Count Phil Mickelson among the players who have gotten a sneak peek at this year’s U.S. Open venue.
Mickelson made the trip to Washington to scout Chambers Bay on Thursday, spending 3 1/2 hours during a nine-hole practice round alongside short-game instructor Dave Pelz.
According to a News-Tribune report, Mickelson spent more than 30 minutes studying the first hole, which will alternate between a par-4 and a par-5 during championship week. He described Chambers as a “very interesting course” to a group of local reporters and noted that it is reminiscent of the links-style layouts often seen at the Open Championship.
“It’s very versatile,” Mickelson said. “There’s a lot of different ways to set it up.”
Local reporter Aaron Levine also snapped a few pictures of Mickelson studying the course (in shorts, no less):
Mickelson happy he's spending time @ChambersBayGolf: "There's a lot of different ways to play it." @usopengolf @USGA pic.twitter.com/98r9dZwNf0
— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) May 28, 2015
Mickelson tested the undulation on #9 green @ChambersBayGolf by throwing golf ball up left slope. @usopengolf pic.twitter.com/4Vpb4q3Tsg
— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) May 28, 2015
Dave Pelz helped Mickelson by placing alternate hole locations on the greens @ChambersBayGolf in prep for @usopengolf pic.twitter.com/GncYAxOxfr
— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) May 29, 2015
Mickelson’s scouting trip comes just before his playing schedule heats back up in advance of the season’s second major. Mickelson will play next week at the Memorial Tournament, followed by a start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in the last event before the U.S. Open.