U.S. Open to introduce Chambers Bay

Never heard of Chambers Bay Golf Course?

You’re about to.

Chambers Bay, built on land reclaimed from an old gravel quarry beside the Puget Sound, has been awarded the 2015 U.S. Open and the 2010 U.S. Amateur, proving the national championship of American golf isn’t forever tied to the same small cluster of old-line clubs.

Two things jump out about the Chambers Bay announcement, made officially today at the USGA meeting in Houston:

The USGA likes holding the Open on municipal courses, which Chambers Bay is, and it’s willing to take its biggest event to a new course, considering Chambers Bay just opened last summer.

The Open now has three truly public courses on its list of sites, starting with Torrey Pines this year, a return to Bethpage next year and Chambers Bay in 2015. Pebble Beach and Pinehurst are also open to the public, though they’re classified as resort courses.

When the Open goes to Chambers Bay, it will be the first one played in the Pacific Northwest. It also means four of the next eight Opens are on the West Coast (including the 2012 Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco).