U.S. Open field has international flavor

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- So you want to know the profile of the typical golfer at this week's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay?

Good luck.

In an event where ages range from 15 to 51, and where 16 amateurs will play with the legends of the game, there is no norm.

And they come from all parts of the world, with every continent except Antarctica represented.

They come from places such as Thailand, Colombia and Denmark (do they actually play golf in those countries?), and Scotland, the birthplace of the game. They come from 26 countries.

It could lead to some interesting pairings, like this possible example: UW graduate Cheng-Tsung Pan from Taiwan, and Wen-Chong Liang from China.

This certainly is not your typical PGA Tour field, where the same guys are playing week after week.

Sure, the game's biggest stars are here this week, with about half of the field getting in by stringent criteria, including being in the top 60 in the world rankings.

But roughly the other half of the field gets in via open qualifying, and anyone who has a handicap index of 1.4 or less (close to a par golfer) is eligible to try to qualify.

What that means is that a ninth-grader such as Cole Hammer (the early leader in the name-game contest) is in. And it's also why Lee Janzen, who won the second of his two U.S. Opens in 1998, two years before Hammer was born, is here. He is playing in his first major championship since 2008.

Great story lines are all around. Erik Compton has undergone two heart transplants. Sam Saunders is the grandson of the legendary Arnold Palmer.

Beau Hossler is back in the field, four years after he made national news by briefly leading the U.S. Open in the second round at age 16.

Michael Putnam lives in University Place, about 1 1/2 miles from Chambers Bay. Danny Lee is from New Zealand, about a million miles away.

Troy Kelly can see the course from his home in Steilacoom. The world's top-ranked golfer, Rory McIlroy, knew basically nothing about the course until arriving this past weekend.

So, maybe it doesn't matter that there is no typical profile of a U.S. Open golfer. In fact, that's why it should be a lot of fun.

This article was written by Scott Hanson from Seattle Times and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.