Is anyone else wondering why the 115th United States Open Championship is being played at a Links style course this year? Sure Chambers Bay is a beautiful golf course with massive elevation changes, lighting fast greens, and burnt out fairways but it doesn’t look very American to me. Call me a homer if you want, but I don’t particularly agree with the USGA’s decision to play the Championship on a course that only has one tree. A course that doesn’t have the typically well manicured fringes around the greens, and boasts about its similarities to the Old Course at St. Andrews. When you tune in on Thursday you will be surprised to see it. Sitting on Puget Sound just a little south of Tacoma, Washington it appears as if it is one of the oldest golf courses in the country. Truth is Chambers Bay was established just eight years ago and will host the US Open in the Pacific Northwest for the first time ever. Playing the Championship up there is a great idea, but playing at a place that looks like it belongs to “them” and not “us” is a different story.
               

I am not trying to disrespect the incredible job Robert Trent Jones has done out in Washington. If you are looking for an opportunity to play a course you may find in Scotland or Ireland instead of traveling all the way there than this is the place. However, it shouldn’t be hosting any type of American event simply because there is really nothing American about it. Phil has already stated that there are only three holes he will hit driver on, yet the course is going to play over 7,850 yards this weekend. That is something golf fans are use to seeing in late July during the British Open not on Father’s Day during ours. Chambers Bay is a European player’s dream course and that is why I predict a European player will win it.
               

Not Rory though. His inconsistent play will hurt him once he faces the unique challenge of Chambers Bay’s greens. His length off of the tee won’t mean much if he can’t find the right spots to play from. He will win his share of US Open Championships but this year I would look out for Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, and yes Sergio Garcia. The winner at Chambers Bay will be a ball striker and these three men are exactly that. All three are streaky players who have demonstrated the ability to produce on Links style courses. McDowell always plays well in the elements and can score rain or shine. Kaymer is the last man the field wants to see out in front early as he has a tendency to stay there. We all know that if Sergio can some how find his putter for one weekend he could win anything. It just usually doesn’t happen. Either way, the USGA didn’t do its own players any favors by selecting a course that all European players can find in their own backyards.

I am not counting the American players out by any means. Everyone has to play all seventy two holes and everyone will face the adversity a Major Championship brings. It just doesn’t make much sense to play a track that our guys don’t typically play. Temperatures will be in the mid 70’s all weekend making the contest much cooler than what the field is use to at a US Open Championship. Many US born golfers love the heat but won’t find it up in Twilight Town. Still, there are plenty of Americans who can get hot and go low this year, but I am picking Dustin Johnson for one reason; I know he can play a Links style course. 

Two years ago I traveled to The Links at Ivy Ridge out in Akron to play a late season showdown with three on my closest golf buddies. It was a cool windy day but the course was in excellent condition. I had played the course many times during “Scramble” Tournaments but never had the pleasure of playing my own ball out there. As the breeze picked up before I hit my first tee shot I decided then and there that I was going to play it smart and keep the ball down and out of the wind all day. I was patient and took advantage of almost each opportunity the course had given me. I kept the ball in play and used the same golf ball for all 18 holes. When it was all said and done I finished with a 75 and victories over all three of my arch enemies. Jokingly, I walked into the clubhouse at Ivy and asked what the course record was. When the employee told me it was a 65 I wasn’t surprised to hear who did it. It was Dustin Johnson back in 2006. It was a quick reminder after a solid round that these guys are on a different planet when it comes to golf. Comparing Ivy to Chambers Bay is pretty much the same thing. Chambers Bay is much longer, tighter, and difficult than our little hidden gem on Main St. It has been groomed since birth to be a standout in American Golf.

It has all the hype and build up the sport needs to get people interested. The only problem is that it looks like it belongs to the Celts, and that is why I am picking Graeme McDowell to win it this weekend. The UAB grad has all the tools and experience needed to win on American soil. He won at Pebble in 2010 and will do it again in 2015. It saddens me to make a prediction like this but all signs point to a European victor. If that happens the USGA can thank themselves for letting it happen. Chambers Bay is an amazing place to visit, it just shouldn’t be hosting The US Open.