Merion to be tested as host of U.S. Amateur

ARDMORE, Pa. - Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones helped Merion Golf Club earn a lofty place in golf history. A lesser-known group of amateurs will play a role in determining the club's future in the game.

Merion's East course will test players - and be tested - when it hosts the U.S. Amateur later this month.

The Amateur is Merion's 17th U.S. Golf Association championship, more than any club. And in addition to crowning the top nonprofessional, how the storied layout holds up against big-hitting amateurs could go a long way in determining whether Merion hosts another U.S. Open.

"It's not a secret. There's interest on our part and the USGA's," said Bill Iredale, Merion's general chairman. "An important step is how the course holds up in stroke play,".

The club started working toward the Amateur 10 years ago, and in the time since hundreds of trees have been removed, the East course was closed for a year to re-grass the greens, all bunkers were restored, 14 holes were lengthened and fairways were realigned to bring hazards into play.

Seemingly all preparation for the Aug. 22-28 championship has been done with an eye on a possible Open.

USGA and Merion officials have discussed the logistics of hosting an Open, including possibly limiting daily crowds, accommodating a corporate village, merchandise tent, trophy room and media, and how it would all work on the approximately 120-acre layout.

But, now the focus shifts to the Hugh Wilson-designed East course, which for years was deemed 'too short' for an Open. That thinking seems to have changed.

Merion is "a serious contender as a future Open site," the USGA's Craig Ammerman said. "This is the first event here in 16 years that tests players who hit is as far."

But, Ammerman cautioned, "The standards are higher for the U.S. Open than any other."

The U.S. Open has been played at Merion four times, the last in 1981, which was won by David Graham. The Amateur has been played at the club five times before, the most recent in 1989, when Chris Patton emerged as champion.

Many players believe Merion is up to the test against today's players and modern equipment..

"Merion deserves it," said 50-year-old Chris Lange, the Philadelphia Golf Association's player of the year who has qualified for the Amateur. "Merion can hold its own against any player, any time."

History backs up Lange's claim. The course renowned for red wicker baskets atop its flagsticks and sand hazards know as the "white faces of merion" has been the site of some of golf's most memorable moments.

Jones played his first Amateur at Merion as a 14-year-old and returned 10 years later to claim his first U.S. Am title. Seventy-five years ago at Merion, he completed the "Grand Slam" by winning the 1930 Amateur to go along with the U.S. Open, British Open and British Amateur.

There's a plaque commemorating Jones' final competitive hole at Merion's 11th tee. It was on that hole he closed out Eugene Homans 8 and 7 in the 36-hole final.

Hogan left his mark at Merion, too.

A little more than a year after surviving a horrible car crash, Hogan came to the 72nd hole of the 1950 U.S. Open needing a par to force a playoff. In one of golf's most enduring photos, Hogan is pictured, from behind, hitting a 1-iron from the 18th fairway to a green ringed by spectators. He went on to two-putt for par and won a three-way playoff the next day.

Before the start of a playoff for the 1971 Open, Lee Trevino pulled a prank on Jack Nicklaus, tossing a rubber snake at his feet while on the first tee.

But this Amateur is all business for the folks at Merion. Club officials are doing all they can to make sure the USGA sees the layout at its very best. In fact, the course was shut down last weekend because of extended spells of brutally hot and humid weather and to limit foot traffic and divots. The venue will not open for play until just before the championship.

Even if the USGA decides not to award a future Open to Merion - the event is spoken for through 2012 - the club will cling to its storied past and welcome future amateur events.

"If we don't get an Open, that's fine," Iredale said.

Merion will get a chance to take center stage for another amateur showcase in 2009, when it hosts its first Walker Cup.

Merion will play 6,846 yards to a par 70 for the Amateur and will split stroke-play competition for the 312-player field with Philadelphia Country Club (6,967, par 70). The top 64 in stroke play will advance to match play at Merion.