds at the end of the day, and it ended in a downpour.

Work by the golf course staff from Wednesday through Saturday morning resulted in 45 million gallons of rain water being pumped off the tournament course.

Every player started on No. 10 Sunday, then moved around the course. The par-5 18th hole was used for the first time in the tournament, and the fourth hole was eliminated after being used the previous two days.

Lee, whose best finish this year had been a tie for third at Kingsmill, birdied her first three holes Sunday to catch Paola Moreno at 9-under and tie for the lead.

"In the morning, my goal was just pars," Lee said. "I made long putts first hole, the second hole, third hole, birdies, and then I was thinking maybe it's close. So I felt comfortable with the wind today. I think the wind helped me today."

Lee took the lead by herself with a birdie on the 14th hole and added another birdie before finishing her bogey-free round.

She earned $195,000 for the victory.

Cho birdied three of the last five holes for a 7-under 40, which was the best round of the tournament. Cho had an eagle at the 11th hole, and, two holes later, she saved par after hitting shot onto the sandy beach.

"I'm very proud of Ilhee," Cho said. "She played hard. I'm just thankful we got in all 36 holes, and here's to next week.

"I wish we got to see the rest of the golf course because it's really, really pretty, and it's a great look out on the ocean. But kudos to the maintenance crew for having us finish on hole 18, which is only the second time I've played it."

Cho finished ahead of third-place Anna Nordqvist by a stroke.

Nordqvist had a final-round 2-under 45 to finish at 8-under, one shot ahead of a five players: Paul Creamer, Mika Miyazato, Karine Icher, Mindy Kim and Cristie Kerr.

Senior PGA Championship: Sunday notebook

Senior PGA Championship: Sunday notebook












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Kohki Odoki received the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy from PGA President Ted Bishop.(Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)

PGA.COM May 26, 2013 9:52 PM


By The PGA of America

ST. LOUIS -- With his victory today in the 74th Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, Kohki Idoki:

--Gets his name inscribed on the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy, awarded to the winner of the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf Earns a Lifetime Exemption into the Senior PGA Championship --Receives an Exemption into the 2013 PGA Championship, Aug. 8-11 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. --Gains an Exemption into the 2013 Senior British Open --Gains an Exemption into the 2013 U.S. Senior Open --Claims his first major championship on the Champions Tour --Has a one-year calendar exemption on the Champions Tour

KOHKI'S FIRSTS: In his first-ever visit to the United States, Kohki Idoki becomes the first Asian-born male to win the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid. Y.E. Yang became the first Asian-born male to win a major championship when he captured the 2009 PGA Championship.

Idoki is the second consecutive international player to win the Senior PGA Championship (Roger Chapman of England last year)

Statistically, Idoki led this week in Putts Per Greens in Regulation, and tied for first in Birdies (19) and Total Putts (108). He also tied Mark O'Meara for the second low round of the Championship, with a closing 65.

Idoki gained entry into the Championship as one of the top four players from the 2012 Japanese Seniors Tour Order of Merit.

MORE ON IDOKI: Idoki's 65 is the second-best final-round score by a Champion - Allen Doyle closed with 64 to win the 1999 Senior PGA Championship. He improved his score each day here at Bellerive, from 71 to 69 to 68 to 65.

RUTLEDGE FIRES 64, SETS CHAMPIONSHIP MARK: Canadian Jim Rutledge shot the low score of the Championship today, with a bogey-free, 7-under-par 64. Rutledge played the front nine in 5 under par, then added birdies on Nos. 14 and 17.

The competitive course record at Bellerive Country Club belongs to Jim Furyk, who shot 62 in the second round of the 2008 BMW Championship, when the course played to a par of 70.

"I got off to a good start and I think that that was a key to a good day," said Rutledge, whose wife, Jill, caddies for him. "We knew that we had a good score out there, because we put together some good stretches of holes. We just hadn't put it all together at once. But today was the day."

Rutledge had 11 one-putts for the round and vaulted 30 spots on the scoreboard. He finished the Championship tied for sixth place, at 6-under-par 278.

