Tiger Woods tries to follow in the iconic footsteps of Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan this week with a historic victory at Merion despite heavy rains that have drenched the 113th US Open. <img alt="Tiger Woods" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jun/Tiger-Woods_1.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 497px;" /> Tiger Woods The year&rsquo;s second major championship begins today on the old 6,996-yard course with the red wicker baskets atop its flagsticks, one of many oddities that makes Merion a strong test of shotmaking and patience even when soggy.u00a0&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we have an exact feel for it yet, what we&rsquo;re going to have to do and what we&rsquo;re going to have to shoot &mdash; the conditions keep changing,&rdquo; Woods said. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t dealt with teeing it up in a tournament yet with it raining and drying out for a couple of days and the mud balls appearing. That&rsquo;s going to be interesting, especially the longer holes.&rdquo;u00a0World No 1 Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the all-time record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open but he has won four times this year and is again among the favorites. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played Opens where it&rsquo;s dry and soft. I&rsquo;ve won on both conditions, which is nice,&rdquo; Woods said. &ldquo;Execution doesn&rsquo;t change. You&rsquo;ve still got to hit good shots, especially now with the rough being wet. It&rsquo;s imperative to get the ball in play so we can get after some of these flags and make as many birdies as we can.&rdquo; Woods seeks a fourth US Open crown after triumphs in 2000, 2002 and 2008 to match the all-time record shared by Nicklaus, Hogan, Jones and Willie Anderson.u00a0&ldquo;I would like to obviously put my name there at the end of the week,&rdquo; Woods said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ve got to do my work and put myself there.&rdquo; With two par-5s in the first four holes, Merion is a tale of two courses, the one that offers short but tricky oppotunities early and the final five holes where players will struggle to avoid making bogeys. Or worse.u00a0&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see guys off to a good start. You&rsquo;ve got easier holes through the turn, but once you get to 14 on in it&rsquo;s going to be tough to make birdies, especially if they put the tees back at 17, 18,&rdquo; Woods said. Logistics will offer other challenges, including rounds that will start on the first or 11th holes and a shuttle ride to get from the driving range area to the tees that could mean they have a 30-minute wait before teeing off.u00a0&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be different,&rdquo; Woods said. &ldquo;A lot of the guys are talking about how early we have to leave to get to the tee. You don&rsquo;t want to leave too late but you also don&rsquo;t want to get there too early, you cool off a little bit.&rdquo; World No 2 Rory McIlroy, who won the 2011 US Open at rain-soaked Congressional and also took last year&rsquo;s PGA Championship, said the rain, will prompt him to take a few more chances than he might have otherwise.u00a0&ldquo;You can be aggressive on the holes you feel comfortable on,&rdquo; McIlroy said. &ldquo;Sometimes you&#39;ve got to be a little more conservative on the holes that the tee shot might not quite fit your eye or whatever it is.&rdquo;

Heavy rains that have drenched Merion will make it tough for golfers when the 113th US Open kicks off today

Wet conditions at US Open will make it interesting: Tiger Woods

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / Wet conditions at US Open will make it interesting: Tiger Woods

Wet conditions at US Open will make it interesting: Tiger Woods

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