ARDMORE, Pa. -- The affection was genuine. Even better was beating Jack Nicklaus in a playoff. So when Lee Trevino got his hands on that U.S. Open trophy in 1971, the guy who never lacked for one-liners gushed, "I love Merion, and I dont even know her last name." For this generation of stars, Merion is more like a blind date. No other course with four U.S. Opens had to wait such a long time -- 32 years -- for another chance to test the worlds best players. Even with Tiger Woods back to No. 1 and winning at a ridiculous rate, so much of the talk at this major championship has been about Merion. For years, it was considered too small to handle such a big tournament and the big hitters with their modern equipment. And with soft greens from more than 6 inches of rain in the last week, the question is whether the course will yield the kind of scores rarely seen at the toughest test in golf. On Thursday, the mystery of Merion will start to unfold. "Its been how long, 32 years? And with all the technology since then?" Steve Stricker said as he headed to the first tee Wednesday for one last practice round. "Someone asked me the other day about someone shooting a 62. And what I wanted to say was, Youre crazy. But you just dont know. We dont know whats going to happen. And in a way, thats kind of cool." Not so cool was the weather expected for the opening round. Merion already took a beating last Friday when more than 3 inches of rain sent water over the edges of some bunkers and left small streams on fairways and greens. More rain on Monday caused the course to be closed three times. The forecast called for increasing clouds, gusts and showers Thursday morning, with stronger storms likely to arrive around noon. "Sure, we want it firm and fast," USGA vice-president Thomas OToole said Wednesday. "We happen to play a sport thats played outdoors. We received significant rain over the last week, and some tell us that well have even more significant rain tomorrow. So its not a perfect world. Its not a perfect game. But we take what were dealt with." Whether a golf course is big or small, soft greens typically are a recipe for low scores. Then again, Merion is not a typical golf course. It measures 6,996 yards on the scorecard -- the shortest of any major championship in nine years -- and has a stretch of seven holes in the middle that are short even by yesterdays standards. Compare those holes with the scorecard from when Ben Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, and four of those holes were actually longer by a few yards in Hogans day. Players typically reach for the wedge to chip out of the rough around the greens at the U.S. Open. At Merion, they could be hitting wedge into the green for their second shot on at least six holes. Thats what has caused all the clamour about low scores. And with the rain, its reminiscent of how Congressional was vulnerable two years ago, when Rory McIlroy shattered U.S. Open scoring records at 16-under 268. "Ive been reading about how many scoring records are going to be broken," Nick Watney said. "Ive been around here once. And I think thats insane. Its funny to me. People look at the yardage and think its going to be easy. Even if its soft, the greens are sloped. The rough is thick. OK, well have wedges into some of the greens, but that doesnt mean you make birdie on all those holes. Theres enough tough holes to counteract that." Even so, the winning score has gone down in each of the four previous U.S. Opens at Merion, from Olin Dutra at 13-over par in 1934 to David Graham winning at 7-under in 1981, the last time this major championship was here. "Where did David Graham shoot 7-under? From there?" Nick Watney asked as he pointed the end of his driver to a spot some 30 yards from where he was standing. "Because he didnt do it from here." Watney was standing in the middle of the putting green. He took three steps to his right and was standing on the 14th tee. As an example of longer holes being made more difficult, a new tee on the 464-yard hole is where members practice putting. The biggest fear with rain on the horizon is what will happen the rest of the week. The forecast is reasonable after Thursday, but in soft conditions, balls start to pick up clumps of mud as the sun starts to dry the course. And while players often are allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls in the fairway in muddy conditions on the PGA Tour, they dont do that at the U.S. Open. Remember, the USGA famously referred to the local rule as "lift, clean and cheat." "We wouldnt be adopting that rule this week," OToole said. It all begins with Cliff Kresge hitting the opening shot of the 113th U.S. Open at 6:45 a.m. Thursday -- weather permitting, of course. Woods, McIlroy and Masters champion Adam Scott play Thursday afternoon in the power grouping of Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world. Sergio Garcia plays on the opposite side of the draw, teeing off Thursday morning. So does Phil Mickelson, who left Philadelphia on Monday when the weather was bad to practice in