Going to a new course for US Open is nothing new

ERIN, Wis. (AP) To drive along the two-lane roads that wind through Wisconsin pastures on the way to Erin Hills, to see the rolling terrain of a golf course built on 652 acres that opened only 11 years ago, is sure to pose a natural question.

What is the U.S. Open doing here?

Forget for a moment that very few Americans were even aware of golf at the time, and the same could have been said about that two-lane road that led to Shinnecock Hills when it first hosted the U.S. Open.

Then again, that was in 1896. The U.S. Open was in its second year.

What raises questions about Erin Hills is that it’s the second time in three years for golf’s second-oldest championship to go somewhere new. And it’s…