McDowell, Mickelson, Kaymer & Fowler Hope Their Positivity Helps Solve Chambers Bay Conundrum


The players in the 115th U.S. Open know what they're facing this week at Chambers Bay: an enigma. The course, which opened just eight years ago (and was awarded the 2015 U.S. Open a mere eight months later), is a mysterious entity as its only prior big event was the 2010 U.S. Amateur.

The winner of that event, Peter Uihlein, didn't qualify for this year's Open so it's up to those who made it to University Place, Wash., to solve the lengthy, fast-and-firm, all-fescue venue bordering Puget Sound.

On Tuesday, three-time U.S. Open winner Tiger Woods said the field won't know how the course will play until the USGA's executive director Mike Davis sets it up. However, because of the variety of tee and pin choices, the par-70 layout could play totally differently from day to day, so that might not even be a factor.

So it comes down to an individual's mental approach, taking the myriad challenges at hand and enjoying the experience. Some - notably England's Ian Poulter, who last month called Chambers Bay a "farce" - may be defeated even before teeing it up in Thursday's opening round because of their poor attitudes.

Graeme McDowell

That angle was evident in comments made by Graeme McDowell on Tuesday. "Not your traditional U.S. Open golf course, I guess," said the 2010 U.S. Open champion of Chambers Bay. "The first time getting here was Saturday afternoon and heard the reports, kind of saw the photographs. But I think the golf course has been a lot better than I expected. It's important, I think, this week not to fall in love with any certain negativity that players, everyone associated might sort of feel about the golf course. You've got to take it for what it is. Someone's going to lift the U.S. Open trophy this week, and having the right attitude off the bat I think is key.

"The golf course is incredibly fast and fiery, as pure a links golf course as I think I've ever seen on this side of the Atlantic Ocean," added the 35-year-old Northern Irishman. "I really, really like the golf course. It's got a few holes which have me scratching my head, but mostly I think it's a fantastic test. And you really have to control your ball, especially with your iron play coming into the greens. There's going to be a lot of long distance putting and scrambling. So it's going to be a great test. I think it's going to look fantastic on TV. I think it's going to be a great advertisement for this side of the States. And it's been an enjoyable week so far."

Phil Mickelson

If anyone might go into a U.S. Open with dark thoughts it's Phil Mickelson. In 23 starts at America's national golf championship, the Californian has finished second a whopping six times, with several notable meltdowns occurring late on Sunday. All Mickelson lacks in his venerable resume and a career Grand Slam is a U.S. Open trophy.

But the World Golf Hall of Fame member has a unique ability to wipe the slate clean, and his optimism was on display when he talked to reporters at Chambers Bay. "I've actually -- I've always been somebody, ever since I was a kid, that got motivated by failure, that worked harder because of failure," said Mickelson, who turned 45 on Tuesday. "Some people get discouraged by that, and it almost pushes them away. But for me it's been a motivator to continue to work harder and get over that hump, whether it was trying to win my first major championship that took significantly longer than I thought it would, whether it's trying to win an Open Championship or whether it's trying to win a U.S. Open championship.

"The fact that I've come so close is actually a motivator for me to work harder. And it's encouraging that I've done well in this tournament. It's encouraging that I've had success and that I've played some of my best golf in this event and that I've had a number of opportunities."

As for this week's venue, Mickelson, who won his fifth major at last year's Open Championship at Muirfield, noted, "I think the other thing, too, about Chambers Bay is you don't have to be perfect. You can miss shots and reasonably still salvage pars, rely on short games. Also there are banks and hillsides up by the green that balls will funnel back onto the green. If you know the right shot, can play the right shot into those hillsides you don't have to be as precise as you do on a historical U.S. Open golf course. At Winged Foot, the greens are firm and fast and small. You've got three yards to land a 5-iron from 225 yards or else it's going to go over the green into thick, heavy rough.

"Here you've got 60 feet that you can hit on a hillside or at the base of the hillside or higher up that will funnel down onto the green and you're going to make par. I just feel that you have a bigger margin of error. It's much easier to make pars here. But given the conditions, it's also more difficult to make birdies because the course is so firm. But to get back to your question, I kind of rambled, sorry. Yes, success at Muirfield I feel has given me more confidence here. I probably could have just ended with that," Mickelson said to laughter from the media.

Martin Kaymer

At last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 Martin Kaymer was the clear class of the field. The 30-year-old German started with two straight 5-under 65s and cruised home from there to win his second major by a whopping eight strokes.

