The U.S. Open Golf Championships teed off at Oakmont Country Club just outside Pittsburgh this morning, the golf course itself looming as imposing a factor as any of the competitors. The United States Golf Association makes some $25 million profit from the Open annually and a tough course is part of the championship's mystique. The host course starts prepping literally eight years prior the event. This summer, for example, the Merion Golf Club of Philadelphia is already getting ready for their next turn--which isn't slated until 2013...
