Williams: Wet, wild first day at Oakmont
RELATED: Storms soften Oakmont, stop play
It’s no consolation to the thousands of patrons at Thursday’s opening round of the 2016 U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pa., but at least it didn’t rain on the biggest parade Pittsburgh has ever seen.
Mother Nature changed her tune for another big event Thursday. One day after an estimated 400,000 celebrated the Penguins’ fourth Stanley Cup under brilliant sunshine, Oakmont Country Club was pounded with rain as golf’s major event was focused as much on getting patrons to safety as eagles and birdies.
As if the Open already wasn’t one of sports’ toughest challenges, many of golf’s top athletes are looking at 36 holes today as the tournament tries to get caught up for a Sunday finale.
“It’s obviously a frustrating day having to keep coming off, but there’s nothing you can do about the weather,” said Lee Westwood, who was among the majority of golfers who did not finish.
After approximately 1.1 inches of rain fell overnight, the Open got under way with the first wave of golfers teeing off around 7 a.m. Most who followed didn’t finish their round. About half the field never got started. Among them were Warren JFK graduate Jason Kokrak, who was originally supposed to tee off at 12:52 p.m.
The tournament was delayed twice before being called. The first delay lasted 79 minutes, then play resumed with no warm-ups. A second one followed after noon.
The USGA recalculated, pushing Kokrak back to a 4:32 p.m. tee time. Most everyone looking at their smartphones knew that there was little chance of Kokrak taking his first stroke.
But when you get to write about professional golf for the first time in 15 years, no forecast (or swamp) is going to stop this explorer. Plus, was the Stanley Cup really on the course? Only one way to find out.
Among Thursday’s winners were mud and shoe salesmen (Al Bundy, come on down!). The losers? Take your pick between the guys trying to sell Day One passes outside the gates in the afternoon or those in a neighborhood with gated mansions who decided to rent parking spots on their lawns. (In some ways, it was reminiscent of the Canfield Fair. Upon further review, not really.)
Mud was everywhere once the Media Center was left behind. You might think that the Media Center was pretty close to the 18th green. It’s not. First, you have to cut across the 17th green then pass the 16th green to reach the 18th tee.
Up in the distance was the 18th green, a beautiful scene marred by the dark clouds rising. Next to it is the No. 10 tee.
The journey was a fun challenge calling into play skating skills to adjust for slips. In some places, mulch had been spread over mud. By mid-afternoon, the mulch was losing.
Along the way, I heard patrons commenting on how the temperature had dropped 15 degrees. That didn’t keep others from slipping off their shoes and walking barefoot through the muck.
Pausing to look at the giant scoreboard on 18, it was hard to miss the ”Weather Warning” sign. Still, the journey continued. (Hey, it’s the U.S. Open — what’s a little mud for a once-in-a-lifetime experience?)
The most treacherous spot wasn’t even out in the open. Anyone going to today’s competition should avoid the tunnel under the 18th green seating area. Let’s hope everyone got out.
Standing next to the 10th tee, sirens went off at 3:52 p.m. sending everyone to the exits. Many commented, “It’s over for today.” They weren’t wrong.
About a minute after getting inside, the storm pounded the Media Center. Adventure complete.
Scottie Scheffler, one of nine who finished, shot a 1-under 69 that has him two strokes back of leader Andrew Landry.
“The hardest part for me was getting loose,” the University of Texas sophomore said of the delays. “After the first one, we didn’t have much time to stretch other than walking out to the hole. So that was the challenge.”
He was caught off-guard during the second delay.
“I made the mistake of not paying that close of attention,” Scheffler said. “All of a sudden it was 1:45, and they’re like, ‘We’re leaving in 20 minutes to go back out.’
“So I did a quick stretch and hit a couple balls. That was another adjustment we had to make.”
Scheffler had a great reason for being thrilled at finishing.
“I was excited to get done on 18,” Scheffler said. “I tapped in like a 21/2 footer kind of quickly, which maybe wasn’t the smartest idea.
“I wanted our group to get done so we didn’t have to come back in the morning because we were up at 4 this morning.”
Smart student.
What happens today is anyone’s guess. The weather indicates bonus golf is at hand.
Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.