It is not a time for excitement and anticipation. It is not a moment the players embrace or inhale the nostalgia and history.<\/p>\n
Save that for the other majors. This isn\u2019t a tradition unlike any other. Or glory\u2019s last stand.<\/p>\n
This is the U.S. Open, a four-day survival test, and it\u2019s being staged for a record ninth time at Oakmont Country Club, the pit bull of Open venues.<\/p>\n
Players already are using words such as stressful and trepidation, brutal and humbling. It is the second major of the year and the field of 156 players who will tee off today are approaching the start as if it\u2019s an internal audit.<\/p>\n
Phil Mickelson, who turns 46 today and is hoping to win the one major title that has escaped him after a record six runner-up finishes, called Oakmont \u201cthe hardest course I\u2019ve ever played.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery hole out here plays over par,\u201d Mickelson said. \u201cTo approach a hole from the tee thinking birdie is a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
No player in history has won a U.S. Open with a score lower than 279. When Angel Cabrera won in 2007, he finished at 5-over 285 despite posting two of the seven subpar scores over four days.<\/p>\n
Oakmont has no water and no trees on the 7,255-yard layout, and is considered the Jennifer Anniston of iconic venues because it takes very little to get the course ready for the national stage. Predictions range from Jordan Spieth saying he would take even par right now to Jason Day saying the U.S. Open might have a runaway winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt accomplishes the goal that the members want, which is to have the hardest course in the world or in America or wherever,\u201d said Mickelson, who has missed the cut just twice in 25 U.S. Open appearances, the most recent coming at Oakmont in 2007. \u201cThere\u2019s no reprieve off the tee, there\u2019s no reprieve into the greens, and there\u2019s certainly no reprieve on the greens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ah, the greens. They have been rolling the past couple days at 15 on the Stimpmeter, the device used to measure in feet the speed of the putting surfaces. But the United States Golf Association\u00a0plans to put on the brakes and run them between 14 and 14.5 for the tournament. When Jack Nicklaus won the U.S. Open in 1962, beating Arnold Palmer in a playoff, he had one three-putt green in four rounds.<\/p>\n
Part of solving Oakmont\u2019s greasy greens is not just gauging the speed, it\u2019s managing to put approach shots in the proper position to make putts. When Johnny Miller shot his final-round 63 in the 1973 U.S. Open, he hit all 18 greens in regulation and left only one putt \u2014\u00a0at No. 12, where the greens slopes away from the player toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike \u2014\u00a0above the hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey probably are the toughest greens in golf,\u201d said Justin Rose, who won the 2013 U.S. Open across the state at Merion.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t let your mind slip on these greens for one moment, or you\u2019re going to be left with possibly a 10- to 15-footer on the next putt, if not worse,\u201d said Spieth, the defending champion who will try to be the first to repeat since Curtis Strange in 1989. \u201cSo you really have to be cautious of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Day, the world\u2019s No. 1 player who has won seven of his past 18 starts, said he has never been more stressed in his life than he is right now. But he was talking about the expectations heaped on him. Toss in the hazards of Oakmont, a course with 210 sand bunkers and greens that tilt like a car with a flat tire, and the anxiety level is enough to make a Franciscan monk look jittery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just because being No. 1 in the world, having a lot of expectations on you, having to practice so hard to keep that No. 1 spot, trying to win as many tournaments as I can, puts a lot of stress and pressure on your shoulders,\u201d Day said.<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy, who has won four major titles that includes a record-setting performance in the 2011 U.S. Open, said there is nothing exciting about the prospects of playing a U.S. Open. He said the overriding emotion is more trepidation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know you\u2019re going to be put under a lot of pressure on basically every single golf shot you hit out there,\u201d said McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world. \u201cSo you have to be prepared for that. You have to be prepared for how mentally demanding it\u2019s going to be, how much concentration you\u2019re going to need out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The USGA\u00a0already is trying to be sympathetic. It has cut the secondary rough from nearly 6 inches to 4.5 inches because of much consternation on social media from the players about the density of the nasty stuff. Balls were disappearing quicker than a Doug Henning magic show.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did think the rough was a bit too penal, and this was before the players arrived,\u201d said Mike Davis, USGA\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n
Conversely, the first cut of rough was not penal enough \u2014 \u201cWe didn\u2019t feel there was enough of a penalty there,\u201d Davis said \u2014 so the USGA grew that portion from 2\u00bd inches to 3\u00bc inches. Players will try to avoid the rough like the Zika virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important shot is going to be the one off the tee because, if you play from the fairway, it\u2019s going to make it a lot easier,\u201d said Cabrera. \u201cIf you don\u2019t hit fairways, it\u2019s very difficult to hit greens.\u201d<\/p>\n