Merion Awarded 2013 Open

Go East, young man? The USGA announced that the 2013 U.S. Open would be played at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., continuing what seems to be a trend to stage the U.S. Open in the East.

What’s more, from 2002 to 2009, the U.S. Open will have been played in the New York area four times.

“While we are sensitive to the geographic issue, we don’t want to be overly sensitive to it,” said David Fay, executive director of the USGA.

California isn’t off the list, though. The 2008 U.S. Open is at Torrey Pines, the 2010 Open is at Pebble Beach and in 2012, it’s at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

*

Jay Haas, 52, is the only player in the field who was also in the 1974 and 1984 U.S. Opens at Winged Foot. He remembered playing as an amateur with Johnny Miller on Saturday in the 1974 Open and being told by a USGA official that they had to move the pin at the first tee because vandals had driven a car on the green.

Haas said he and Miller reached the first green and saw no evidence of a problem.

“That was just an indication to me how hard the greens were, if you can drive a car over it and not make tire tracks,” he said.

*

It’s no secret that Phil Mickelson loves talking about golf technology, sometimes to the point of room-clearing tedium.

So it seemed entirely appropriate for a reporter to ask Mickelson why he decided on a 64-degree wedge.

“Well,” Mickelson responded, “I wanted one less than 65 and one more than 63, and it just worked out perfect.”

After the chuckles subsided, Mickelson amended his comments.

“No real reason,” he said. “It just seemed to be the right number.”

*

What does it mean that 23-year-old Dillon Dougherty, who once caddied some matches for Tiger Woods at Stanford, made his way through sectional qualifying and earned a spot in this year’s U.S. Open?

“I guess I’m getting older,” Woods, 30, joked.

It has been quite a year for Dougherty, who plays at Northwestern.

The U.S. Open will be Dougherty’s second professional tournament. His first was the Masters, Dougherty earning a spot this year with his runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur.

Dougherty shot 82-78 at Augusta and missed the cut.

Woods has some advice for his former club-carrier.

“It’s sort of a memory that he will always remember,” he said. “Hopefully he can play better than how I played when he caddied for me.”