UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- One visiting patron, watching on TV and speaking after a couple of cocktails at a nearby Tacoma bar Thursday night, had this observation about Chambers Bay:
"I thought they were playing the U.S. Open in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. But apparently, it's a goat farm in Oklahoma."
Residents of this exceptionally picturesque part of the country might take offense at that remark. But the fact is, these greens are not easy on the eyes and no one is going to mistake them for Augusta National.
That never was the intention for this links-style golf course on the majestic banks of Puget Sound. The goal was to construct a unique venue that everyone will remember.
How they remember is still up for debate, but United States Golf Association officials are getting exactly what they wanted. The Chambers Bay greens, or the half-baked browns as some here are calling them, continue to test the skills and patience of the best golfers in the world.
And a few of the best failed the test. Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler all didn't make the cut. Defending U.S. Open champ Martin Kaymer also is going home early.
Local favorite Ryan Moore won't get to play this weekend. The four-time PGA Tour winner from nearby Puyallup, Washington, wasn't happy with the greens.
"They are definitely not the smoothest putting surface in the world," Moore said. "But some people are making putts on them. That's the reality."
Those tan greens haven't been a problem for Jordan Spieth or Patrick Reed, the co-leaders after 36 holes at 5 under, one ahead of Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace. Sixteen players are under par after the first two rounds.
The opening-round scoring average of 72.72 was the lowest opening-round score for this event in 12 years.
"Nothing about it is unfair,'' said Phil Mickelson, who is 3 over after 36 holes. "It's a totally fair setup."
So regardless of how it looks, players can put up good scores.
"This golf course is going to test your nerve,'' said Spieth, who the Masters in April. "It's how you rebound from it."
Sergio Garcia is not a fan. He missed a 3-foot putt on 18 Friday that temporarily dropped him below the cut line to 5 over, but a late bogey by amateur Nick Hardy saved Garcia and several other top names, including Ian Poulter, Jimmy Walker and Colin Montgomerie.
Garcia tweeted this remark after Thursday's round: "I think a championship of the caliber of @usopengolf deserves better quality green surfaces that we have this week but maybe I'm wrong!"
Maybe so, considering how some of the other players view it.
"The greens are really slopey and really quick and firming up tremendously,'' said Grace, a South African who shot 3-under 67 on Friday. "You can't go for all the pins. Just try to stay patient. Take the birdie opportunities when they come your way and make the most out of it."
Grace loves the links-style course, but the slopes, dunes, mounds and elevation changes make Chambers Bay different from the typical British course.
"A couple of these holes there are some big slopes,'' Grace said. "I think this is a true test, and I think it's showed so far. It's doing exactly what they want it to do."
USGA executive director Mike Davis agrees.
"You have to think your way off the tee," Davis said Friday on the FoxSports1 telecast. "And if you don't do that well, you'll be playing catch up all day."
Some top players never managed to catch-up. Others handled it just fine. They didn't care how it looked.
The setting at Chambers Bay is impressive, but the greens are a little gruesome, especially to the guy watching on TV at the bar.
It's all in the eye of the beholder.