GRAEME MCDOWELL BELIEVES he may struggle at this week’s US Open, with the Merion Golf Club having been drenched by Tropical Storm Andrea.
The 2010 US Open champion feels incessant rain over the weekend will make the Merion Golf Club tough for him to play when the US Open starts on Thursday, and said he hopes “it’s not going to be a low scoring” tournament.
With the rain having left the fairways and greens receptive in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, McDowell is concerned he will struggle to hit the ball far enough, citing long-hitting fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy as a potential candidate to thrive in such conditions. McDowell, who won the 2010 US Open and finished in a tie for second last year, remembers the 2011 tournament where McIlroy’s driving ability blew the rest of the field away.
“No doubt about it, a firmer, faster US Open is going to suit a guy like me, who is not the longest off the tee,” McDowell said. “We get to Congressional (Country Club, the 2011 US Open venue), which was a fairly long golf course in places.
“I liked the way it was set up initially and then by the time the rains came down and Rory split the fairway 14 times out of 14, 330 (yards) down the middle and decimated the place, you know, it was never going to really be my kind of US Open.”
Despite similar conditions this year, McDowell is confident the tournament will remain tight with high scores throughout the four rounds.
“I think back pins are going to be very tough to get at now, because of how soft they are,” McDowell said. “Yes, it’s going to make the fairways more hittable, and yes, it’s going to allow those medium iron shots, and those shots into the par threes are going to be easier with the softness of the greens.
“Yes, it takes a slight intimidation factor out of it, I guess. But the rough is going to be intimidating enough, I think it’s going to keep everybody honest. Like I said, I don’t think it’s going to be a low scoring US Open. I hope it’s not going to be a low scoring US Open.”
