The U.S. Open has already been through its first delay for weather and it may not be the last, as rain and thunderstorms are expected through the weekend, but after a suspension of play, things are back to normal at Merion and Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be teeing off later in the afternoon after the very last start due to the delay.
Woods enters the tournament as the favorite after winning four times on tour this season and McIlroy is looking for his first major of the tear after winning one each over the previous two. Over the weekend more than six inches of rain came down on the course and the greens appear to be working very slowly and that could make for some interesting scores for players. Phil Mickelson got started early before having to come off and officials have already said that rules will stay in place despite the weather issues.
CHECK here for the radio coverage of the US Open from Merion from ESPN.
Merion already had to close for some time to get water off the course and while there was two days of sunshine previous to the start of the tournament, the weather has turned harsh on Thursday as things were set to begin and Graeme McDowell spoke about some of the tough issues with the balls and the weather. Charl Schwartzel and Ian Poulter took an early lead after starting at three under and it remains to be seen how many players will be able to complete their rounds depending on how the weather plays out for the rest of the day.
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are playing in a group for the first two rounds and they were supposed to tee off early in the afternoon, but now that likely will be pushed back a bit. Woods has been excellent on tour this year and he will need to work well off the tee at a course like Merion as he tries to break his major drought. The last time he won one was in a playoff on Monday at the US Open in 2008 and now that he is back as the number one golfer in the world, he is expecting another solid finish here.
Woods came close at the Masters, but Scott ended up winning after he dealt with a drop controversy and he would love to add another title to break the streak after winning four times already. He won at the Farmers as well as the Players a couple weeks ago and he also added the WGC Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. All eyes will be on that crowd as well as any interactions with Sergio Garcia, which already got started when he tried to apologize for his racist remarks to Woods after they got into it at the Players.
