FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Despite the cold, gloomy conditions, Kerry Haigh smiled brightly when the PGA of America’s chief championships officer was asked about this week’s conditions at Bethpage Black.

“As you can see or I'm sure some of the players have seen, the greens are just perfect. The fairways are beautiful. The rough is growing,” Haigh beamed.

Haigh’s smile was probably not as bright a month ago, as the New York area struggled through a late-arriving spring, or when a cold front dumped nearly two inches of rain on the layout over the last 48 hours. 

But spring finally arrived in the northeast about 3 ½ weeks ago and the forecast for the rest of the week calls for more favorable conditions.

“If you asked me 3 ½ weeks ago, you always think, is spring ever going to come and are the trees going to bud and is the grass going to grow?” Haigh admitted. “Thankfully for all of our lives, that's happened, and hopefully will continue to do so.”

Although Bethpage is soft following this week’s rain, and the rough doesn’t seem to be as thick as it was when the course hosted the 2002 and ’09 U.S. Opens, most players have raved about the conditions.