TOP 15 AND TIES QUALIFY FOR 2014: One of the criteria to be eligible to compete in the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid is being among the low 15 finishers, and ties, in the preceding Senior PGA Championship. So, based on their finishing scores today, the following players have gained a spot in the 2014 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, to be held May 22-25 at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich.:


Kohki Idoki Jay Haas Kenny Perry Mark O'Meara Kiyoshi Murato Jim Rutledge Kirk Triplett Duffy Waldorf Rod Spittle Russ Cochran Dan Forsman Peter Senior Bart Bryant Bernhard Langer Joel Edwards Tommy Armour III Steve Pate Fred Funk

COSTON, MIELKE SHARE LOW PGA CLUB PROFESSIONAL HONORS: Mark Mielke of East Norwich, N.Y., birdied No. 18 today to tie Jeff Coston of Blaine, Wash., for low PGA Club Professional honors. Both finished at even-par 284, as Coston closed with 72 and Mielke with 73. They tied for 28th place. This is the second time that Coston has finished as the Low PGA Club Professional in this Championship (2007).

Sonny Skinner of Sylvester, Ga., who almost holed out of a greenside bunker for birdie on the 18th that would have matched Coston and Mielke, tied with Don Berry of Rogers, Minn., at 285. St. Louis native Bob Gaus shot 73 today and tied for 59th.

BY THE NUMBERS ... ONE LAST TIME: 4: par-5 hole at Bellerive that played the easiest for the Championship, with a 4.686 stroke average 6: par-3 hole at Bellerive that played the most difficult for the Championship, with a 3.486 stroke average 6: number of birdies made today by Kohki Idoki, the 74th Senior PGA Champion 7: number of strokes Idoki made up today on third-round leader Kenny Perry 10: number of one-putt greens today for Idoki 26: number of putts taken today by Idoki 38: score for Kenny Perry on the back nine today, as he lost the lead in the Senior PGA Championship 55: number of consecutive holes Bernhard Langer played without a bogey (from his final hole in Round 1 through the completion of his round today) 64: low 18-hole round of the Championship, shot today by Jim Rutledge 65: second-best 18-hole round of the Championship, shot today by Idoki, and Mark O'Meara, who was fourth 67: score posted by Bernhard Langer each of the last three rounds, to climb back from 8-over par after the first round to 4-under par for the Championship 273: winning score for Kohki Idoki

FOUR EAGLES TODAY: The four eagles recorded today at Bellerive brought to 15 the total number made during the Championship, with the most eagles made on the par-5 17th hole (7).

HAAS TOPS AMONG SIX SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONS: He may not have won his third Senior PGA Championship, but Jay Haas does have the distinction of finishing with the best score among the six Senior PGA Champions who played through the weekend.

The 72-hole scores of Senior PGA Champions, and where they placed in the Championship: Jay Haas (9-under-par 275, tied for second) Michael Allen (2-under-par 282, tied for 20th) Tom Watson (even-par 284, tied for 28th) Hale Irwin (5-over-par 28, tied for 56th) Defending Champion Roger Chapman (7-over-par 291, tied for 64th) John Jacobs (10-over par 294, 75th place)

A FINISHING FOURSOME OF PGA CHAMPIONS: Jeff Sluman (1988 PGA Champion), Hal Sutton (1983), Bob Tway (1986) and Lanny Wadkins (1977) all completed 72 holes at Bellerive. Sutton and Tway had the best scores of the round (70) but Sluman finished with the lowest 72-hole total of the four. Their results:

Jeff Sluman (71 today for 287 total, tied for 47th) Hal Sutton (70 today for 291 total, tied for 64th) Bob Tway (70 today for 291 total, tied for 64th) Lanny Wadkins (80 today for 299 total, tied for 79th)

The 2013 PGA Championship, the Season's Final Major, will be played Aug. 8-11 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

ALMOST THE SAME EACH DAY: Jeff Sluman and Boonchu Ruangkit finished 72 holes with the same total (287). They also had the same score in Rounds 1 and 4 and virtually had identical scores each day. Their scores per round:

Sluman 75-71-70-71 Ruangkit 75-70-71-71

ALMOST THE SAME AS IN '92: Russ Cochran tied for sixth this week in the Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive. He tied for seventh in the 1992 PGA Championship at Bellerive. Duffy Waldorf tied for ninth in the '92 PGA Championship and tied for sixth today.

