Rain is not expected to halt Walker Cup play

Both sides had plenty to talk about yesterday on the eve of the 42d Walker Cup matches - chemistry, pairings, strategy, who is playing well.

But the topic everyone cared about above all else was the relentless rain that soaked the East course at Merion Golf Club, abbreviated the practice sessions for both the United States and the Great Britain and Ireland teams, and moved the opening ceremony inside a hospitality tent next to the clubhouse.

More than three inches of rain fell Thursday night and yesterday, soaking the course. Showers and thunderstorms were in the forecast for today's start of the international amateur competition, especially in the morning.

But Mike Davis, senior director of rules and competitions for the United States Golf Association, said he didn't anticipate any delays. The only possibilities, he said, were if thunderstorms hit, or if Cobbs Creek, which fronts the 11th green, overflowed overnight in a heavy rain.

"Merion drains exceptionally well as a golf course," Davis said. "If it rains too quickly, Cobbs Creek floods, but right now we've been lucky." He added that the creek flooded three times during a very wet August.

"I think based on everything we see with the weather report, we really shouldn't have issues tomorrow as far as starting on time. Will there be some casual water? There might be. Will it be a soft golf course? Absolutely. But I don't think we're going to see issues with suspension of play or us not being able to start."

The competition begins this morning with four foursomes (alternate-shot) matches and continues in the afternoon with eight matches in singles.

The rain limited practice rounds yesterday to five or six holes for the American side, and four or five holes for Great Britain and Ireland's team, which slept in due to the weather and did not come out to the course until noon.

U.S. captain Buddy Marucci, a Merion member, said the precipitation changed course conditions, which were firm and fast at the start of the week. Now they are slow, with the thick rough becoming even heavier.

"The playing conditions are going to be altered quite a bit," Marucci said. "At the beginning of the week, greens were receptive but not very friendly. Obviously, this is going to change that. . . . We've practiced on a golf course one way all week, and we're going to end up with a different golf course for the next two days. But that's the way it goes."

At the same time, the fairways are wet enough to keep stray shots from rolling into the rough and the greens soft enough to hold a well-struck iron. Still, Great Britain and Ireland captain Colin Dalgleish doesn't want to give his team the green light to be overly aggressive.

"With these heavy, wet conditions, it's going to put even more of a premium on hitting these already tight fairways," Dalgleish said. "There may be times you might be taking more aggressive shots. But with the increased premium on hitting the fairway, you may have situations where you go with a little more cautious approach off the tee."

All 10 members of the GB&I team are playing in their first Walker Cup. The U.S. team has two Cup veterans, Rickie Fowler (2007) and Brian Harman (2005). Neither player said he feels any pressure.

"We've been here and done it," said Fowler, 20, a former Oklahoma State star who is turning pro next week. "We know what it's all about. We're here to play as well as we can. The added pressure you may talk about we may feel as leaders, but we're the 10 best players in the U.S., so we're all leaders in our own way."

Added Harman, "I don't think any of the outside pressure is any more than the pressure we have put on ourselves to perform."

Everyone involved hopes the rain subsides as soon as possible after play starts, but then again, rain has been a common theme this year in high-profile USGA events.

Or, as USGA president Jim Vernon said during the opening ceremony: "Welcome to the 109th U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park. Oh . . . sorry, I got confused."

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