Though Kaymer found Chambers Bay "complicated" the first time he played it Monday, he thinks it sets up well for his game. Kaymer also believes the layout will be similar to the courses hosting the year's final two majors, Scotland's St. Andrews for the Open Championship in July and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (where he won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2010) for the PGA Championship in August.

"I played 18 holes yesterday and obviously the first time it looks very complicated," said Kaymer. "You're here and read a lot about the place and everybody talks about how complicated it is and how confusing it can be. But actually if you really focus on the main thing, it's not that complicated. You have to -- you shouldn't talk too much into it. Therefore, my caddie and me walked the golf course this morning, walked nine holes, did a little putting around the greens. Play the other nine this afternoon and do the other nine tomorrow.

"So you need to know how much of the slopes you want to use. It's very difficult to control at the end of the day, but I think the key this week is definitely around the greens, hitting those long putts or the bump and runs, whatever you're going to do, hit them within 10, 12 feet and trying to make those putts."

Kaymer also believes some players have a winning attitude and others don't. "If you see the whole field, so many players they're just able to win because there are not many players that are afraid, afraid of losing, afraid of failing. Because at the end of the day, you do play a game. You win and you lose. And I think again -- I think Mickelson is a great example. Phil, he plays the way -- at least the way it seems, the way he wants to play. He is aggressive when he needs to be and when he feels like he can hit the shot, he hits the shot.

"Of course, once in a while, you don't pull it off. But if you pull it off, it's sensational. So it's just a belief in himself. And I think a lot of players, maybe subconsciously, they do the same thing these days. They are not afraid of screwing up a golf tournament. They keep going. They try to make birdies. They try to make eagles. They're not afraid to make double-bogeys. So I think -- the whole game became a lot more like Phil Mickelson in the past or still, these days, a lot of his game, which I think is great for golf. And I think what Phil did and still does is a great role model for a lot of us who are a little bit younger than him and for the upcoming professionals."

Added Kaymer, "That is very interesting to see how few players really, really want to win. You can tell yourself, oh, yeah, of course I want to win. They sit here and think, yeah, I want to win, but they didn't. It's the honesty to yourself. And I had to face it this year in Abu Dhabi. There was a very interesting afternoon for me on Sunday, when I pretty much screwed up the whole tournament. But then you have to ask yourself the right questions. And at the end of the day did you really want to win the tournament or not? You're the only one who can answer that.

"And then, again, Phil, the way it seems like he wants to win every week. So I think he's a very great example for the young players what you have to do. Because you are here to win golf tournaments and not only for the money or for all those things. It's a very fine line. But, again for us players, it's very -- I think it's nice to see sometimes how little you want to win, because it gives you more freedom, because you want to win, you're there, I guess for the right reason."

Rickie Fowler

The ever-cheery Rickie Fowler is simply excited about the challenge of Chambers Bay and being in the mix at the U.S. Open. "It's definitely been a little bit different outlook on a U.S. Open golf course, not the typical tight fairway, thick rough, small, firm greens," said the 26-year-old Californian, who had a breakthrough win in May at the Players Championship.

"This is a little bit more like links golf, and it's fun for me. I love playing over in the Open Championship, but this is going to be a great week here. I'm looking forward to the challenge, the test that's ahead. It's not going to be easy. It's still the U.S. Open. It's typically the hardest test we have all year, and it did demands a lot of your game. So far what I've seen the past few days, it's been fun to hit golf shots around this golf course and looking forward to learning it even more and seeing what they have in store for us and what kind of different angles and tee boxes they will show us."

Fowler noted he isn't too concerned about what Davis does with the set-up of Chambers Bay this week. "I guess the challenge being that you don't know exactly how the golf course is going to play," Fowler added. "You're not sure as far as scores go. There's a lot of times -- how holes are going to specifically play, where pin placements have been in the past. I know of the U.S. Amateur and some of the guys that have played here, they got to kind of see a test run with that. But it's kind of cool coming to a new course, because it almost levels the playing field a bit. Everyone, for the most part, hasn't had that much experience around here."

Fowler also hopes the momentum he generated at the Players at TPC Sawgrass in Florida has accompanied him to Washington State. Having a short memory also helps. "At times it may not be fair, if you look at it that way," Fowler told reporters Tuesday. "But understanding links golf and what can happen, you kind of have to be ready for anything, and you have to be able to take the punches when they come, accept it and move forward.

"Because if you look at it the wrong way, when those mistakes happen, it really doesn't have to be a mistake. You can hit a great shot and the ball ends up in the wrong spot and if you take that the wrong way, you're behind the eight ball and you're not really going to have a chance. You have to be able to move forward, accept it and move on."