For most players teeing off in the U.S. Open on Thursday, the biggest fear may be the unknown.
Most hadn’t seen the links layout on the Puget Sound until this week. The course looks more like a British Open venue, offering plenty of surprises with its rolling fairways and undulating greens.
But for Dallas’ Jordan Spieth, Chambers Bay is no shocker. His caddie, Michael Greller, used to tote bags at Chambers Bay.
Caddying was a summer hobby for the longtime Seattle area resident. He taught sixth-grade math and science at Narrows View Intermediate School, a six-minute drive from Chambers Bay. His wedding took place near the first tee.
Even that 2013 wedding weekend enhanced Spieth’s familiarity. Having skipped the WGC Bridgestone Invitational to be in the ceremony, Spieth played Chambers Bay with Greller and two family members (shooting even-72).
Although Spieth and Greller have downplayed the impact of local knowledge, there is no denying an advantage. Ball placement will be critical: Avoiding mounds in the fairway that could produce bad bounces, and ridges in the greens that can cause runoffs.
“It’s going to help with driving the ball, sight lines and understanding when things get firm he’s going to know where it would run off to a little better, maybe,” Spieth said. “I think off the tee it’s really going to help.”
Spieth takes ownership of reading greens, although he will ask Greller for “reassurance.”
“Into greens, I don’t think he’s seen where the pins are going to be, and he’s certainly hasn’t seen the greens the way we're going to play them this weekend,” Spieth said. “So we’re going to have to adapt to that.”
Greller, popular within the local golf community, has received rock star treatment this week. The lead story in Monday’s sports section of the Tacoma News Tribune was a feature on Greller accompanied by several photos.
“He is really going to take heat from that from us,” Spieth said. “We were putting and joking around today and people were screaming out, ‘Greller, Greller.’ We’re giving him some smack for it, and he’s taking it from his caddie buddies, too.”
Team Spieth has been locked pretty tight during preparations. On Wednesday, Spieth hit balls under the guidance of instructor Cameron McCormick of Brook Hollow Golf Club, then they went straight to a van taking them to the first tee.
He played a practice round with SMU’s Bryson DeChambeau, recently crowned NCAA champion, and Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjan.
Greller got a few shout-outs from the crowd during the practice range session but kept his concentration on the boss. His fame has yet to render the world No. 2 to second fiddle.
“As far as interviews and all that goes, he just tries to stay out of it,” Spieth said. “He wants to kind of stay under the radar. I trust anything that he’d say. He’s certainly done stuff for media before. But I think this week he’s got so much on his plate, he’s going to throw it away and focus. It’s a major week, so we try to limit everything we do this week off the course.”
Greller said that he has caddied about 40 rounds at Chambers Bay. But none of those has come since 2011. Changes were made to the course after the 2010 U.S. Amateur.
That was Spieth’s first experience with Chambers Bay. Then 16, he shot 83 and did not qualify for match play.
“I was excited to come back,” Spieth said. “I was excited for Michael, too, such a cool week for him to come to a place that’s close to his heart. I feel like if there’s any advantage, it would be his knowledge of the place. Other than that, I know Seattle is beautiful in the summertime and just wanted to get back to some cooler weather. It’s a little hot in Dallas right now.”
The course has been bashed by several players for its unpredictable bounces and sometimes punitive rolls on the fescue greens. The layout features strangely shaped tee zones which slope up, down and sideways.
Chambers Bay was designed to play hard and fast, and recent dry weather has it playing that way.
“If you are going to talk negative about a place, you’re almost throwing yourself out to begin with, because golf is a mental game,” Spieth said. “Plus, the U.S. Open is about as challenging mentally as any tournament in the world. So you have to go in positively. You have to go in with enough confidence to get yourself into contention.”