COMMENT: The Ross Fisher column

Having just returned from Torrey Pines I can now confirm that the US Open is as challenging a week as there is in the game.

I didn’t know too much about the Californian course, other than a few rounds on the Tiger Woods computer game, and it is safe to say that it is a far stiffer test with the clubs, rather than a control pad, in my hands!

Most weeks on tour we are looking to progress up the leaderboard with a string of birdies, but a run of pars in the second Major of the year does the trick.

So, to open up with 12 straight pars was the ideal start. Better still was to follow at the 614-yard 13th.

After a great drive I decided to take on the green with a long iron and it paid off in style as I recorded the only eagle of the day there.

I discovered later that, at that point, I was the only player not to have dropped a shot, unfortunately that soon changed at the next.

To make matters worse it was a double.

The 14th caught me out both days. At 435 yards it is not that long but if you hit it over the green, as I did on the Thursday, you end up in a hazard.

It was interesting to see the USGA move the tee up on the Sunday to make it a short par four of around 270 yards – I only wish they could have done that for the whole championship.

My first round finished with another couple of bogeys, which added up to a two-over 73.

Although it was respectable enough in the worst of the conditions on the greens it was still frustrating having been two under with five to play.

Again on the second day, I was paired with Steve Marino and Michael Letzig.

I started well with three pars and a birdie, this time at the 13th.

From there, unfortunately, I lost my momentum with another six at 14 and two more bogeys before the turn.

As I mentioned before, pretty much any par, other than at some of the fives, saw you make progress. For a start, the course measured over 7,600 yards so you needed to hit a lot of drivers, which actually suited my game, while club selection was crucial. Miss the green in some parts of the course and there is next to no chance of getting it up and down.

And, as was mentioned by a few of the players, the greens got trickier as the day went on due to the types of grass they use.

The front nine saw another four shots leak away, which is all too easy to happen, and I finished at nine over.

I pretty much knew it was a few too many and it turned out that I missed the cut by two shots which was incredibly frustrating.

As disappointing as it was I firmly believe that this type of experience – the electric atmospheres, tough conditions and levels of play – can only bolster my game. What is more, to have mine and my wife Jo’s parents and some family friends out in California certainly made it a week to remember.

The rest of the month feels like a distant memory now but there were plenty of positives to take as we move into July.

I didn’t play my best in the BMW PGA Championship at my home track Wentworth but Wales was a great confidence boost.

I was very solid, going under par for all four rounds, and I came away feeling that I had actually played a lot better than my tie for 10th reflected. On the Saturday I finished with a three putt for a bogey and had I avoided that I really feel I could have threatened a top three on the final day.

Given that this was the first time the Wales Open had been played on the Twenty Ten course it was a shame that it was so wet but all the staff at Celtic Manor did a great job to get all four rounds in.

It will be very interesting to see how it plays under normal conditions and it will be a superb matchplay course for the Ryder Cup in two years’ time with the risk-and-reward holes on offer and the different tees that can be used.

The following day we were at Walton Heath for the US Open 36-hole qualifier.

Being partnered with Ross McGowan played a huge part in me making it to Torrey Pines.

Ross and I played a lot of county golf together for Surrey so I know him very well and it all felt a bit surreal to be paired together in trying to qualify for the US Open.

We both shot 67 on the New and the only real slip came just after the turn when I bogeyed the short 11th and then had a six-footer for par at the next. Thankfully I made that and birdied the three par fives to head the qualifying with Alastair Forsyth with Ross just a shot back.

Last year, I came through the two-round qualifying at Sunningdale to make my Open debut at Carnoustie, and I will be doing my utmost to repeat that this year and get to Royal Birkdale.

I look forward to bringing you all up to date with how the month went.