Tiger Woods of the US tees up his ball on the second hole during final round play of the Tournament Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May 9, 2010. Hans Deryk/Reuters
Tiger Woods of the US tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May 10, 2013. Chris Keane/Reuters
Tiger Woods walks to the 17th green during a practice round at The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May 8, 2013. Gerald Herbert/AP
Tiger Woods, (l.) and Arnold Palmer share a laugh during the trophy presentation after Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., March 25, 2013. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
Tiger Woods of the US hits from the 16th tee during completion of the rain-delayed final round in the Arnold Palmer Invitational PGA golf tournament in Orlando, Florida March 25, 2013. Scott Miller /Reuters
Rory McIlroy (l.) of Northern Ireland, and Tiger Woods shake hands on the 18th green after completing the first round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Sept. 20, 2012, in Atlanta. Woods finished 4-under 66 to earn him a share of the lead. John Bazemore/AP
Golfer Tiger Woods and skier Lindsey Vonn pose for a portrait. Two months after rumors began circulating in Europe, Woods and Vonn posted separate items on their Facebook pages on March 18, 2013, to announce their relationship. Courtesy Tiger Woods/Lindsey Vonn/AP
Tiger Woods (l.) and his his caddie Joe LaCava make their way to the 10th tee during a practice round for the US Open Championship golf tournament on June 11, 2012, in San Francisco. Morry Gash/AP
Tiger Woods's bag lies off the 14th green during the third round of the Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, May 12, 2012, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. David Goldman/AP
Tiger Woods hits a drive on the 18th hole during a practice round for the US Open Championship golf tournament on June 13, 2012, at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Eric Gay/AP
Tiger Woods of the US hits from a sand trap on the eighth fairway during first round play in 2011 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, April 7, 2011. Brian Snyder/Reuters
The Tiger Woods family in 2009: Sam, Elin, Tiger, and Charlie Woods, and their dogs Yogi (l.) and Taz posing in Orlando, Fla. In 2010 Woods addressed a sex scandal that had consumed his personal life. Dom Furore/Woods family via Getty Images/AP
Tiger Woods holds the Wanamaker trophy after winning the 89th PGA Championship Golf Tournament at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., in August 2007. Eric Miller/Reuters/
Tiger Woods helps a young golfer with his swing at a golf clinic in Dallas, Texas, in May 2007. Woods has established several charitable youth projects such as The Tiger Woods Foundation and the Tiger Woods Learning Cetner, which feature the Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team and a golf clinic program 'In the City.' Eric Gay/AP/FILE
Tiger Woods throws his arm into the air in jubilation as he ties his match with Steve Scott on the 35th hole of US Amateur championship at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., in 1996. Jack Smith/AP
Six-year-old Tiger Woods sizes up a putt at Los Alamitos Country Club in Los Alamitos, Calif., in September 1982. Jack D. Miller/Orange County Register/AP/FILE
US Open pairings: Tiger, check. Rory, ready. Phil, signed in. Who else might make a splash at Merion this week?
Despite torrential rains early this week that could affect tournament action and the threat of more severe weather, the 113th United States Open golf championship is scheduled to tee off bright and early Thursday morning at the Merion Golf Club, just outside Philadelphia. It's the fifth time the national championship will be played at the venerable Main Line course.
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