Rain Threatens U.S. Open Championship : Players Face Possible 36-Hole Final on Sunday Because of Showers

Rain that has plagued the PGA golf tour all spring is threatening to disrupt Thursday’s opening of the U.S. Open golf championship, raising the possibility of a 36-hole final Sunday.

Forecasters said there was a 70% chance of showers Thursday with possible thunderstorms. Friday and Saturday also hold the threat of scattered showers.

Asked what would happen if rain washed out the opening round at Oak Hill Country Club, P. J. Boatwright, executive director of rules and competitions for the U.S. Golf Assn., said, “We’d play the first round on Friday, the second on Saturday and 36 holes on Sunday.

“As much rain as we’ve had this spring, I would think that if we get a fairly heavy shower we’d be out of business pretty quick,” Boatwright said.

“I don’t know about the drainage capabilities of the course,” he said. “The greens would puddle up pretty quickly, I think.”

U.S. Open Notes

The Oak Hill Country Club is no stranger to the U.S. Open. The 89th Open will be the third at the club, founded in 1901.

In 1956, Cary Middlecoff shot 281 to beat Ben Hogan and Julius Boros by a stroke. And in 1968, a 28-year-old former hustler named Lee Trevino won the first of his six major championships with a 275.

Defending champion Curtis Strange is one of 14 former Open winners in the field of 150 pros and six amateurs. He’s joined by Scott Simpson, Raymond Floyd, Andy North, Fuzzy Zoeller, Larry Nelson, Tom Watson, David Graham, Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Hubert Green, Jerry Pate, Lee Trevino and Gary Player.

The Rochester Anti-Apartheid Coalition has promised a series of peaceful demonstrations during the Open protesting the participation of several players with ties to South Africa. The group, which says it will not disrupt play, will picket Thursday and Friday and hold a march and rally on Saturday.

The group objects to the presence of Mark McNulty, a native of Zimbabwe, and David Frost, who was born in South Africa. Neither now lives in his homeland. There also are several Americans in the tournament who were on a recently released United Nations list of athletes who have performed in South Africa.