Two more national golf championships will be coming to Chambers Bay golf course in University Place, but maybe not the two that local golf fans most want.
The USGA announced Monday that Chambers Bay will host the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2027 and the U.S. Amateur in 2033, 23 years after Chambers Bay hosted that event for the first time.
“Anytime you get the USGA to bring a tournament back here, it is good news,” said Bruce Dammeier, the chief of executive of Pierce County, which owns Chambers Bay. “I think it’s good news for all of Washington state, and particularly good news for Pierce County. … I think it’s a great opportunity for us, and it shows that the USGA really likes the course. They like what it does, they like the challenges it presents, and I think it features Chambers Bay, Pierce County and Washington state well.”
While the announcement is no doubt welcomed news for area golf fans, the bigger question remains: Will the course get another U.S. Open — after hosting it in 2015 — or a U.S. Women’s Open for the first time?
The 2015 U.S. Open is known for its dramatic finish — Jordan Spieth winning when Dustin Johnson three-putted on the 18th hole — but also for the bumpy fescue greens that players roundly criticized.
In the fall of 2018, the monthslong process of replacing the fine fescue greens with native poa annua grass began, a change that was endorsed by the USGA.
The new greens got great reviews when the U.S. Amateur Four Ball was held at Chambers Bay in the summer of 2021 and when the U.S. Women’s Amateur was played at the course last summer.
USGA executives were quick to praise Chambers Bay after those events but were noncommittal about the course getting another U.S. Open or a Women’s Open.
John Bodenhamer, the Lakewood product who is the senior managing director for the USGA and oversees the U.S. Open, in 2021 said: “I don’t know whether they will get a U.S. Women’s Open or a U.S. Open, but I know the relationship (with Chambers Bay) is something we feel very strongly about. We love the relationship. This is a special place, with a special story, and the renewed commitment with regrassing the greens and all the positive outcomes.”
And at last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, Mark Hill, managing director of championships for the USGA, said this: “We stay in regular dialogue with leaders of Pierce County … in certainly preparing for a championship and what might be possible for the future.”
Since then, the USGA announced more future sites for both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open, and they did not include Chambers Bay.
There are just two U.S. Open slots unfilled in the next 15 years: 2031 and 2036.
The soonest U.S. Women’s Open slot that is not filled is 2033 (2036 and 2037 are also open).
Dammeier said, “of course we would” like for Chambers Bay to host a U.S. Open and/or a U.S. Women’s Open.
“I’m optimistic but also somewhat realistic,” Dammeier said, noting that Chambers Bay isn’t among the several courses that are part of a regular rotation for those events.
The USGA continues to say good things about the course and the county.
“There have been several memorable moments for us already in Chambers Bay’s short history (it opened in 2007), and the property remains a favorite for players and fans alike,” Hill said in a statement Monday. “We’re grateful for our continued partnership with Pierce County and look forward to bringing these two premier championships to such a special property.”
Dammeier touted the great players who have won the U.S. Junior Amateur, including Tiger Woods winning it three times and Jordan Spieth winning it twice, the last time in 2011 at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton.
The list of winners of the U.S. Amateur includes the greatest names in golf, including Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Woods.
Those events will give local fans a chance to watch future stars and it will give Chambers Bay and Pierce County two more chances to impress the USGA.
“The more championships we host with the USGA strengthens our relationship with them and strengthens their opportunity to see us as a viable U.S. Open or U.S. Women’s Open location,” Dammeier said.