Waialae has stayed relatively dry the last three weeks, but was deluged with 12 to 14 inches of rain the previous month — about a third of its normal annual rainfall. Conditions were so bad during the local Sony qualifier in December that the crew could not mow the rough for nearly two weeks and it was up as high as 6 inches.

For the Sony, it has been cut back to 3 1/2 inches — an inch more than the tour wanted but all that could be done without damaging the grass because of all the rain, according to superintendent Dave Nakama. The rain also affected the density of the rough, with the grass growing so quickly that the ball tends to settle all the way down instead of sitting up the way it would when the grass grows slower and thicker.

That caused many, many members to lose balls leading up to the Open and has kept the scores this week relatively routine despite the lack of wind. TV analyst Mark Rolfing said the grounds crew found some 3,000 balls when it was finally able to mow. Nakama insists the count is still on.

"The rough is so high the balls are still out there, actually," he said. "We usually find them after the tournament when we cut the rough back — and they are all ruined because they get cut up by the mower."

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