Eagles and birdies on Dinwiddie’s mind (From The Northern Echo)

Eagles and birdies on Dinwiddie’s mind

10:20am Thursday 12th June 2008 in Sport By Scott Wilson

THREE days before the start of his first Major, and Barnard Castle golfer Rob Dinwiddie is on the look-out for eagles.

Nothing unusual about that you might think, except that the eagles in question are not located at Torrey Pines, the venue for the US Open that starts later today, but at San Diego zoo. And instead of being two under par, there are two of them under the sign that says Bird Sanctuary'.

If 25-year-old Dinwiddie is displaying any nerves ahead of arguably the biggest golfing day of his life, he is doing a pretty good job of keeping them hidden.

"I landed in America last Friday,"

said the former Durham County boys champion. "I did a bit of practice on Saturday before playing a full 18 holes on Sunday.

"People were telling me to play as much golf as I could, but I'm not someone who likes to overpractice so I spent Monday visiting the zoo and going to the beach.

"It helped me relax and it meant that when I got back out on to the course, I was ready to get going again. I know it's going to be a big few days for me, but it's important I don't allow it to become bigger than it is."

That, however, could be easier said than done. Despite only turning professional at the end of 2006, Dinwiddie can cite eight failed attempts to qualify for The Open as proof of his determination to compete in a Major.

His wait will finally end this afternoon - he will tee off at 12.41pm US time in a group that also includes American Kevin Streelman and Filipino Artemio Murakami - after he birdied six of his final eight holes to qualify via last month's qualifying tournament at Walton Heath.

Appearing in a US Open will cap a memorable six months that have seen Dinwiddie record three top-ten finishes on his maiden season on the European Tour, cementing his reputation as one of the brightest young talents on this side of the Atlantic.

"It's absolutely wonderful to be involved," he said. "I always knew I would be playing in the qualifying tournament because of my win on the Challenge Tour last year, but at the start of the season I guess the US Open wasn't really at the front of my mind.

"It's always been one of my biggest ambitions to play in a Major, though, and I'm determined to make the most of it.

"There's a massive difference between a Major like this and most of the other events I've been playing in on tour, but I have to look at it as just another tournament.

"If I start getting caught up in everything that's going on around it, I'll be setting myself up for a fall. But if I treat as just another tournament, it'll be interesting to see how I get on."

Given its fearsome reputation as the toughest test on the Major calendar, Dinwiddie could have chosen an easier starting point than the US Open.

Twelve months ago, Angel Cabrera was crowned champion despite finishing at five-over-par, and California's Torrey Pines course has been set up to penalise anyone who strays even marginally from the closely-cut fairways.

Yet despite his total lack of experience at Major level, there are reasons to think that the Dumfries- born Dinwiddie could be capable of springing a surprise or two over the next four days.

For a start, he is in the form of his life after breaking the course record at Wentworth last month and claiming a third-placed finish at the Asian Open.

And while he had never played at Torrey Pines before last weekend's practice session, the four years he spent completing a sports scholarship at the University of Tennessee between 2002- 06 should stand him in good stead when it comes to the intricacies of US tournament golf.

"Hopefully, those experiences will help me," said Dinwiddie.

"I've played a lot of golf out in the States so I know how different types of courses tend to be set up.

"I know the reputation the US Open has and I'm not kidding myself that it's going to be easy.

But the second cut of rough doesn't seem to be too dramatic and compared with other things I've seen in America, the course looks pretty fair. I would think that there are birdies out there."

An early birdie would certainly be welcome, but Dinwiddie will know it is really time to celebrate if the eagles are not restricted to the zoo.