Joy of Golf: Chambers Bay will be a rough but ready course

Joy Chakravarty 10:03 11/06/2015
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  • The deep rough around the green at the par-4 13th at Chambers Bay.

    The US Open starts next week and while Chambers Bay, this year’s host venue, has come in for some criticism from Tour players who have made reconnaissance visits ahead of the tournament, I am sure it would be just like any other US Open golf course – tough and testing.

    There are two things that to greatly admire about the US Open. First is how the USGA goes about in setting up the golf course. And the second is how they have remained the most open of all Opens.

    This is the stated philosophy of the USGA for course set-up at the US Open: “The USGA selects venues for the US Open that rank among the most challenging courses in the United States. We intend that the US Open prove the most rigorous examination of golfers.”

    The first US Open I covered was the one in 2002 at Bethpage Black. And one unforgettable memory of that tournament was the 10th hole, which had the fairway starting from 260 yards onwards.

    In those days, a carry of 270 odd yards was a big thing. Just to give you a better appreciation of that distance, only John Daly (306.8 yards) had a 300-plus driving distance that year on the PGA Tour, which would give him a carry of approximately 285 yards.

    The one player who had repeated problems clearing the rough was Corey Pavin. The 2010 American Ryder Cup captain is a slightly built man, and in 2002, his average driving distance was 258 yards.

    The length is severe in most US Open courses – Torrey Pines in 2008 was 7,643 yards long, while the par-5 16th at Olympic Club in 2012 was a ridiculous 670 yards from tee to green – but that’s not all. 

    USGA’s Mike Davis then has other tools to inflict torture in the form of lightning-fast greens, which are mostly bone dry, fairways so narrow that players have to walk sideways, and rough so thick you could lose your dog in it.

    Apparently, Davis is thinking of outdoing all his earlier diabolical efforts this year at Chambers Bay.

    There are three quirky things that can happen next week. The first and the 18th holes can change pars. For example, the first could be a gentle 598-yard, par-5, or a brutal 496-yard, par-4.

    The par-3 ninth can play either as a long, uphill par-3, or from an elevated tee on the other side to a severely downhill green. And there could be slopey lies on the tee boxes (which would be a first for any golf tournament).

    Already, players have started complaining about the state of the greens on the golf course, but that is something the USGA can surely fix before the tournament starts.

    As for the openness of the Open, it was again nice to see them filling up as many as 58 spots out of the 156-man field from the qualifiers.

    Obviously, Tour players have a greater chance of qualifying as they are mostly exempt to the sectionals. 

    But as many as 9,881 players, with a handicap of 1.4 or less, started their Open dream in local qualifiers, and there are plenty of names in the field that you have never heard of before.

    Earning his place: Lingmerth.

    USGA are so particular about this, even someone like David Lingmerth, who won The Memorial last week, did not receive special consideration. The Swede could have made it if his win helped him crack the world top 60, but since he did not, he had to tee up for the 36-hole sectional qualifier less than 12 hours after taking the trophy from Jack Nicklaus.

    The Open Championship also has qualifiers, but they have a lot more exemption categories for pros. Masters, is completely different and they try to limit the field to below 100 players. Past winners at Masters have life-time exemption, while Open champions can play until the age of 60.

    As for the PGA Championship, they have qualifiers, but only for PGA professionals.

    For the record, only two players have played their way through the local and sectional qualifiers, and then gone on to win the US Open – Ken Venturi in 1964 and Orville Moody in 1969.

    Remember the name

    Jordan Spieth.

    There is a chance that the Americans may have unearthed their next Jordan Spieth.

    That would seem very difficult, given that Spieth is just 21 years old, and the player I am talking about, Patrick Rodgers, is actually a year older than the reigning Masters champion.

    Rodgers, who decided to follow in the footsteps of Tiger Woods and go to Stanford, where he equaled the former world No1’s record by winning 11 collegiate and became the No1 amateur in the world before turning pro this season.

    He already has a win on the Web.com Tour, but like Spieth in 2013, he has now secured his special temporary membership by earning more money than the 150th ranked player last year. He can now apply for unlimited numbers of sponsor’s exemption on the Tour.

    And Rodger did that in style, making two birdies in his last two holes at The Memorial – making putts of 47 and 19 feet to seal his new status on the PGA Tour.
    Do keep an eye on this bloke, he does seem to be the real deal.

    Stat of the week

    Jason Dufner.

    4 – Eagles made by Jason Dufner in the first 25 holes of last week’s Memorial. That included a hole-in-one on the 16th (his seventh of the day) during the second round, after an eagle three on the par-5 15th.

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