2007 U.S. Open (golf) - Preparation For The 2007 U.S. Open

Preparation For The 2007 U.S. Open

The 107th U.S. Open has been in its preparation stage for many months as the club prepares to host its first USGA event since the U.S. Amateur in 2004. The USGA, American Golf's governing body, has found setting up and preparing for the Open easier than other locations. Rob Zalzneck, the director of the 2007 Open for the USGA commented on the readiness of the course saying, "We're so far ahead with our plans and what we need to get done, Oakmont is just such an ideal situation for us. The club welcomes us with open arms, and we've had such great championships here in the past. What everyone will see, though, is the unbelievable difference in the size of the event from 1994 (when Oakmont last hosted the Open) and this year." The usual Open conditions will still exist including the lightning fast greens and unusually high rough as many of these features are common year round at Oakmont Country Club. In fact, Oakmont's greens are so fast that the USGA directed the club to slow them down for the Open, although they were still much faster than what would be found at a normal tour event. Preparation began in 2002 and 2003 and since then has included minor renovation to the course, most notably the lengthening of the course for the world's best players, small renovations to the clubhouse, and also the deepening of Oakmont's storied bunkers. Other changes to the course since the last Open in 1994 include the addition of a bridge to connect holes 2-8 which posed as a major problem causing player and pedestrian jams over the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The USGA will recruit 5,000 volunteers in order to insure the event will go smoothly. The event is expected to, like the last Open at Oakmont, attract record breaking sell-out crowds. Crowd control was also a major problem for the USGA and its volunteers as huge crowds filled the course during the tournament creating traffic problems. The USGA began selling tickets to the general public on June 15, 2006. The USGA is expected to sell out all of their tickets for the competitive rounds by their deadline for purchase on August 15, 2006. After the sale of all tickets for the competitive rounds, all post-deadline purchases will be settled by a lottery.