I'm also very excited about my climb up the world rankings. I've been playing great over the last seven months, so it's extra satisfying to get a win and jump up into the top 25 in the world.

I don't target certain positions in the rankings, but it shows me that my hard work has paid off and I'm working on the correct things.

Laird (right) receives his winner's trophy from Palmer. Photo: Getty Images

It was a very up and down final round at Bay Hill; or more accurately, quite a few downs and then a huge up at the end!

I knew right from the beginning of the day that it was going to be a battle as I just didn't have my swing. That showed early on and into the middle of the round. I had to dig deep to stay in contention by holing a lot of good putts just to have a chance over the last few holes. I was extremely proud of the way I hit the ball over the last four holes to end up on top.

I really didn't think that my chance was gone, even when I was five over for the round. I knew that the last six holes were going to be playing extremely tough and Steve Marino wasn't going to pull away any more.

There were still two par 5 holes left to play and I knew I had to take advantage of them; something I managed to do all week. The aim then was to pick a shot or two up elsewhere to get right back in contention.

It was one of the toughest course set-ups I've ever played when you consider the wind, the firmness and speed of the greens and more importantly the pin positions.

Apart from the two par 5s, there really weren't any other legitimate birdie holes. I knew I would have to pull off either a risky and exceptional shot to get it close, or hole a long putt, to make a birdie on any of those holes. I managed that on 15.

I had a few near misses last year and a couple of poor final rounds when I've had a chance to win this year. Those experiences definitely played a part in my determination to never give up on this title.

It was my tournament to win and I was going to grind it out as hard as I could until the end, until I had the trophy.

I thought back to my 3 putt at the Barclays last year when I was walking up to the 18th green. I let that tournament slip through my fingers and was not going to let it happen again. I was as focused as I've ever been on that last green, taking nothing for granted.

I'm not someone that sets individual goals that much; I just try to improve every year and see where that takes me. I'm not shocked that I've achieved two tour wins already, but if you had told me a couple years ago that I'd be 21st in the world, I probably wouldn't have believed you.

I'm definitely taking a lot of confidence out of my win last week, against a tough field on a very tough golf course. This can only help going into the Masters and for the rest of the year.

It's always tough playing a course for the first time, but especially tough at Augusta. There's just so much 'local' knowledge that you can learn and use as an advantage.

In saying that, I don't see why I can't be in contention on Sunday. I feel like my game suits the course well, now that it's such a long layout. Everyone knows that it all really comes down to putting in the end at Augusta and that's probably the best area of my game right now.

Increased expectation on me won't make a difference. My goals and thoughts on the week haven't changed. I always go into tournaments thinking I can win, and this won't change next week.

The first time I got to Augusta was pretty special. I've seen it so many times on TV and to finally be there was brilliant. I just kind of walked around and stared for a while checking everything out.

It was so good to go out and play the course before the mayhem of Masters week itself. The front 9 is really good, but the back 9 are the best nine holes I've ever played. There are so many excellent holes all the way to the massive climb up the 18th fairway to the final green. I can't wait to get to those last nine holes on the weekend when the place is buzzing with excitement. It really doesn't get any better.

My main goal going into next week is to have fun and enjoy my first competitive experience there. If I make sure I do that and not take it overly seriously, then I'll play my best golf.

I know with the way that I've been playing recently that I can get myself into position on Sunday to mount a challenge. First timer or not, I really believe that I can have a run at the green jacket if I play like I have over the last month.

All in all, I want to soak the whole experience up as much as possible and have a fantastic week. I'm sure I'll learn a lot about the golf course by making some mistakes when I'm out there. That's the only way to get better and I hope that I remember the mistakes I do make in the future.

There's definitely a bold circle around the first week in April for The Masters. It's the only major that I've never played in and the one that I am most excited about.

I want to try and be as ready as possible for the majors and WGC events, since I have yet to put in a performance to be proud of in the top ranking tournaments and I'd love to get a taste of being around the lead in one of the big ones on a Sunday.

I'm sure once I've experienced that I'll want to be back there as often as possible, and I will be doing everything I can to make sure that happens.

Having taken my game to this stage, I thought it'd be a good time to reflect on how my career really got going out here in the US.

Crossing the pond to play college golf was something that always attracted me and getting to play competitive golf all year round was definitely a big lure.

Martin didn't have much need for his woolly bunnet during his college days

I'd never been to the US before I signed up to come over but had heard from a few players who were already on golf scholarships, that it was a great place and the conditions and facilities for practicing were, at that time, second to none.

