‘I’d like to have that moment back’: Brandel Chamblee’s U.S. Open regret

Brandel Chamblee superimposed on an image of Pinehurst No. 2’s 16th hole.

Brandel Chamblee has one regret from playing a U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

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Over the last two-plus decades, Brandel Chamblee has made a name for himself by saying what he thinks.

But during one of his U.S. Open appearances when he was still playing on the PGA Tour, he thinks he might have been a little too free-flowing.

During filming for the latest episode of GOLF Originals with Michael Bamberger, Chamblee recalled his six U.S. Open appearances and how good it felt to qualify for them, as he got set to call this week’s action for NBC for the first time.

“I always had two thoughts upon qualifying,” Chamblee told Bamberger. “I was like, really cool. I get back to the room. I think: Tremendous sense of accomplishment. But immediately I would I would also have a tremendous sense of trepidation.

“It’s like you go there and you’re a little off your game and you can look like a complete and utter fool.”

Chamblee recalls how Pinehurst made him and the rest of the field look foolish in 1999. Chamblee finished tied for 46th that year at 18 over par in just his third made cut at a major.

After shooting 77 on the final day, Chamblee said he had heard that just two players found the difficult par-4 16th in regulation Sunday, which plays as a par-5 for regular member play. That’s when Chamblee said he let the heat of the moment get the best of him.

“I think I said, when signing my scorecard that day, ‘Why don’t you just change it to a par-3? There’d only be two less people hit it in regulation,’” he said. “You’re frustrated. You’re in the heat of the battle. You’re in a trailer. And when I left there, I thought, I’d like to have that moment back. It probably wasn’t my nicest moment.”

For more U.S. Open insights and commentary from Chamblee, check out the full episode of GOLF Originals below.