U.S. Open Like Petting A Porcupine

More money has been bet on Phil Mickelson (right) than defending champ Bryson DeChambeau or anyone else in the U.S. Open field. Photo: Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | The U.S. Open is a hard one to love.

It’s the porcupine of major championships, the one designed to inflict pain, the one that’s as much fun as engine trouble on a dark, lonely road.

Just because this U.S. Open is set at Torrey Pines with its dreamy cliffs and seascapes, it’s still as much about enduring the challenge as embracing it. Like the sound of the fighter jets regularly screaming overhead, it’s harsh and the U.S. Open can happen suddenly.

It’s the U.S. Open way.

If professional golf did this every week, it would disappear quicker than the Super League of soccer. But once a year, it’s great.

Mike Davis is waving goodbye to the USGA. Photo: Jason E. Miczek, USGA

Mike Davis, the outgoing CEO of the USGA who is transitioning to the course design business, was recently asked if he planned to build U.S. Open-styled courses.

“It’s...