I'd really had enough of taking a huge break from competitive golf in winter and not really being able to work on my game to any real benefit for a good few months. Hitting balls off a mat at the driving range and playing to winter greens is better than nothing at all, but it isn't going to make you a better player!

Another factor for me coming over to the US was the fact that I loved watching PGA Tour golf growing up.

I knew that coming over here would be a way to test myself on this side of the Atlantic and let me know if I liked it and whether my game could hold up.

I really do feel that the experience I gained playing at Colorado State University was vital to where I am right now and played a huge part in me improving to the level that I felt I was ready to turn professional.

When I came over as a 17 year old, I was nowhere near good enough to even consider turning pro.

I was a member of the Scotland squad and had put in some good summer results playing in amateur events but my game needed to improve drastically before I thought about joining the paid ranks.

What was so good about the college route was that I knew that I was going to have four years to improve and mature, all while having intense competition over those years to drive me on.

Golf is a game where you are learning all the time and I still use a lot of the things that I learned from my coach at CSU, as well as things I learned myself, every time I'm on the golf course.

I had a lot of fun while learning too. There were 10 guys on our team and we became really good friends. You see each other almost every day and are all going through the same thing.

I really do believe you have to make it fun if you want to get better, and even though the 6am workouts were often painful, we definitely did have a great time travelling around the US playing in different tournaments and seeing new places.

I found it hard to shine when I first came over as I really struggled to adapt to the different style of golf. I used to hit the ball really low and my short game was mostly about hitting bump and runs from playing links golf, mostly in the wind.

You soon find out when you get to the US that ideally you want to hit the ball high and you definitely have to master the flop shot around the greens to get out of the rough.

I didn't get to play in every tournament during my first semester and that was extremely frustrating. You never want to be left behind, so when I was missing out, it was extra motivation for me to get better and inspired me to do whatever it took to make myself a regular on the team.

It wasn't until the end of my first year that I managed it. I had finally adapted to US style golf courses and the different types of grass that had caused me problems when I first arrived.

There is more emphasis on game development than winning; that was the case with my coach anyway. His view was that if you kept developing and improving, the winning would follow.

He would always talk about getting better and working on the weaknesses in our games, with less emphasis on needing to win the next tournament.

I know for a fact that I worked on my game a lot more during my college years than I would have if I had stayed at home. Some days I didn't want to practice but I always had to go if the coach said so.

I've always been sort of a grinder when it comes to practice but my college experience took it to a different level.

The competition on the US college circuit is extremely high and not only from the US guys. There are so many good players now from all over the world that go and play college golf. Nearly every team you see has at least one international player.

When we weren't on the road we would be having games all the time within our team. We would get little competitions going while practicing and often have games on the course after practice. When you are a poor college student you can't afford to keep losing money to your team-mates so you better improve quickly!

There was never really a time when there wasn't some form of competition and that can only help you improve.

Martin is looking forward to his first crack at The Masters

The academic side only got in the way of the golf development if you let it. If you didn't manage your time very well it definitely got tough to fit everything in and still do well at university. You soon learn to get into a routine so that the academic side didn't affect your golf and vice versa.

I think that it's good to have a distraction from golf too at that age. If all I did all day when I was 18 years old was play or practice and focus on golf, then I'm sure I would have burnt out pretty quickly. I think that's a big problem with golfers that turn pro really young.

There's a lot of pressure on them to succeed and if they don't break through within a year or two then confidence can really dip.

There are very few players in the world that are ready for the pro ranks when they're teenagers and quite often players that everyone thought were ready, turn out not to be.

There's such a huge gap between junior golf and college golf, college golf and mini-tour golf, and then mini-tour golf and PGA Tour/European Tour golf.

For me, being on a golf scholarship for four years gave me time to improve and learn in a relatively stress-free environment. That's something you don't get if you turn pro straight away.

I think that for the majority of players making the gradual progression up the golfing ranks is the best way to develop and maximise your potential.

If you take out the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroys of the world, then nearly everyone else that is a top player either played college golf or played a lot of very competitive amateur golf before turning pro. The experience is invaluable.

Things have changed a lot, and for the better, in amateur golf since I came over to the US in 2000. Back then there was minimal funding for top amateurs and in the winter there was pretty much no competition back home at all.

Nowadays national squads fly all over the world playing in tournaments and go to warmer climates to improve in the winter. Top amateur players can effectively be full-time golfers with the funding that's available and can work on their game all year round, playing in different conditions.

If this was the case back when I was making my decision to play college golf I may have considered a different path. However, I do think that I probably still would have ended up in the US; there was just something about it that really attracted me.

It has worked for a good number of British golfers in the past and I'm sure it will continue to do so.

