2015 US OPEN No.
2
399 yards Par 4 With or without the wind at their backs, competitors will regard the second as a definite birdie chance. A long bunker on the left which starts about 100 yards short of the green must be avoided from the tee, so players will likely use a hybrid or long iron to ensure finding the fairway. Many approach shots will use the bank on the right of the putting surface to feed the ball down toward the hole, but with a sand wedge in hand, some players will simply fire it high and attempt to land it softly near the pin.
Aidan Bradley
No.
3
163-198 yards Par 3 The new back tee at No. 3 extended this wonderful par-3 to 198 yards, but with the wind still helping, players might need as little as an 8-iron to reach the green, and a 5- or 6-iron on calm days. As with all classic Redan holes (the 15th at North Berwick in Scotland was the original), the ideal tee shot will land on the front-right portion of what is sure to be a very firm green and use the slope to work the ball left. Balls pitching too far up the green and bouncing hard may plunge into the back bunker, from where an up-and-down will be extremely difficult. On Sunday, the tee will likely be moved up to the 163-yard marker and the pin tucked into the green’s front left corner, daring golfers to fly the huge front bunker with a wedge.
No.
4
495 yards Par 4 It’s possible, with favorable wind, for players to be a shot or two under par as they step onto the tee at No. 4. They’ll be happy to walk off the green with their score intact, however, as this long par-4 gives the first indication of just how tough Chambers Bay can be. A 300-yard drive down the line of the large waste bunker on the right will leave a mid-iron uphill to a green much wider than it is deep, while more conservative players can aim for the center of the fairway (a safer choice, but leaving a longer approach). The second shot is likely to be played with an awkward stance from a lumpy fairway. With the pin on the front edge and a little wind, many players will see their solid start go up in a puff of sand. Copyright USGA/John Mummert
No.
5
488 yards Par 4 This hole began life with two greens – the current one and a smaller, infrequently used surface to the left of the fairway that made the hole a short par-4. Following the 2010 U.S. Amateur, that green was removed and replaced with a large sandy area about the same distance off the tee as the similarly large and threatening waste area to the right of the fairway. Together, they pinch the fairway to just 30 yards wide at about the 300-yard mark. Many players are therefore likely to snub the driver in favor of a hybrid or long iron to lay up short of the trouble. They will then face a 190-200 yard shot to a wide, sloping green. Expect to see the Sunday pin tucked directly behind the deep, central bunker that waits for anything even a little short. Copyright USGA/John Mummert
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
JUNE 2015
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