After all that talk about the 2013 U.S. Open being easy in Ardmore, Penn. this year, it seems like Merion Golf Course was trying to tell us something during the first round on Thursday. Terrible weather conditions played a part in a ton of players hitting over par to start the tournament.
Ian Poulter‘s performance was a perfect example of the frustrating day for many golfers: he sank three straight birdie putts to start the day and then absolutely hit a brick wall after a nearly four-hour rain delay, finishing at one over par.
The rain delay affected every golfer differently and the notables are scattered all over the leaderboard:
T1. Phil Mickelson -3
T1. Luke Donald -3
T9. Ricky Fowler E
T9. Webb Simpson E
T21. Bubba Watson +1
T21. Justin Rose +1
T21. Rory McIlroy +1
T44. Tiger Woods +2
T57. Sergio Garcia +3
T77. Lucas Glover +4
Not all of these players even finished the full first round because of the weather, so things are going to get confusing and frustrating for everyone at Merion on Friday and into the weekend.
Unlike the persistent rain on Thursday, there’s only a 30% chance of rain in Ardmore on Friday, so it will be critical for the golfers to bounce back on this “easy” course, which will allow some of the top contenders to possibly pull away early this year. Buckle up either way because the second round of the U.S. Open is going to be wild.