For me, having a chance to work on my game with excellent facilities and competition year-round worked out great. And I earned a degree at the end of it all too...

Martin Laird was beaten by a hole in one in the play-off at the Justin Timberlake PGA Tour event in Las Vegas. Photo: Getty

The one thing I like about the Vegas tournament is that you know the scores are going to be very low right from your first tee shot on the Thursday. You have to be aggressive and keep firing at flags all the way through to the last hole on Sunday.

That was especially the case this year, with the rain early in the week softening up the greens quite a bit, firm greens normally being the only defence that the course has.

I always play better when I play aggressively so it's a tournament where I really feel like I can let go and play my game and see how many birdies I can make.

The weather and course conditions in Las Vegas are also almost identical to where I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, so I don't feel like I need to adjust at all, which makes me very comfortable playing there.

It was a little weird when Jonathan Byrd made his seven-footer on the 72nd hole to make it a three-man play-off for the second straight year, with me right there again.

I did think back to last year and how it was me who had made an 11-footer on the 72nd hole to get in the play-off, and now he had made a great putt to claim a place.

I felt great this time and a lot calmer than last year as it was a completely different scenario for me.

I definitely took a lot of confidence from the fact that I had come out on top before in this identical situation and I really felt like it was going to happen again. I had played so good all week and hit the ball great on Sunday. I felt like I was in total control of my game. My putts on Sunday just hadn't dropped but I was hitting a lot of good ones and thought one would eventually go in for me.

I never imagined that it would take a shot that didn't even require a putter afterward to beat me. That is something that you can never prepare for, and when it happens you can only take your hat off and congratulate the guy.

Jonathan Byrd hit a great shot, one that will never be forgotten and probably will never be matched, to win the tournament.

It all seemed to happen so fast, one moment we were talking about whether to continue due to darkness and a minute later it was all over. I still don't think I have really realised completely what happened and the magnitude of someone making a hole in one to end a tournament!

Unfortunately that was the second play-off loss that I've had this year, which is not something normally to be happy about. But when I think of the two shots that it has taken to beat me in these play-offs then it's a pretty good sign for me. I thought Matt Kuchar's remarkable recovery at the Barclays to beat me was an unbelievable way to lose a tournament, but it didn't have anything on the one in Vegas!

I've had the best year of my career to date and I know that a large reason for that is my win last year in Las Vegas. Having a trophy in my house that proved that I can win on the PGA Tour was not only a huge confidence boost for me but it opened a lot of doors that have helped me get to where my game is at today.

I got to play in a lot of the bigger events throughout the year, including WGC events and Majors, gained valuable experience and learned a lot about my game. It also took away all the pressure of trying to keep my card for a couple of years and allowed me to just go out and play golf.

I've always said that my only goal is to improve every year and if I do that I will eventually get to where I want to be. Winning last year definitely helped speed up my improvement. I now really feel like I belong on the PGA Tour and have proved to myself that I can go as far in this game as I want to.

Breaking into the top 50 in the world is something that's definitely within reach for me now, and it is something that I'm excited to have the opportunity to do. It isn't a major goal for me; it's more something that shows me that my game is headed in the right direction and proves that I have had a good year.

Getting inside the top 50 and staying there is tough to do and that's something that I'll be working towards next season. If I can keep playing the way I have over the last few months it shouldn't be a problem and I can focus on climbing further in the world rankings.

I don't feel like I've reached the peak of my powers. I feel like I am just beginning to show what I can do on the golf course and there's a lot more to come from me. I have known for a while that if I improve my short game, especially my putting, that I can go as far as I want to.

That has been the major difference this year. Since I began working with my new putting coach my results have improved dramatically and I'm excited to see how far I can go now that my short game isn't holding me back.

I really feel like I can still improve a lot, become more consistent, and I'm looking forward to putting the work in to make that happen.

I'm as grounded as I was when I first got on tour. Some good results and a nice income from those achievements hasn't changed me at all. I think a lot of that has to do with my upbringing. If I did ever get a little carried away, I have plenty of friends and family that would have no problem in bringing me right back down to earth in a hurry, and that's what I love about them!

My aim for next year is the same as every other year, to get better! I want to get to the stage where I'm competing more consistently for tournaments and have my name in the mix in Majors.

That's the level that I want to get to; going into Major championships and other big events really feeling like I'm one of the contenders for the title.

It may take me more than a year to get to that level, but I definitely feel like I have that in me. If I just keeping plodding away and working hard, I really feel like there's no limit to where I can go.

I guess golf fans wonder exactly what it's like when you're top of the leaderboard in the closing stages of what is a massive event. This may provide a little insight.

