Phil Mickelson gets his first look at U.S. Open host Chambers Bay

Earlier this month, USGA executive director Mike Davis warned that the 2015 U.S. Open champion would be the player that gets as much exposure as possible to unfamiliar host Chambers Bay, near Tacoma, Wash. Davis took a lot of flak for saying a playing would need at least 10 rounds at property to win.

Well, Phil Mickelson may not get in 10 rounds before the national championship starts in three weeks, but he got his first in on Thursday.

Mickelson spent three-and-a-half hours playing the course’s front nine, including 30 minutes on the first hole, which will likely flip par with the 18th hole during championship days. It is expected that, at least once, the first will flip from being a par 5 to a par 4, handing a stroke over to the 18th.

So what did he think about the unique layout?

“A very interesting course,” he said to a local TV station, according to The Olympian. He added the course did play very much like a links course that would host the Open Championship in the British Isles.

The 44-year-old can complete the career Grand Slam if he wins the Open after finishing second in the year’s second major a record six times.

As for Davis, on the other side of the country on Wednesday, he stood behind but clarified his initial warning about Chambers Bay that was roundly criticized as out of touch.

“I was simply trying to be helpful by pointing out that preparation for this year’s U.S. Open might be more critical than any in recent memory given the uniqueness of the golf course,” Davis said Wednesday at USGA headquarters, according to Golf Digest. “I think things have gotten a little overblown, but the point is still valid.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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