Room for Aggression in US Women's Open Final Round

Oakmont has been its traditional bear through three rounds, but Mike Davis and the USGA have opted to make their traditional birdie/cheer-inducing final round setup decisions.  There are three holes on the course that are going to promote some risk-reward aggression.

Like the fourth at Pebble, the 2nd hole will play 252 yards to the flagstick.  This is similar to the final round of the '07 Open.  (There's a theme that will happen with that.)  It is six yards shorter than how the eighth will play, which shares the same pin as the 300 yard version of this hole from the '07 Open.

The pin on three is back left - a place to not be aggressive at all, but takes out the false front that cost Sakura Yokomine her tournament yesterday.

The ladies close the front nine on the uphill par 5 playing just 457 yards today.  The hole is located in the ridge between the left and right hand levels of the green.

The pins on 17 and 18 are in the same spots as '07's final round.  The 17th will play 229 on the card, but more like 243 up the hill.

There are equally treacherous pin placements throughout the course to counterbalance these scoring opportunities, but will be interesting to see how groups approach these relative gifts.