SEE YOU IN 2018: The 100th PGA Championship will be played in the summer of 2018 here at Bellerive Country Club. Nick Price won the first PGA Championship contested at Bellerive, in 1992.

A Lesson Learned: Long and short of it

A Lesson Learned: Long and short of it











Jeff Coston, PGA May 27, 2013 12:04 AM



Another Senior PGA Championship in the books and what a great week it's been. I'm so grateful to the PGA of America for the first-rate championship it conducts and for the opportunity they provide club professionals like myself to play and test our game against the best players in the world.

For this week's "A Lesson Learned" I'd take away two important points that meant so much to me this week and will certainly help every golfer.

1.) When you come to a major championship, every player will tell you that the key to winning is controlling the speed of your putts. To that I say..."Yes!" The greens you putt on at home may not roll at the same championship speeds that Bellerive had this week, but whatever the speed they roll, you have to be confident that any putt you take will either go in or leave you with a comfortable (and hopefully tap-in) distance.
I see far too many amateur players tie themselves up in knots trying to read the line and not respect the speed of the putt enough. My guess is, the average energy and thought to each putt by amateur golfers is 80 percent read, 20 percent speed. I say it should be the reveresed. If you concentrate more on the right speed, you'll be a better putter. Speed dictates line anyways and if you have the right speed, you can trust more. The reason people three putt is rarely because they have a bad line, it's because they did not have the right speed.

2.) Another golf maxim that I think is overstated is that "golfers spend too much time on the range working on driving" (and thus, by default, not enough on their short game.) Of course your short game is critical but so is your driving. It's no secret in golf: If you cant drive, you wont' have any fun playing golf. So my tip on driving is - curve your golf ball. Either left to right or right to left, know your shot pattern and play to that. None other than Jack Nicklaus told me that a straight was an accident.

These two areas of my game are two that I often focus on when I know I need to play my best. If I'm confident with my driver and I'm confident on the greens, I know I'm going to have a good round. I hope that's that case for you too.

Jeff Coston is the PGA Teaching Professional at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, Wash. Coston has played on the PGA Tour, played in 3 PGA Championships, 3 Senior PGA Championships and one U.S. Open. You can learn more about Jeff Coston at hiswebsite.

For Woods, history is all about major results

For Woods, history is all about major results











PGA.COM June 12, 2013 8:37 PM

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Instead of marveling at the swing Ben Hogan put on his famous 1-iron shot at Merion, Tiger Woods thought …


By Doug Ferguson, Associated Press

ARDMORE, Pa. - The photo of Ben Hogan hitting his 1-iron into the 18th green at Merion in the 1950 U.S. Open is among the most famous in golf history, capturing the pure swing of one of the greatest players when the pressure of a major championship was at its peak.

Instead of marveling at the swing, Tiger Woods thought more about the results.

''That was to get into a playoff,'' Woods said Tuesday, sounding more like a golf historian than the No. 1 player in the game. ''Got about 40 feet and still had some work to do. It's a great photo. But it would have been an all right photo if he didn't win. He still had to go out and win it the next day.''

Hogan managed to lag the long putt to about 4 feet and quickly knocked that in for his par to join a three-way playoff, which he won the next day over Lloyd Mangrum and Tom Fazio. Of his four U.S. Open titles, that meant the most to Hogan because he proved he could win just 16 months after a horrific car accident that nearly killed him. On battered legs, Hogan had to play the 36-hole final, followed by the 18-hole playoff.

''Knowing the fact that he went through the accident and then came out here and played 36 and 18, that's awfully impressive,'' Woods said.

In some small way, Woods can relate.

