Merion: What An Open

     I was a bit skeptical.  The decision to return to Merion Country Club was a good one and I was excited. However, I thought that the course was too short to host a U. S. Open and I was not the only one with that line of thinking. To that, I want to share this story.
     About three years ago I played in a tournament that was played in Monterey, California at  a course called Monterey Pines.  The course is one of my favorites and was celebrating the Grand Opening of the course after several years of renovation.  Owned by the Navy and referred to as the Navy Course, it is located on the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey close to the Monterey Airport and Monterey County Fairgrounds.  I am not going to say much about the course other than it is short and a fantastic test of golf.  I got to the course and was eager to play in the tournament.  I wondered who was going to be on my team as it was a four-person scramble event.
     The three other players on my team were an interesting mix.  First there was Al, who was the director of the Naval Postgraduate School.  Next, there was Jim, who was the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Lemoore.  We became good friends, by the way, and played golf together in Fresno many times.  The third and last member of our group was Ron Read, who is the starter for the U.S.G.A.. Ron rode with me and we chatted about many things golf and otherwise.
     Just a short time before we played the Monterey tournament, the U.S. Open rotation was announced and Merion was on the list.  I was curious about this, but very happy.  Lee Trevino's victory and the wicker baskets were very clear in my mind.  So, I started to talk about the 2013 open and Merion with Ron.
     "So Ron, I saw the courses slated in the U.S. Open pool and was very excited.  I also noticed that The Open is going to return to Merion.  That is great that The U.S.G. A. is going to return to such a great classic course.  I am kind of wondering what the winning score is going to be on such a short course.  What is your prediction?  Would you say about ten to twelve under?  The long hitter of today should tear up such a short course."
     A wry smile came over his face. It was as if he knew something I didn't.  I get that smile from a lot of people.  Maybe I don't know as much as I think I know, but that is another story. He very calmly and simply said to me in a very authoritative voice, "They are going to be lucky to break even par. We're ready for them."
     That was the end of our conversation about Merion.  It wasn't that we wanted to continue the conversation about Merion, its just that the tournament was progressing and we had shots to hit. We proceeded to talk about many other golf related topics, but never returned to the subject of the open at Merion.
      What was Justin Rose's winning score at Merion?  Oh yes, it was +1. I guess Ron was right. The great lady of Merion withstood the onslaught and won.  Sometimes, bigger is not better.