Day excited by Chambers Bay challenge

From the moment Jason Day arrived at Chambers Bay for the US Open he was excited by what he saw.

"Chambers Chambers Bay is set to host the US Open for the first time this week and much has been made about the traditional links course which is more reminiscent of a typical Open Championship venue.

With plenty of elevation changes, undulating greens, towering dunes and options for course set-up by the USGA the prospect of Chambers Bay has Australia’s highest ranked player intrigued.

"When I first arrived, it caught my eye in a way that I really was going to enjoy this week, regardless of how I played just because I was going to enjoy the challenge of this course," said Day.

"It’s just one of those courses that got me excited. And it’s very rare to see that because we play kind of similar golf courses out here."

"It’s different. Just going over it looking at the changes of elevation, the way they can kind of trick this course out, it’s pretty interesting. Just thinking about it, it’s obviously not a traditional US Open golf course."

With such a unique course as the stage for this year’s US Open a creative mind with length off the tee is sure to prevail in Day’s opinion.

"You need creativity. I wouldn’t be surprised if a European Tour player or a bunch of European Tour players that have played a lot of British golf are up at the top of the leaderboard," added Day who played a practice round on Monday with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson.

"But I think I’m still sticking to my guns, I think a long player is going to win it this week."

"This course, it looks tight, but once you’re down in the fairway it’s wider than you think. And this is definitely a second-shot golf course," added Day.

"I feel like I’m one of the highest ball flight hitters out here and the ball is still bouncing pretty far."

"It’s crucial on where you need to land the ball on here, and sometimes you may need to land the ball in the same exact position all four days, just because the green complexes are so tough."

But the one key component that won’t be missing from this year’s US Open Champion is determination and endurance, with the tournament always a marathon of mental and physical strength.

"The US Open is all about controlling your attitude, controlling your emotional level and your stress levels because it can be a very frustrating week if you let it be," said Day.

"For me personally, I think the biggest thing is not to beat myself out there. And you’ve just got to keep grinding and grinding and grinding, and hopefully by Sunday you’re somewhere around the lead."

"That’s how I’ve taken every U.S. Open and I’ve played pretty well," added Day who has finished in the top-5 in three of his four US Open appearances.

"And I’m looking forward to trying to get across the line this week."