Photo & Video: Flood Waters Surround Merion's 11th Green after Friday's Storms

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The photo you see above was taken by a member of the Merion staff, courtesy Comcast SportsNet. And it gives you and idea how close flood waters came to threatening Merion's 11th green after the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea dumped more than three inches of rain onto the golf course Friday.

The 11 and 12th holes sit on a part of the property that is particularly susceptible to flooding thanks to a creek that separates the two fairways and guards the 11th green.

It got bad enough Friday night that according to ESPN's Bob Harig:

Late Friday night, Merion golf course superintendent Arron McCurdy was less optimistic about the situation. He told the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America's website that he couldn't bear to look at the 11th green.

"It was 6 inches from flooding over the top of the green,'' McCurdy told Golf Course Management's blog. "We ordered six emergency loads of bunker sand and will get after it in the morning.''

This exact scenario has been enough of a worry that, according to a report from Golf Digest, the USGA has long had a plan in place to potentially use two holes on the West Course during tournament play in the event the 11th and 12th become unplayable.

But the waters have receded, and it's unlikely Merion is going to take on the kind of rain it did on Friday between now and the end of the tournament next Sunday. So that "doomsday" contingency should hopefully be avoided.

[For more of The700Level's 2013 U.S. Open coverage, click here. | And for more on how weather will affect the tournament and the course, click here.]

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