US OPEN: Forget what the doomsayers say: good play will still be rewarded at Chambers Bay

Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, is halfway to Chambers Bay, but when Jim Furyk spoke on June 7, he sounded as if he were a continent away. That’s because he told of family plans and a commitment to attend a wedding so he wouldn’t be getting a look at the US Open venue for another two weeks.

“Guess I’m one of those guys who can’t win,” Furyk said. Or should we say “quipped”, because it was a sneaky funny one from a guy mistakenly considered a big bowl of bland vanilla.

Furyk’s still-brilliant golf game at the age of 45 is a product of skill, yes, but is helped immensely by having a remarkable mix of power of observation and quick wit. On this comment, Furyk was tossing a dig at Mike Davis, the executive director of the US Golf Association. That it was a well-deserved dig, too, spoke volumes for Furyk’s reputation for not getting caught up in the hype.

Davis — who is starting to show signs of being a wannabe golf course architect in possession of a runaway ego, what with all the “mad scientist” and secretive set-up moves — had said nearly two months ago that players who didn’t make several trips to Chambers Bay and played many rounds over the unique course didn’t stand much of a chance to win. Some players took heed, some were offended.

Then there were those who are quite comfortable in their own skin and with the way in which they have built a 17-win PGA Tour career, which includes the 2003 US Open. Furyk wasn’t about to reshape his routine or his confidence and tear apart his personal life at the careless warning by Davis.

Turns out, he wasn’t the only one. Angel Cabrera, for instance, has a long history of professional golf and it includes what he did at the 2007 US Open at famed Oakmont. That year, the burly Argentinian played nine holes on Monday, walked off because play was so slow, then played the other nine on Tuesday. If you recall, Mr Davis, but Cabrera won.

Ah, but Chambers Bay isn’t Oakmont, Davis would insist. Chambers Bay is virtually an infant on the golf course scene, used only once before in national competition, a place with so many humps and bumps and slippery greens that the boys will be perplexed beyond belief if they don’t play it 10 or 12 or 18 times ahead of time?

Good gracious, get a grip.

Not to sound like a PGA Tour promotional, but these guys are good. One of the reasons they’ve gotten to where they are in the game is their ability to grasp the complexities of a golf course quickly, efficiently, and without panic.

Players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Adam Scott have become accustomed to coming to a major championship venue several weeks ahead of time for a day or two, just to determine their sight lines and develop a game plan, then playing a few practice rounds the week of the competition.

This year was no different.

Some players, like Furyk and Cabrera, choose to stay with their weekly PGA Tour routine, showing up a few days ahead of time, and never feeling overmatched.

Geoff Ogilvy totally brushed aside Davis’s warning. He went to one of the world’s greatest golf resorts, Bandon Dunes in Oregon, got a feel for the fescue grass that is predominant at Chambers Bay.

Different strokes for different folks, but because they’ve all accomplished quite a bit in this line of work, who can argue with them? The question is, why did Davis feel compelled to disrespect these professionals and utter such a careless comment?

“This week is more about adaptation than preparation,” Sean Foley said. One of the sport’s most heralded swing coaches, Foley for three or four days had walked hundreds of miles over Chambers Bay with his students — Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Matt Every — and by late Wednesday afternoon, he was exhausted. He wondered aloud how many players were, too.

To paraphrase some wise and grizzled veterans who for years have warned younger players about prepping for majors, “if you think it’s worth doing, it’s easy to overdo.”

Even Rose suggested that he had to catch himself, because going against what has been his norm, he arrived at Chambers Bay a week before play began. “It makes for a long week,” Rose said. “I don’t really like it.”

True, Rose felt prepared, but by Monday he was trying to shut things down and that meant he was attempting to pace himself.

He did get in to Merion Golf Club early in 2013 and that paid dividends when he won, but the Englishman by Wednesday was thinking that his competitors who came in just a few days ahead of time — guys like Furyk and Cabrera — would be fine.

“You only need a few days to figure out where to hit it,” longtime swing coach Charlie Epps said. “If you don’t hit it there, it’s not because you weren’t prepared; it’s because you hit a bad shot. Bad shots happen.”

And silly comments happen, too. Sometimes by people who should know better.