Changes for US OpenThere are no changes of any note for US Open.
Tee ShotYou had to shape your drive on #7 to have the best chance of hitting (and staying) on the fairway. This is doubly so for #8.
Normally, from white and blue tees, this hole plays as straight as any hole at Chambers. For US Open, however, the back tees are angled from the fairways so that the hole becomes a dogleg left hole. Compounding the matter, the fairway landing zone (B, C) has a distinct left to right tilt.
If you hit a straight drive, the ball will kick sharply to the right into the rough (D). Unless you can hit a draw, I do not believe you will be able to hold this fairway with your tee shot.
Even with this caveat, you may want to hit a straight drive if you are prone to hit a hook. The fairway runs parallel to the west end of the property, and the steep slope(A) between the golf course and the neighborhood above, lines the fairway from tee to green. If you hook a ball in to this slope, the grass is so thick that you will not be able to contact the ball cleanly. You will be lucky to advance the ball enough to reach the green on the third shot. A lucky clean lie will still pose a steep challenge as the ball will be a couple of feet below your stance and the rocky nature of the ground will not allow your club to travel cleanly through it.
If you miss to the right, there is a plateau (D) just below the fairway to catch most balls headed this way. If you hit a very bad slice, beyond the plateau is a sharp drop (E) to the old driving range that is 30 feet below the fairway (you want to avoid this, obviously). The grass here can be thick, but more playable than missing to the left. At least you will have a level lie here.
A long hitter will have a distinct advantage if he can hit the fairway. There is a dip and a rise in the fairway around 260 to 290 yards out (B) that will prevent your drive from getting a long rollout. However, if you can carry most of this rise (C), another dip on the other side will kick your ball forward another 20 yards or so, making it possible to reach the green in two.
ApproachIf you are lucky/strong enough to hit a drive well past 300 yards (C), you will be left with a second shot of around 260 yards (uphill) to the green. The green is very accessible in the front (H) and is receptive to a bump and roll. If you can hit a controlled draw with your fairway wood, you should have a reasonably good chance of reaching the green.
HOWEVER…
You should think long and hard about trying this shot as if you are not surgical in your execution, you will be scrambling for a bogey. If you overcook your draw and hit your approach into the left slope (M), you will have almost no chance of holding the green on your third shot (without some very creative detour) as the green runs away from you at a good clip. If you hit a fade, the margin for error is almost nil as anything hit on the right side of the green will drift towards the sharp slope (I) on the right and ride the slope down, across the fairway, and into the waste area (N) somewhere 20 to 30 feet below the green.
I believe most players will lay up on this hole, and when laying up, you want to take the high road. There is a sharp ridge that bisects the fairway left (F, high) and right (G, low) that starts about 180 yards short of the green (to the green). Because of its uphill nature, if you end up on the right side of the fairway on your layup, you will not be able to see the green. The preferred lie is on the high left side (F) where you will have a very good view of the pin and very accessible green opening for a variety of shots to the green. This requires a fairly precise layup as the left side is much narrower than the lower right side.
From the lower side (G), you don’t have much of a choice but to hit a high wedge shot to the pin. Distance control is of paramount importance as the green features three distinct tiers (you better hit the correct tier for any chance at a birdie) and the sharp drop off on the right side will reject any indifferent approaches, kicking your ball to the Neverland.
Around the GreenHow you play your shot around the green will really depend on where the pin is located. There are three distinct green tiers. The front tier melds with the fairway in the front (H), inviting a simple chip shot if you miss the green short. The chip shots from the right (I) is somewhat reasonable as there is a slope that intrudes into the green from the left which redirects shots towards the middle of the front green.
About a foot above the front tier is the middle tier. This is the largest part of the green and is bordered by a sliver of fairway to the left (K) and sharp drop off to the right. If you are chipping from the front (H), you have to be aware of the left to right slope which is dominant, but is relatively simple due to the back tier guarding the long misses. The chip from the right fairway (I) is a bit more complicated as you need to deal with the sharp ridge. Personally, I prefer a low chip that bumps the slope and releases to the green (actually, I really like hitting it to the third tier and riding the high bowl back down to the middle, it is super fun). A regular high chip may go long as there is a slight tilt back towards the middle from the right and landing here will kick the ball towards left. There is fairway left of the green that will hold the misses outside the green.
Another couple of feet above is the third tier. It is surrounded by a bowl (back (L) and left (J)) that invites very creative approaches. The main obstacle is to make sure you hit your chips with enough weight to rise up to the last tier. The back bowl will catch most reasonable long misses. The pins here are very accessible due to this bowl.
PuttingThe back tier pin (4) will be the easiest to putt to (if you are on the same tier). The slope is a simple back-front, left-right variety. As long as your ball is below the pin, it is will be straight and true. Birdies will be made here.
The front pins (3) are also quite accessible as long as it is away from the left side. The slope that guards the front of the green (K) will affect any left side putts greatly. But the green is quite level away from the slope and you should have a reasonable chance of making a 10 footer here.
Middle pins (1 & 2) will be a wild card as there are several pin positions where breaks will be confusing. The middle tier has a very slight saddle with a slope coming down from the left and another coming from the right. There is also a hump in the middle of this tier that will affect almost all putts hit across this green. I believe many will be fooled by the right to left break (especially #1 pin position) that defies gravity regarding how the green is positioned relative to the sound.