Mike Davis took the reigns for all 18 holes on Saturday morning, setting up each by hand with a crew of workers. Over the first two days, Davis split the duties, managing nine holes and the overall feel of the golf course while apparently delegating the rest. But the weekend rounds are all about Davis, and he's got a few tricks in his bag.
Once again, the par-5 16th hole will play at 671 yards, the longest in U.S. Open history. This means that on Sunday, the hole will likely play from one of the up tees, measuring somewhere around 600 yards from tee to green. The plan before the tournament was to play it from the back twice, then dial it down and play it from the front twice.
The par-3 third is playing just about as long as possible on Saturday, with tee markers on the back tee atop the hill overlooking the green and the pin resting just above a false front on the back of the putting surface. Players will have to run their tee shots back towards the pin, taking extra care not to go long. As the green firms up, the landing zone will move closer to the tee box.
At 268 yards, the par-4 seventh is reachable again, though the margin for error is slim. Davis placed the pin on the left side up on the third tier near the back of the green, taking a miss to the players' left out of the equation. The bail-out area over the first two days was the left bunker, but now a shot to that side will leave a player short-sided with little green to work with.
Over on No. 13, the false front off the right side of the green is in play, and balls that don't stop will, in all likelihood, roll into the waterless hazard. The pin is cut just four paces from the left, right on the edge of a slope that feeds into a chipping area.
Water was applied to the course last night and a bit more was added in the morning. The greens were rolling at 13 on the Stimpmeter, but that number should come down a bit, though the greens will likely firm up for approach shots throughout the day.
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