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LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | When John Bodenhamer watched the Farmers Insurance Open unfold last weekend at Torrey Pines, he was envisioning how it will look and play in mid-June when the U.S. Open is contested.
Bodenhamer is the USGA’s senior managing director for championships and the person charged with setting up what traditionally is tournament golf’s toughest test, which is why he was on-site.
The South Course itself won’t be set up significantly different in June, playing at par 71 and 7,685 yards, but the hope is the weather will be more cooperative than it was last week when rain, wind, cold and hail impacted play.
Everything else – particularly the question of spectators on site – remains a question without an answer. The USGA, Bodenhamer said, is preparing for every eventuality – from no galleries to a course filled with spectators – a decision that doesn’t have to be made yet.
“We’re looking at it as a glass half-full,” Bodenhamer said. “We don’t know what we will be able to do with fans. We’re in close touch with the city of San Diego and San Diego County.
“We’re building out multiple scenarios. Everything from no fans to full fans and some in between. We want to be nimble even at a very late date. We want to have as many people on property as we can.”
Two years ago, designer Rees Jones tweaked the South Course, subtly shifting a few fairways and adding three new tees. It was a small project, especially compared to the massive overhaul Jones had done in 2001.
Still, it will play differently in early summer. The ryegrass overseed in the rough will have been replaced by the native kikuyu and, ideally, the course will play firmer than it typically does in January.
“I was asked to describe Torrey Pines in one word and I used the word big,” Bodenhamer said. “It’s every bit of what we need to create that special challenge for the players so that whoever wins really has achieved something special.
“We hope we get dry conditions. We hope we don’t have any fog and we hope we get a little breeze off the ocean. That would be perfect but it’s an outdoor game and we’ll adjust to whatever Mother Nature gives us.”
Ron Green Jr.