Philip:
Re. both of your suggestions -- the alternate tee, and making #2 the 1st hole. Both sound reasonable and worth exploring. I think there was a GCA thread examining vis pictures and aerials the former choice.
Patrick:
My beef with #18 as it played during the U.S. Open was that is lacked two ingredients -- any kind of risk/reward element, or any major demands on the player's game, for someone holding on to (effectively) a one-shot lead. Glover simply had to execute two relatively (for a Tour pro) easy shots. That strikes me as un-demanding, for the final hole of a U.S. Open.
It contrasts sharply, from what I've seen, to the 18th at WFoot West, which in US Open conditions put demands on the players throughout the hole -- drive, approach shot, and on and around the green. Note the one player who made par there at the last US Open -- Olgivy -- won the tournament. The 18th at Oakmont strikes me as similarly demanding.
And, to my tastes, the 18th at The Old Course has always been an exciting and fine finishing hole, because for the bold player, birdie and perhaps eagle is a real possibility, while the trickiness of the green and esp. the Valley of Sin demand that even those taking the safer route have to execute solid shotmaking throughout the hole.