The rough is deep and lush, but these guys are still managing to cope quite well. This summer's weather in Chicagoland has been a little wacky. Our June was a little drought-like and July and August have been very wet. The last time the BMW was at Olympia, the conditions were ultra firm and fast. Everybody loved the difficult setup and the locals felt some relief from the cajoling that was hurled in our direction after the first two days of the US Open in 2003. Conditions changed for the weekend back in 2003 and the USGA triple cut and rolled the greens and utilized some very difficult hole locations to protect par. At the end of the championship, only three players broke par IIRC, but there was some residual tension about the suitability of the course for big pro tournaments.
This year, the ground is very soft and they had lift clean and place on the first day. More than half the field is currently under par. Here's hoping that the course dries out a little bit so we can see some more "teeth" revealed around the North Course, which is still in my Top 3 in town. Even if these guys continue to go low, I still am proud about how great the course looks and plays.