San Diego. He planned on being home, anyway, so he could watch his oldest daughter graduate from the eighth-grade. Mickelson was scheduled to arrive about 4:15 a.m. Thursday, just three hours before his tee time. Stricker called Merion the "longest short course Ive ever played." Graeme McDowell is another guy who isnt buying into the fear over low scoring. "Everyone is saying that its going to be 62s and 63s on this golf course, which I kind of disagree with at the minute," McDowell said. "I think 10 or 11 of these golf holes are as tough as any U.S. Open Ive seen." The lowest score in major championship history is 63, and it has happened only four times in the U.S. Open -- Johnny Miller at Oakmont in 1973 on a soggy course, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf on the same day at Baltusrol in 1980 during a wet week, and Vijay Singh on a rain-softened course at Olympia Fields in 2003. "Youve got more birdie opportunities than ever," Ernie Els said. "Im playing my 21st U.S. Open, so Ive seen a lot of trouble out there. But this is one where you can get on a run. You can make some 3s. Thats not a number thats really familiar in the U.S. Open. But as I say, you start missing shots, the rough is as bad as Ive ever seen it." Womens Blackhawks Jerseys . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Adidas Blackhawks Jerseys . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. http://www.cheapblackhawkschinajerseys.com/ . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Blackhawks Jerseys Outlet . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Youth Blackhawks Jerseys . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw learned something about her team Monday night. The top-ranked Irish can win ugly.The Irish struggled at times on offense, but Arike Ogunbowale scored 13 points to help them beat a pesky Fordham squad, 67-36 in a preseason WNIT quarterfinal game.Ogunbowale, who earned ACC player of the week honors earlier in the day, had a steal and layup to put the Irish up by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, just four minutes after Fordham had cut the lead to eight.Its a great thing to learn about this team, that we can win ugly, McGraw said. We missed a lot of shots and we were frustrated early, but we kept our composure.After shooting over 52 percent in a 60-point win over Central Michigan to open the season, Notre Dame shot 42 percent against Fordham, including making just one of eight 3-pointers.The offense the other night, we couldnt miss, McGraw said. Tonight, we couldnt make a shot, but we kept working on defense and never let it get to us.The Rams werent any better, shooting just 23 percent, including 2 of 19 from 3.Lindsay Allen finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Irish (2-0).Gmrice Davis led Fordham (1-1) with nine points and 15 rebounds.PLAYER OF THE GAMEThe Irish hit just one of their first 12 shots to open the second half after ending the first half by going scoreless for nearly three minutes before Allens leaner in the paint gave them a 14-point halftime advantage.Anna Kellys jumper from the left corner with three minutes left in the third quarter cut Notre Dames lead to 36-28, but the Irish got a spark from an unlikely source. Reserve center Kristina Nelson scored the next six points while grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds.I thought Kristina Nelson was player of the game, she made some huge plays for us, McGraw said.dddddddddddd.Notre Dame loosened up from there and turned it into a rout in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 20-4 in the final 10 minutes.When (Nelson) made that mini run and got those hustle plays, that revved us up a little bit, Allen said. It gave us that energy that we needed.SURPRISE VISITORFormer Notre Dame mens coach Digger Phelps stopped by the Fordham shoot around at Purcell Pavilion earlier in the day and stayed long enough to give the undersized Rams some inspiration.He just walked in out of nowhere and made a great speech to the kids, said Fordham coach Stephanie Gaitley. He talked to them about one of his teams that was small and had injuries, and they left it all out there. As you can see, we go four guards out, but I was really proud of our effort, I thought we gave a great defensive effort. Their size and talent just over-powered us at the end.BIG PICTUREFordham: Gaitley remains stuck at 99 wins in her sixth year at Fordham, which is making its first appearance in the preseason WNIT. This game also marked the first time Fordham has faced the nations top-ranked team.Notre Dame: Jackie Young, last years Naismith National High School Player of the Year, sat out a second game with a thumb injury, but could be back on Thursday as the Irish continue working toward their second ever preseason WNIT championship (2004).UP NEXTFordham: The Rams play a consolation game on either Friday or Saturday against an opponent yet to be determined.Notre Dame: The Irish host Green Bay in the WNIT semifinal round on Thursday Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '