{"id":415695,"date":"2011-05-02T20:29:15","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T20:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/02\/long-journey-for-us-open-golfers-at-congressional-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-05-02T20:29:15","modified_gmt":"2011-05-02T20:29:15","slug":"long-journey-for-us-open-golfers-at-congressional-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/02\/long-journey-for-us-open-golfers-at-congressional-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Long journey for US Open golfers at Congressional (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BETHESDA, Md. (AP)\u2014Reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell<\/a> played the famed Blue Course at Congressional Country Club for the first time Monday. It was just a look-see practice round, so naturally it wasn\u2019t televised.<\/p>\n

But, this being the 21st century, it was very much Twitterized.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongressional 7574 yards Par 71 US Open set up,\u201d he tweeted during his round. \u201cNo-one will break par.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once he was back in the clubhouse, his assessment was just as foreboding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping I got the wrong tee at 11,\u201d he said, describing the 494-yard par-4 with the creek down the right side of the fairway. \u201cI can\u2019t really see much positive to say about that golf hole. If you\u2019re selling four 4s, I\u2019m think I\u2019m buying.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just as well McDowell wasn\u2019t around for U.S. Open\u2019s previous stops at Congressional because in many ways it\u2019s a whole new golf course that, like Twitter, is made for the new generation. The layout will be the second longest in the championship\u2019s history when the event returns to the suburbs of the nation\u2019s capital on June 16-19. If all the back tees are used, it will be some 350 yards longer than when Ernie Els<\/a> won in 1997 and more than 500 yards longer than when Ken Venturi overcame the stifling heat for his legendary 1964 victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the U.S. Open to be a rigorous test,\u201d U.S. Golf Association Executive Director Mike Davis said at Monday\u2019s media day.<\/p>\n

Congressional opened in 1924 and has been a favorite of many of the sport\u2019s biggest names and some of the nation\u2019s most famed politicians, but, like many storied courses across the country, it has needed tinkering to keep up with the times.<\/p>\n

\u2014 When Els won in \u201997, the course had a par-3 finish\u2014a rarity for a major tournament. That hole has since been rebuilt and is now the 10th, while the 18th is a breathtaking 523-yard par-4 that slopes downward toward the water.<\/p>\n

\u2014 When Tiger Woods<\/a>\u2019 tournament, the AT&T National, was played there a few years back, golfers couldn\u2019t stop complaining about the bumpy greens. Steve Stricker<\/a> said he would tap the ball and it would go \u201cany which way it wants.\u201d As a result, all 18 greens were rebuilt in 2009-10 with a kind of hybrid grass that better resists the humidity of the mid-Atlantic summers. Davis said the greens will be set to play \u201cvery fast\u201d during the championship.<\/p>\n

\u2014 There are eight new tee boxes, set way back to increase the yardage. The par-5 ninth can now play up to 636 yards\u2014and will have worst rough on the course in a gully right in front of the green. Such a layout poses a problem for McDowell, who isn\u2019t a particularly long hitter and didn\u2019t need to be when he won at Pebble Beach last year.<\/p>\n

\u2014 There is one concession in favor of the field. The 555-yard sixth hole will play as a par 5 instead of a par 4. Par for the course was 70 in \u201964 and \u201997, but this time it\u2019s 71.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me repeat that: The USGA is actually making par go up, not down,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Overall, though, the course had to be altered to bring its hazards back into play to match the longer game of today. Davis said his goal was to make it so the golfers would be using the same clubs the architect had in mind when the holes were designed nearly a century ago.<\/p>\n

The trick is to do it without altering the character and feel of the place. Ben Brundred Jr., co-chairman of Congressional\u2019s U.S. Open committee, knew such changes were inevitable when Tom Kite<\/a>, at age 55, had the lead after three rounds when the Booz Allen Classic was played there in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what are you going to do?\u201d Brundred said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a 55-year-old guy that\u2019s 40 yards longer than he was in his prime. The holes have to change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

See original article:
\nLong journey for US Open golfers at Congressional (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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