Tough finishing stretch at Merion leaves nowhere to hide at the US Open

Over the past couple of days, players walking onto the 14th tee have seemed to slow down as if to take a deep breath and, in their minds, roll up their sleeves.

Practice days are different, all about sussing out the lay of the land. But, still, the importance of the stretch of holes that lay ahead was acute. Reality seemed to bite, of the challenge that lay ahead.

Practice over, and now with every shot counting, those hearts will beat a little quicker. For the 464 yards uphill par four 14th hole is, effectively, where the questions posed get ever harder and where the player who is ultimately destined to triumph on Sunday will best pass the examination.

It is a finishing stretch of five holes which Rory McIlroy referred to as “brutal,” a sequence of three tough par fours followed by a lengthy par three penultimate hole and, finally, a par four of 521 yards that has a place in history as the scene of Ben Hogan’s mighty one-iron approach in the final round of the 1950 US Open.

Jack Nicklaus has referred to the course as, “acre for acre . . . the best test of golf in the world”.

Yet, the route home from the 14th meanders uphill and downhill with features that include heavy fescue grasses, deep bunkers, a rock quarry that comes into play on the final three holes and out-of-bounds.

"The last five are going to be some of maybe the hardest that we have ever had in the US Open," said defending champion Webb Simpson.

Heavy rough
The trouble on the 14th is down the left, where there is heavy rough.

“If you miss it left, it’s either a lost ball or, if you do find it, you’re going back to the tee because its unplayable (out of the rough),” admitted Graeme McDowell, who observed, “You have to hang on for dear life over those last five holes.”

The 15th is a difficult tee shot, with out-of-bounds stakes down the left. “You’re aiming at the road,” conceded McDowell. “Guys are going to be hitting it out-of-bounds there for fun.”

For those who overcompensate in hitting the tee shot down the right, there is deep rough and strategic bunkering.

Aesthetically, the final three holes are among the finest. But they're tough! The first of the quarry holes, the 16th features a downhill tee shot to a narrow fairway with an uphill approach over the quarry of sand and scrubs to a long, 43-yard long tiered-green. "It's going to be tough to find the top portion, a very difficult second shot," said McDowell.

Six bunkers
The 17th is a brutish par three, of 246 yards, to a green surrounded by six bunkers. Lee Trevino called this hole, "the shortest par four in Open history." It is all carry, with no place to hide.

And the 18th, a par five of 520 yards, requires a semi-blind tee-shot over the quarry with the danger that a mishit shot won’t find the fairway. It played as the most difficult hole in 1981, when the US Open was last played at Merion.

“I think 18 is a classic, great par four . . . . the green is very tough to hit, most of us will be coming in with three, four-iron. The way the green is designed, it is on a hill but the green is going away from you on the left side and even on the right side. It is one of the best finishing holes (in golf),” said Ernie Els.