SPORTS
ByDavidGould
H
ookand slicedescribes
a shot down the fairway
that veers left or right.
But on June 15, a legit
curveball will be thrown at golf fans:
America’snational championship, the
120-year-oldU.S. Open (whichmarks
its 115th championship this year),
will plant its flagsticks in the Pacific
Northwest forthefirsttime,onayoung
and beloved course situated along
Washington’sPugetSound.
Locatedonehour southof Seattle,
theChambersBayGolfCourse,which
opened in 2007, stretches across a
once-despoiled parcel of 600-plus
slopingacres,hardbythemightysound.
Chambers Bay hosted the U.S. Ama-
teur Championship in 2010, but few
PGATourplayershave set foot on the
RobertTrentJonesJr.-designed layout.
The trickycontoursandanglingwinds
will prove tobeachallenge for anyone
withhopesofanOpentitle.MikeDavis,
executivedirectorof theUnitedStates
GolfAssociation (USGA), says thepros
that scout the course assiduouslywill
farewell.
“If you think back to the 2013U.S.
Open [at Merion Golf Club outside
GOGREEN
Golf’sAmericanchampionshipdiscovers thePacificNorthwest
The 14thholeofChambersBay in
UniversityPlace,Washington
USGA/JOHNMUMMERT
AMERICANWAY
JUNE2015
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