Will A Birdie Decide The Tournament?

Steve Elling filed an excellent story on the reachable par-5 18th and the possibility that we might actually see a birdie or eagle finish to win the U.S. Open. At the end of the piece Elling noted that there has not been a birdie on 18 to win the Open in 82 years.(Bobby Jones at Scioto in 1926.)

Since the USGA's Mike Davis and Jim Hyler figure to never play the 573-yard tee here, players might be in for a surprise since they've been teeing it up from the USGA sign during the practice rounds.

Playing shorter it should be more reachable, but the shaved lake banks may have a say in how shots are received.

I shot some images of the 18th green complex so you can get a sense just how easy it is to end up in the lake. They Torrey Pines folks have shaved the banks to a fairway height cut so that any ball getting near the edge will head into the water.

This does complicate things with the Buick Invitational's traditional front left hole location where it's too easy to spin back into the pond. So look for Sunday's final round hole to be cut in the front right, allowing a bold player to run a shot up.