UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. –– Although it didn't contain the same danger as Lewis and Clark exploring the Columbia River, it was, in the eyes of touring pro Ryan Palmer, a hair-raising adventure in the Pacific Northwest.
Several weeks before the 115th U.S. Open, Palmer visited the host Chambers Bay course for the first time. He was dumbstruck by the slopes and undulations and fescue grass on the greens.
"As far as the greens are concerned, it’s not a championship golf course — not with the way some of the greens are and the pin placements they can put out there,” Palmer said indignantly.