It's Come To This Files: Back-Up Caddies Retained

The Guardian's Ewan Murray reports on the falls of Henrik Stenson caddie Gareth Lord and Stephen Gallacher bagman Damian Moore, prompting Stenson to deem the conditions "dangerous."

Murray writes:

Stenson’s caddie Gareth Lord is expected to appear for Thursday’s opening round despite a fall on the 16th hole on Wednesday, which resulted in a heavy strapping being applied to his wrist and a subsequent x-ray.

Shortly afterwards, Gallacher’s bagman Damian Moore fell when walking in rough on the 6th hole and twisted an ankle. Moore’s prospects of appearing for day one at the US Open are regarded as slim after a protective cast was placed on the injury.

The concern for falls was so great that one agency has backup drivers for their loopers.

Rex Hoggard reports.

Mac Barnhardt and Jimmy Johnston with Lagardere Unlimited confirmed to GolfChannel.com that they have retained a local caddie for the week to substitute in case one of their players’ caddies is injured or unable to work.

Michael Greller, Jordan Spieth’s caddie who used to work at Chambers Bay, recommended Brendon Solomonson to serve as the group’s backup caddie for the week.

Video: Chambers Bay Eighteenth Hole Flyover

The finisher signals the arrival of the much anticipated U.S. Open and few holes are more intriguing than the 18th. While I'm not as fascinated by the alternating par of the 1st and 18th depending on wind or the committee's mood, what does interest is the decision for Sunday's final round. Will a reachable par-5 encourage going for the green in two, or will we see a long, dreary, hard-to-par two-shotter?

Either way, this nice lay-of-the-land hole is marred only but poorly constructed "basement" bunker added for the U.S. Open and hopefully filled in soon. The strategic concept of the bunker is sound, the construction execution lacking because it's so different looking than any other hazard on the course. Not only is the look jarring, it reminds the golfer that this is not a natural bunker, but instead something added later to penalize. A

The final Fox Sports flyover:

Strap In: The 2015 U.S. Open Has Arrived!

All the talk of scouting, setup options, bad climbs, fescue grass, Fox Sports and the mysterious Chambers Bay arrives Thursday with a long but potentially captivating day of U.S. Open golf.

I wish I could read everything that was written today but we were busy bickering away on the Live From set about the course.

Here's where Jaime Diaz, John Feinstein and I discuss the role USGA setup and the importance of risk-reward golf. And another segment on the USGA's evolution.

Here's where we talk about our picks and you can hear my fantasy prediction of a Rickie-Phil Monday playoff (okay, the match-up possibility, not the idea of a playoff). Speaking of Phil Mickelson, he's not going to be hitting many drivers, which is a big change from his initial assessment when he played here a few weeks ago. Which is more a statement about the firm and fast golf than it is about Phil's game. He's also sounding confident about matching up with the sensiblities of the course, as Sean Martin notes here.

I have a good feeling about the course setup after what I saw last Sunday. It feels like Mike Davis and Jeff Hall will have things playing tough but not insanely so. The water has been pouring at night onto Chambers Bay! Still, here are things to look for indicating things are getting goofy.

Brad Fritsch (1:00 pm tee time Thursday) had a solid set of tweets assessing the course and he covers the buried lede of the week: the fan experience here, which is getting rave reviews until one tries to see golf. This is huge on a number of levels, starting with the prospects of a return to Chambers Bay but also in potentially impacting how the golf is perceived. We may seem some birdies without roars on holes where there should be people. The 8th hole is going to be played in complete solitude, which may be best as no one needs to see what happens up there.

GolfDigest.com's Dave Kindred filed a dandy on the weird viewing experience this week.

And here are Brad's Tweets:

Uphill Vs. Downhill: The 9th At Chambers Bay

Steve DiMeglio talked to Tiger Woods about the two tee options at Chambers Bay's 9th.

DiMeglio writes:

And on the par-3 ninth, he hit a 5-iron to the green this time instead of a 3-wood from 200, and from the other tee on the ninth hole he hit 4-iron from 40 yards longer.

That's one of the quirks at Chambers Bay. There are two tees on the ninth hole. There's one 100 feet above the green; the other is 20 feet below the green.

I got to look at these distinct options this week and while neither version of the hole leaps out at me as extraordinary, both have merits. Ultimately, the slightly uphill version is more visually appealing from a pure golf shot point of view, while the extreme downhill version does allow for an interesting sight of balls landing and funneling an unusual trait for a steeply falling one-shotter.

(Few of the world's great par-3s play downhill, especially to the extreme of Chambers Bay's 9th. Most are flat or play slightly up.)

Here's Brad Fritsch playing to the 9th today from the elevated tee. Obviously a brilliant spot to be due to the views and with today's hole it was fun seeing well-struck balls funnel down:

The views aren't as grand but the player's point of view is more compelling here even though it's essentially and all-or-nothing shot: