JUSTIN Rose is determined to ignore the pre-tournament negativity surrounding the course at Chambers Bay as he looks to regain the US Open title.

The links-style layout near Seattle, in America's Pacific Northwest, has come in for plenty of criticism in recent weeks.

Chambers Bay only opened eight years ago and this weekend's US Open, which gets under way on Thursday, will be the first professional tournament held there.

The course was dug out of an old gravel mine and features uneven tee boxes and wide-open fairways. The final fairway contains a 10-foot deep bunker, the deepest in US Open history, while there is just one tree on the entire course.

Perhaps most oddly, the opening and closing holes will change par score from day to day. Sometimes, the first will be a par four and the 18th a par five, sometimes it will be the other way around.

In order to try and get used to its unique challenge, Hook's Rose got to Chambers Bay last week, playing three practice rounds, including nine holes with the course architect.

Plenty of players, including his close friend Ian Poulter, have been critical of the layout, but Rose, who won the US Open at Merion two years ago, is refusing to allow his judgement to be clouded by negative thoughts.

"It's not your traditional US Open course," the former Robert May's School pupil said. "People are going to love it or hate it – and I am going to love it.

"There's a lot to take in on this particular venue. It's a tiring golf course. It is a good test of golf, and one that takes a lot of attention.

"There's nothing by accident out there. There is a proper way to play the golf course.

"There has been a bit of negativity around. Players who have been brought into that will be starting on Thursday trying to fill themselves with positive thoughts, but who knows how much of that negativity creeps in when you hit the odd bad shot? There must be a danger of that coming out very quickly."

The world number five, who has claimed three top-10 finishes in nine appearances at the US Open, will play the first two rounds alongside Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Australian Jason Day.

The trio get their assault on Chambers Bay under way at 2:17pm (10:17pm BST) tomorrow, before beginning their second round from the 10th tee at 8:17am (4:17pm BST) on Friday.