Five years ago, Woods tried to play the U.S. Open with the ligaments shredded in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his lower left leg. The USGA published a book called 'Great Moments of the U.S. Open,'' and the photo it selected for the cover showed Woods arching his back and pumping his fists after making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines to get into a playoff.

It wouldn't have been much of a photo if he missed.

Woods had to go 91 holes that week. He had to make another birdie on the 18th hole of the playoff to go extra holes before finally beating Rocco Mediate.

''I think there was a lot of people pulling for Tiger,'' said Rory McIlroy, who was 19 at the time, a rookie on the European Tour who failed to qualify for the U.S. Open. ''He was playing on a broken leg pretty much, so I was definitely pulling for Tiger. It was probably one of the best performances golf has ever seen, if not sport in general.''

Hard as it might have been to believe that day, it also was the last major Woods won.

He had one more chance at a major after his season-ending knee surgery, losing a two-shot lead to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship. After two darks years brought on by the collapse of his marriage and more injuries to his left leg, he had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in two majors last year, and he had an outside shot at the Masters in April going into the final round.

Majors don't come as easily as they once seemed to for Woods, though he never looked at them that way.

''It wasn't ever easy,'' he said. ''I felt it was still difficult because the major of the majors, three of the four always rotated. It was always on a new site each and every year. Augusta was the only one you could rely on from past experiences. A lot of majors that I won were on either the first or second time I'd ever seen it.''

Woods won four majors on courses he had never played - Medinah for the 1999 PGA Championship, Valhalla for the PGA Championship the following year, Bethpage Black in the 2002 U.S. Open and Royal Liverpool for the 2006 British Open.


Merion is new not only to him, but just about everyone.

It last hosted a U.S. Open in 1981, when David Graham putted for birdie on every hole and closed with a 67. Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker played Merion, but they were all college kids at the 1989 U.S. Amateur. A few others competed in the 2005 U.S. Amateur or the 2009 Walker Cup.

But never at a U.S. Open.

''I don't remember much about it from that long ago,'' Stricker said. ''But I remember at least that it was a great, old course with a lot of history to it, one that I enjoyed playing back in '89 and no different than today. It's a great test.''

It figures to be a different test this week.

For all the history of Merion, this week seems like a recurrence of the troublesome weather that has followed the PGA Tour around this season. The course has received some 5 inches of rain since Friday, so much that it was closed for practice one day on the weekend, and play was stopped three times on Monday.

It was packed under mostly sunny skies Tuesday in what amounted to a crash course for so many players with the start of the U.S. Open only two days away.

''Played the golf course last Wednesday, which has proved kind of invaluable now,'' Graeme McDowell said. ''I flew in yesterday with the intention of playing 18 holes late last night, but that didn't happen. So I'm kind of adjusting my plan here at the minute. I'm going to play nine holes this afternoon and nine holes tomorrow.''

Phil Mickelson spent two days at Merion last week, which also proved invaluable. He left town Monday for San Diego to practice in California's dry weather, though he was planning on being home Wednesday, anyway, to watch his oldest daughter speak at her eighth-grade graduate ceremony.

Woods stopped at Merion on the way to the Memorial, and wondered how much he got out of that practice round. It rained practically the entire time, so the ball wasn't flying very far in the air or when it hit the ground. Woods was trying to figure out how much the ball would run along the canted fairways in dry conditions.

Now, he might not find out.

''I thought it might be totally different,'' Woods said. ''As I explained at Memorial, I thought the ball would be running out and we would hit different clubs and different shapes. But it's going to be the same as what we played'' in his practice round two weeks ago.

Woods already has forgotten about his last start, an abysmal finish at the Memorial where he couldn't make a putt and wound up 20 shots out the lead. He said he had a good week of practice at home in Florida until some tropical weather came through.

''I guess it was getting us ready for this one,'' he said.

The preparation is all part of the plan. Woods talked about going to other major courses ahead of time to map out his strategy and get a feel for how to play the course.

''But then I have to go out and execute,'' he said. ''And go out and win an event."