By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
June 17,2016; 7:10PM,EDT
After stormy weather caused Thursday's opening round to be suspended, the weather in western Pennsylvania will improve for the remainder of the 116th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
Oakmont, located about 14 miles to the northeast of Pittsburgh, is considered one of the toughest courses in the country and is hosting the U.S. Open for a record ninth time.
"The USGA wants the U.S. Open to be a tough, rigorous test. We want it to be the ultimate test in golf," Mike Davis, the executive director of the United States Golf Association, said at the event's media day in April.
Davis said that the signature feature of Oakmont might be the course's lightning-fast greens, and golfers have complained about them as far back as the 1935 U.S. Open.
Golfer Rickie Fowler posted a video of a practice putt which showed just how quick the greens can play.
Any precipitation during play could reduce the firmness of the greens and the course overall, which would be a welcome benefit to the players as the ball will not roll as much after it rains.
"I'm not sure I can think of a course that plays more different than Oakmont in terms of a soft Oakmont and a dry Oakmont," Davis said.
Showers and thunderstorms caused several delays during the first round play. The inclement weather halted play for a third and final time at 3:51 p.m. The remainder of the first round was completed on Friday.
Fans
leave the course during a rain delay in the first round of the U.S.
Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday, June 16,
2016, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)The USGA will monitor the weather very closely so it can make proper adjustments to the course, according to Davis.
"Sometimes with a soft Oakmont versus a firm Oakmont, you really do want to set it up slightly different, because there are certain things you just can't do with a firm Oakmont, you need to be very conservative," he said, adding that players could take more aggressive shots if the course is soft.
Two-time U.S. Open Champion Ernie Els told the USGA's website that he expects the course to play longer when it's softer.
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"I think most of the players would prefer it when there's a bit of rain or softness comes. It's more playable," Els said.
Dry weather is expected to be the theme for the remainder of the tournament.
Jordan
Spieth watches his tee shot on the third hole during the first round of
the U.S. Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday,
June 16, 2016, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)"Dry conditions will be the weather story Saturday through Sunday with lower humidity compared to recent days," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Edwards said.
Temperatures this weekend will rise into the middle to upper 80s daily with morning lows in the lower 60s.
"The greens will play dry and fast over the weekend with plenty of sunshine and a less humid air mass working to quickly dry the course out," Edwards said. "Thus, scoring conditions could become more unfavorable as the weekend progresses on an already very challenging course at Oakmont."
A normal high for this time of year is around 80 F.
At the Masters in early April, golfers had to combat gusty winds throughout much of the tournament. While wind is always a factor in golf, oftentimes the x-factor, winds will be lighter this week at Oakmont.
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