Quirky links-style layout baffles US Open favorites

TACOMA, United States—The US Open enters virgin territory after 120 years of history at Chambers Bay golf course this week, but US Golf Association (USGA) chief Mike Davis believes it will all come down to the players at the end of the day.

It’s the first time the year’s second major has been staged in the US Pacific Northwest and the quirky links-style layout south of Seattle has left many of the world’s top golfers scratching their heads on how to play it.

It is more of a British Open seaside type course than a traditional US Open venue, with its dunes and bunkers, bouncy, undulating fairways, blind shots and large greens.

But unlike the classic British Open venues, it has a 500-foot elevation from the lowest to the highest point of the course, opening and closing holes which can either be par-4 or par-5 and oddly sloping tee zones.

The record dry sunny weather that has marked the last few weeks in the area also means that the fairways are firm and fast and the greens devilish to read.

Scoured out of a disused sand and gravel quarry overlooking the scenic Puget Sound, Chambers Bay opened just eight years ago and most of the top players have seen it for the first time this week.    The reviews have been mixed.

Some players believe it’s nasty and needless. Others see it as a challenge. Everyone agrees though that it is different.

Davis, who was instrumental in bringing the US national championship to Chambers Bay, agreed that there were anxieties over how the course would perform. AFP