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Top contenders at the 2013 U.S. Open
BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
he 113th U.S. Open at storied Merion Golf Club in the Philadelphia suburbs will mark the 19th United States Golf Association championship to be conducted on the 125- acre property on the edge of Delaware County. It also will feature one of the shortest Open courses in recent memory, playing at just under 7,000 yards to a par of 70. Still, this course surely will measure up to
the usual Open standards of brutally thick rough, narrow fairways and slick greens — all the better to produce a worthy champion. Af- ter all, this is where Bobby Jones struck his fi rst offi cial shot in the 1914 U.S. Amateur, and where he hit the last shot of his brilliant career at the 1930 Amateur.
26 It’s also the course where Ben Hogan struck a memorable
1-iron at the 18th hole that went a long way toward assuring his victory in the 1950 Open, capping off an incredible comeback after a near-fatal car accident in 1949. And now, the East course will host the Open for the fi fth time, and the fi rst time since 1981, when David Graham became the fi rst Australian to win America’s na- tional championship of golf. Tiger Woods, who hasn’t won an Open since his victory
at Torrey Pines in 2008, once again should be considered the favorite as the No. 1 player in the world rankings. But there are plenty of players in the field of 156 who should also be consid- ered top contenders, including Masters champion Adam Scott of Australia, the only player in the field with a chance for the Grand Slam this year.
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PHOTOS COURTESY
S COURTESY OF USGAF SGA
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