SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — The sight of workers dragging a garden hose onto the seventh green in the middle of the final round at Shinnecock Hills in 2004 has long been remembered as the equivalent of the USGA waving a white flag. The message: We’ve officially lost the golf course.This year, with the U.S. Open returning to one of the country’s most difficult and windswept layouts, the USGA sent a message before the tournament began: It will be watering the greens and it’s not a sign of surrender. It is, however, the reality of what’s shaping up to be a rough week at what is traditionally the season’s roughest major — America’s national championship. Sustained wind near the eastern tip of Long Island was expected to rise beyond 30 mph at times for the opening round.The 126th edition of U.S. Open began ominously Thursday morning when the large American flag atop the clubhouse was crackling at 6:30 a.m. Fog began to roll in, prompting James Nicholas to ask the starter if they were on time.
“I just wanted to make sure,” Nicholas said. “I can’t see the fairway.”But he had plenty of room to see the flight of his 3-iron. To give the players a chance, the USGA has made the fairways wide and is trying to keep the greens soft and slower than usual.
