OAKMONT, Pa. -- Pre-tournament predictions are like 60-degree wedges: Everybody has one, but only the very skilled or very lucky can get 'em anywhere close.
In-tournament predictions, though, now those are ... OK, well, they're still pretty useless.
But I'm going to give it a go anyway.
The first day here at the U.S. Open featured a lengthy rain delay interrupted by a few brief stretches of golf.
In all, there were three suspensions of play, with the final one coming at 3:51 p.m. ET after only nine players finished their rounds.
As a result, the tee sheet is about as messy as the Oakmont walkways right now.
What's going to happen over the next three (or -- gulp! -- four) days? What should we expect? Here are some predictions for the remainder of the tournament.
Friday
Here's the good news: Sunrise is 5:49 a.m. ET and the sun will indeed appear, meaning that the continuation of the opening round begins as scheduled at 7:30 a.m. Despite some early-week rumors of rain on this day, too, barely a drizzle will ever reach the course.
Here's the bad news: With 69 players from the Thursday early wave still needing to finish their opening rounds -- the last of those groups with eight holes left to play -- the course is going to get flooded in a much different way. The original late wave will likely tee off before the first wave is done, which should lead to a whole bunch of head-spinning for a few hours in the morning.
It won't stop there, either.
Players in that second wave will be in for a long day, completing both their first and second rounds. The strangest part, though, will be how they actually fare. Playing the course in soft, soggy conditions, competitors will be able to hit more drivers off the tee without worrying about bounding off firm fairways and into the rough; they'll be able to spin approach shots back to the hole -- usually a no-no at any U.S. Open; and they'll be able to litter the leaderboard with red numbers.
Nobody will go Johnny Miller-low, but there will be enough scores in the 60s to make us all forget just how treacherous this course really is.
And yes, those players from the original later wave will ultimately own a major advantage. They got to rest all day Thursday and enjoyed easier conditions all day Friday.
As for the original early-wavers? They won't be as fortunate ...
Saturday
Only the first few groups in the second half of the second round will have an opportunity to play a few holes before sunset comes Friday evening, which means they're right back on the course this morning.
If you're scoring at home, that's a day of rest, a long day of easier conditions and another morning of rest for those original late-wave players. Meanwhile, the early-wave guys will have spent three days starting and stopping, prepping and playing.
The good news for this group -- which includes Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy -- is that the USGA must try to replicate the second-round course conditions their fellow players enjoyed the previous afternoon. The bad news is that Oakmont should be firming up by then, meaning that even similar greens speeds will feel much quicker than Friday.
The USGA, of course, will need to wait for the entire second round to finish until officials can re-pair players after the cut.
The third round will get underway during the early part of the afternoon -- and yes, conditions will change.
Heavy rain followed by increasing sunshine should leave the rough much thicker than before. Also, expect the USGA to react to those red numbers by getting the dried-out greens extra slick. It might not get to the Shinnecock level of 2004 -- at least, we hope not -- but the USGA's Mike Davis and his team will do everything in their power to ensure there aren't many under-par rounds entering the final day.
Sunday
While a handful of the first groups will finish their third round Saturday evening, the contenders will have to return Sunday morning to play some 27 holes by day's end.
That's a difficult proposition at any tournament, let alone a U.S. Open under these conditions.
If the USGA's strategy of speeding up the greens and limiting scoring opportunities is successful during the third round, expect slightly easier conditions for the final frame. OK, easier might be the wrong phrasing; let's just go with not quite as brutal.
Once that third round ends late-morning, players will be sent right back out for the final round, with leaders teeing off midafternoon, not much later than they originally would've been scheduled anyway.
And if all goes according to plan, a winner will be crowned here at Oakmont in the gloaming, concluding the tournament just before the weekend ends.
You know, unless there's a playoff.