My buddy is taking the picture.
There was a huge frost delay that day and they did not mow the fairways that morning, so the rye was long and sticky and putting from a slow rye fringe/fairway onto the a sheet of glass green ain't exactly easy.
And again, 130 with a pin in the middle of the green is as green light situation as it gets. i just didn't pull the shot off.
I have never seen a pro putt from too far off that green. You can't believe how fast the green is and how much your ball is pulled to the water. Larry Mize chipped it!
As for Merion #5. I had about 40 yards in on my third shot a few weeks ago and happily putted it due to the firm and tight fairways. (i.e. no rye grass or lake to run into)
I thought the grass looked long, but was thinking with the grass cut tighter as I have heard it is normally. In truth, 130 yards might be a little out of my range for the putter. I've never made one beyond 100 yards. But from the looks of that angle and hill it sure would be tempting to try.
As for Merion, there is supposed to be a creek/ditch on the left somewhere, but it may be insulated by a wide strip of thick rough. Imagine how much fun the shot would be if the ball could run off the green and into the hazard.
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As an aside, I recently read that, long ago, the hazard on the left played as a lateral for up to about 40 yards short of the green, then as a water hazard requiring a drop on the other side. Is this still the case?
I don't know, I have only ever hit it into the creek off the tee...
Again, your hopelessly narrow range of abilities hampers your understanding of design.
You try hitting it back in after dropping to the left...virtually impossible...
Yes that is the way I remember it, which is why I found the bit about the creek being played as water hazard so interesting. With the rough as it is now, it seems impossible that it is still played this way. I suppose one could go back all the way back on the line to the fourth fairway but with those big trees grown in, even this is probably practically impossible.
The same article gave the impression that it was very common for golfer to end up in the hazard by the green. Makes me wonder about how the course has changed over the years. Imagine how different the hole must have been to allow for such a drop.
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DaveM: green light means you try to get it close. Here, precisely because of the lie and the green break, that means aim it at the left center of the bunker with a slight draw, and try to ground hook it close. If the lie was flat, and the green didn't break a little left, you take dead aim....there are chances for offense and places for defense. To score, you have to take your shots on offense. And you have to have the discipline to play like a puss when on defense.
Let me give you an example: CPC #16....as you more than anybody knows, 
, that's not a good hole to play Brett Farve on. Better to play nose tackle.
I understand what "green light" means. There is more than one way to go at this particular pin, trying to get as close as possible.