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| Both teams opted to play several holes Friday due to a saturated course that had absorbed more than 2 inches of rain overnight. (John Mummert/USGA) |
By Dave Shedloski
Ardmore, Pa. – With nearly 3 inches of rain pelting Merion Golf Club Thursday night and all day Friday, the 20 players competing in the 42nd Walker Cup Match will have a chance to show just how well they adapt to changing conditions.
The matches begin at 7:30 a.m. EDT Saturday with foursomes, followed by eight singles matches. Instead of the dry and relatively fast layout that the players practiced on earlier in the week, the men from USA and Great Britain & Ireland will encounter a soft and forgiving Merion that may encourage more bold play and birdie chances.
That would mark a notable change in strategy for both teams.
“The difference in my mind will simply be the playing conditions are going to be altered quite a bit,” said USA Captain George “Buddy” Marucci, who is a member at Merion. “At the beginning of the week, the golf course was firm, fast. Greens were receptive but not very friendly. Obviously this is going to change that. We're going to have softer greens. The rough's going to be, obviously, wetter. The ball is not going to roll as far in the fairways.”
“Merion drains exceptionally well. Earlier in the week this place was perfect. It was ideal championship conditions,” said Mike Davis, senior director of Rules and Competitions for the USGA, who noted that 20 inches of rain had fallen in the Philadelphia area in the three previous weeks. “Obviously, that isn’t the case anymore. But we really shouldn’t have any major issues.”
As far as the course playing longer, that won’t be much of an issue for today’s long-hitting players. Merion is only a par 70 that plays 6,846 yards. Its defense is its greens, which were running at 13.5 on the Stimpmeter before the rains, and the rough, which is thick in spots and will only be more gnarly with all the precipitation. If anything, the biggest change in conditions could be the wind direction. The prevailing breeze comes out of the south, making holes play very differently.
Davis said that there could be some casual water on the golf course Saturday, but competition officials were not inclined to allow the competitors to play under lift, clean and place provisions, which is consistent with the USGA’s philosophy at all of its championships.
Of course, players will have to drive the ball in the fairway to set up such circumstances.
“The greens will be more receptive. Where we may have thought about shooting away a little bit, may be able to be a little more aggressive on the greens,” Marucci said. “I think hitting the ball on the fairway is going to become more of a premium just because the rough is going to be more difficult.”
Said Scotland’s Gavin Dear, the oldest player for GB&I at age 25: “I would imagine with the rain it actually makes the fairways play a bit wider, a bit softer. It's slowed up the greens a little bit. I would think it's actually a good thing. It's going to allow a bit more attacking play. You knock it in the fairway. If you have two guys or two foursomes that are hitting the fairways consistently, I would expect you're going to need a fair few birdies.”
With the weather more resembling something from the British Isles, there is a thought that it favors the visiting squad. GB&I Captain Colin Dalgleish didn’t dismiss the notion entirely, but wasn’t ready to declare his charges the sudden favorites.
“I think if you get wind and rain, it is a bit of a leveler,” Dalgleish said. “The forecast for the weekend I don't think is particularly for that. We would be happy to play in this, but clearly would prefer to play in blue sky and sunshine. Whatever will be will be.”
That’s fine with Team USA, too.
“We were here, what, three weeks ago, for a little practice session. We were here for about three days. We actually saw the course fairly similar to what it's going to be,” said Rickie Fowler, playing in his second Walker Cup for USA. “Hopefully it's pretty close. We've played so many different conditions throughout the years of playing golf that once we get out there, we'll kind of see how the course is, adapt to it, go do our thing.”
Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA championship sites.
