In the 18 days leading up to the June 18 start of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, FOX Sports.com and Golfweek will preview the Chambers Bay course -- one hole at a time.
Today's hole: No. 1, Par 5/4, 598/496 yards
For the first time in U.S. Open history, a hole – two, actually – will change in par from one round to the next. It all depends upon the wind, the scoring and on USGA executive director Mike Davis’ whim. This one heads due west, with Puget Sound right behind it, and while the water is nowhere near in play, a prevailing wind that quarters out of the southwest could make this a taxing start. A newly installed back tee gives the hole a unique option. As a par 5, there’s a lot of room off the tee, but the prevailing wind makes reaching it in two shots difficult, especially since the area fronting the green throws approach shots left and down an embankment. When this hole plays to a par 4, it will be hard to hold the green with a middle iron. Look for a statistical oddity here: Though par will vary by a full shot from one day to the next, the average scores recorded here will move within a much smaller range, somewhere between 4.4 and 4.8.
