Strap In: The 2015 U.S. Open Has Arrived!

All the talk of scouting, setup options, bad climbs, fescue grass, Fox Sports and the mysterious Chambers Bay arrives Thursday with a long but potentially captivating day of U.S. Open golf.

I wish I could read everything that was written today but we were busy bickering away on the Live From set about the course.

Here's where Jaime Diaz, John Feinstein and I discuss the role USGA setup and the importance of risk-reward golf. And another segment on the USGA's evolution.

Here's where we talk about our picks and you can hear my fantasy prediction of a Rickie-Phil Monday playoff (okay, the match-up possibility, not the idea of a playoff). Speaking of Phil Mickelson, he's not going to be hitting many drivers, which is a big change from his initial assessment when he played here a few weeks ago. Which is more a statement about the firm and fast golf than it is about Phil's game. He's also sounding confident about matching up with the sensiblities of the course, as Sean Martin notes here.

I have a good feeling about the course setup after what I saw last Sunday. It feels like Mike Davis and Jeff Hall will have things playing tough but not insanely so. The water has been pouring at night onto Chambers Bay! Still, here are things to look for indicating things are getting goofy.

Brad Fritsch (1:00 pm tee time Thursday) had a solid set of tweets assessing the course and he covers the buried lede of the week: the fan experience here, which is getting rave reviews until one tries to see golf. This is huge on a number of levels, starting with the prospects of a return to Chambers Bay but also in potentially impacting how the golf is perceived. We may seem some birdies without roars on holes where there should be people. The 8th hole is going to be played in complete solitude, which may be best as no one needs to see what happens up there.

GolfDigest.com's Dave Kindred filed a dandy on the weird viewing experience this week.

And here are Brad's Tweets: