Those in positions of authority may be soft targets for vociferous abuse but nobody has matched the United States Golf Association’s fuelling of such fires.

The rules farce that overshadowed Dustin Johnson’s maiden major win, at last year’s US Open at Oakmont, would have been damaging enough for the USGA had it arrived in isolation. Twelve months earlier, the world’s best players had erupted in fury regarding the dreadful condition of greens at Chambers Bay.

Golf’s governing body in the US was embroiled in further chaos in April, a women’s major having descended into farce after a ruling based on contact from a television viewer; 24 hours earlier. And there is more; at the conclusion of the US Women’s Open of 2016 the USGA’s president, Diana Murphy, continued a propensity for erratic speech-making by continually calling the winner by the wrong name. Pieced together, this is like professional sport meets Eldorado.

In their traditional, eve of tournament address at the US Open, the USGA’s leading lights were not 100% convincing over whether a repeat of the Johnson scenario will be avoided. There has, at least, been an admission that things went badly wrong in Pennsylvania and a move to improve on archaic processes.

“Something like the last couple of years affects our whole organisation,” Mike Davis, the USGA’s executive director, said. “Any time your competency comes into question that affects the people who are dealing with the history of the game and helping to grow the game. Of course, we want to avoid these things but sometimes things happen.”

Specific issues at Erin Hills are partly within the USGA’s control and partly not. A huge property – some capital cities are smaller – will inevitably lead to tediously long rounds. The USGA slashed back areas of thick fescue rough early this week but deny that was a response to widespread complaints from players. “It is not as if we don’t listen to feedback from players,” Davis said. “But in this case it had absolutely zero to do with what the players were saying. We look at some spots and said, simply: ‘This is not going to play properly.’”

The great unknown comes in the form of weather, which is infamously changeable at this time of year in the Midwest. Early predictions suggest heavy rain will have an impact, most notably on the first round.

Almost a fortnight has passed since Phil Mickelson informed the USGA he likely would not participate in the one major thus far absent from his CV, with the left-hander keen to attend his daughter’s high school graduation on Thursday lunchtime in San Diego. Davis – with a straight face – claimed it was pure coincidence Mickelson was given a late time for the first round, thereby keeping alive the possibility of competing should a significant weather delay arise.

This situation is not particularly impressive, with the clear inference the pin-up boy of US golf is being assisted in a manner that would not be forthcoming towards others. Given the timescales involved, and in avoiding uncertainty for others, Mickelson should have been told either to commit to playing or not.

Johnson arrived in Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon, his partner having given birth to the couple’s second child a day earlier. Glory at Oakmont was sufficient for Johnson to finally endorse underlying talent. He is now established as No1 in the world; a course where long, straight driving will be essential is surely of benefit.

Jason Day and Rory McIlroy retain precisely the same weapon, with the latter’s performance after an injury absence of particular intrigue. It is a curious truism that none of the world’s best players enter this major in particularly striking form. The expectancy is of a lower winning score than has been typical over the past 20 years, provided the course is set up in a sensible manner.

“We want to afford players a completely clear stage to perform and do their job,” Murphy said. “We want to stay out of the way and not be part of the story.” The very fact this point had to be made at all rather told one of its own.