U.S. Open players compare Chambers Bay greens to broccoli and cauliflower

Chambers Bay greens have come under attack from all sides this week, but the latest trend is players outdoing each other to come up with exactly what vegetable the putting surfaces resemble.

Henrik Stenson got the ball rolling (with a lot more accuracy than the Pro V1s on the actual greens at this week’s U.S. Open) by saying playing the greens was like “putting on broccoli.”

Stenson, perhaps because if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, prepared for Saturday’s third round by veggie-loading with, yep, his green foodstuff of choice.

Rory McIlroy, who carded a frustrating even-par 70 in Saturday’s third round, took issue with Stenson’s description of the greens that he said denied him “seven good chances on the back nine” to put the ball in the hole.

“I don’t think they’re as green as broccoli, I think they’re more like cauliflower,” McIlroy quipped to Reuters after his Saturday round. “They are what they are, everyone has to putt on them. It’s all mental.

“Some guys embrace it more than others, and that’s really the way it is,” he said. “It is disappointing that they’re not in a bit better shape but the newer greens, like seven and 13, they’re perfect.”

Not all critics had the vegetable medley on their minds. Sergio Garcia, who has been outspoken in his dislike for this week’s conditions, compared putting on the greens to “playing in the NBA finals on a court that has holes and slopes and no backboard.”