Major storm batters final US Open preparations

Course preparations took at blow at Oakmont just hours before the start of play tomorrow morning as a huge storm broke over the course. Over half an inch of rain fell in just an hour, leaving officials scratching their heads as to exactly how the course will play tomorrow.

?It is certainly not what we wanted,? confirmed USGA agronomist Tim Morghan. ?The way the bunkers, the greens and the fairways will play has not been severely affected and the pace of the greens should not be radically altered. But it has put us back a couple of days in terms of the firmness of the putting surface ? we did have the course just as we wanted and that has changed.?

This might come as welcome news for the players, with the greens more receptive and the fairways a little more forgiving. However, Morghan did explain that he expects the course to be back to its fiercest by Friday afternoon, given the weather forecast. He is also extremely hopeful that play will start on time in the morning.