ARDMORE, Pa. — Watch the 10th hole at Merion in this week’s U.S. Open. The 303-yard par-4 might decide the winner of the tournament before the week is finished, because there are so many different ways players can attack it.
There are few players in the field who are not long enough off the tee to drive the green, but there is trouble everywhere but short of the green.
So a sure birdie can become a bogey or worse pretty quickly.
Tiger Woods said the wet weather might draw more players into taking on the risk of driving the green because the ball will not bounce far from the target.
“It depends on the conditions,’’ Woods said “I think that now the conditions are that some of the guys will take a chance, because it’s just going to plug out there. If you fly it on the green it’s not going to be in a bad spot. If it flies short and right it’s not going to be in a bad spot.
“If it was dry and fast I don’t think anyone would have taken a chance. Probably Bubba [Watson] is the only one that could, because he’s cutting and it’s going to land soft. But most of the guys are going to have to turn it over, but now I think some of the guys could go.’’
Ernie Els said if the tee is moved forward on No. 10, “I think a lot of guys will actually have a go, because it’s about 260, 250 to the front edge.’’
A lot of players, led by Rory McIlroy, said they will play No. 10 as a two-shot hole regardless of the conditions — fearing the rough and tree trouble on the left side.
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Els’ caddie, Dan Quinn, is a former NHL player who twice played with the Flyers in his 14-year career.
“He is a good friend of mine,’’ Els said. “I met him when we moved down to Palm Beach, to Jupiter and we played a lot of golf together. He loves the game and he’s a huge competitor, as you can well imagine, playing in the hockey league for such a long time.’’
Quinn was not on Els’ bag when he won the British Open last July, though.
“We’ve had some good finishes, but we would like to put a major on there,’’ Els said.
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Els, a South African, said he’s closely monitoring the failing health of Nelson Mandela.
“We’re obviously very concerned about President Mandela,’’ he said. “He’s 94 years old now and he’s been quite ill for a while now, so we’re just hoping for the best. I haven’t seen him for quite a few years now, but we’ve had always a great relationship.
“When I won a lot of tournaments in the ’90s and early part of the 2000s, we spoke a lot on the telephone. He always felt proud of what the sporting athletes out of South Africa did for the country.’’
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No player has defended his U.S. Open title since Curtis Strange did it in 1988-89. Webb Simpson, who won last year at Olympic Club, would like to end that streak.
“There hasn’t been a day that went by that I haven’t thought about winning the U.S. Open, being the U.S. Open champion, being announced on the first tee as U.S. Open champion hasn’t gotten old,’’ Simpson said. “I don’t want that to change. I get asked all the time, ‘Did it change you as a person? Did it change you as a player?’
“Hopefully it didn’t really change me as a person, but I definitely grew from it, I got a lot of confidence from it. I haven’t won a tournament since, but I’m always saying, all I care about is getting better, and all I care about is the process.’’