I'm taking a ton of confidence out of the way I handled going into the final round in the lead and particularly the great start to the round I had.

My lead had sort of snuck up on me as it wasn't as if I'd been playing flawless golf all week.

I played great on Saturday but over the course of the tournament I drove the ball pretty badly; that's normally one of the best parts of my game.

Despite the position I was in, I had no problem getting to sleep on Saturday night or relaxing on Sunday morning.

I was nervous but not to the extent that it was getting to me. I was confident enough that I could go out there and take care of business on Sunday and knew if I played the way I had all week, I had nothing to worry about.

The week definitely had a much more intense feel to it than most regular season events.

The media interest was magnified and, as is well known over here in the States, the New Jersey and New York fans are about the loudest in the country.

They've no problem telling you exactly how they feel about you... good or bad!
I love playing in front of crowds like that as it's what we play for.

The atmosphere was amazing in the last group with every walkway, from green to tee, packed with fans screaming and shouting.

Most of them were rooting for Dustin Johnson, which in a way made it more enjoyable for me.

I love being the underdog as it makes me even more determined.

When I won in Vegas last year, I played with Chad Campbell and Scott Piercy in the final group.

Chad attended the University of Las Vegas and Scott grew up there, so I was definitely not the player the fans wanted to see come out on top!

I never realised how much I would jump in the FedEx Cup standings with a win last week until I caught a peak of the projected rankings on Saturday.

It's something I was definitely aware of before I went out but it didn't really enter my mind at all when I was on the course on Sunday.

That's despite the $10m prize on offer to the number one ranked player at the end of the Fed Ex play-offs!

I think that might be one of the reasons I felt very comfortable in the position I was in.

I never get too ahead of myself and think of the money or anything like that. I just want to win. It's what I work hard for all year.

All I was focused on was staying as aggressive as possible and sticking to my game plan.

I knew guys were going to be firing at me with low rounds and that I definitely couldn't relax at all on the golf course.

When you're out there with a chance to win, you really focus on taking one shot at a time and staying aggressive to give yourself the best chance to pick up the trophy.

Obviously, I never imagined I would get off to the start that I did in the final round. I nearly holed my shot on the 1st and then nearly did the same on the 2nd.

It shocked me a little as those were probably the two closest shots I had hit all week!

I obviously didn't want to make a 7 on the 3rd hole but that's why golf is such an interesting and unpredictable game.

I hit a poor layup on the par 5, was kind of snookered from there and couldn't get myself back into a good position.

To be honest it didn't really shock me that badly as I had only really hit one bad shot. If I had chopped my way down the hole and made 7 it would have been a different story.

Walking to the 4th tee I said to my caddy: "Even par after 3 holes isn't bad. Let's go get the rest of them."

As things came to the crunch, the back to back three woods that I hit into 17 were two of the best consecutive swings I've ever made.

The way I was driving the ball I knew that I could reach with two of my best struck 3 woods.

If I'd hit driver off the tee I could have driven it through the fairway into the rough, something on that particular hole you definitely don't want to do.

I'm sure there were some people watching thinking to themselves that I wasn't being aggressive enough but it definitely wasn't the case.

You have to draw your tee shot on 17 and that's easier for me to do with a 3 wood. I knew that if I got it on the fairway I could still knock my second on the green and make eagle or birdie.

After making those two swings, I didn't think that I would still have to hole a 7 footer for birdie!

My eagle putt on 17 was definitely one where the adrenaline got to me. The ball came off the putter face way faster than I wanted.

When you're out there you have to forget about putts like that immediately, so when I was reading my birdie putt I had already forgotten about it.

My complete focus was on the shot that was in front of me. It was brilliant to see it disappear right in the middle of the hole.

Standing on the 18th tee with a one shot lead was a fantastic feeling. I had battled hard all day and holed some great par putts just to be in the position I was.

I played the hole exactly as I had in other rounds by hitting driver off the tee and staying aggressive.

If you try to change your game plan it means you are either too nervous or getting defensive.

You need to keep firing all the way to the end.

I hit a great second shot from the left rough that ended up on the back edge of the green and I knew walking up there that 2 putts would get me the win.

One of the reasons I'm not overly upset about what happened on the last is that I don't feel that I hit a bad shot. I just seriously misjudged the speed of the putt I had down the hill to the hole.

Unlike on 17, when I knew I had hammered my eagle putt as soon as I made contact, I really felt like my birdie putt on 18 was fine when I hit it.

It just kept rolling out and ended up a little further past than I wanted. My par put was also a good stroke as I read it to break left and played it outside the hole on the right. It just didn't break!

I can live with a misjudgement of speed and a misread. If I had left my par putt short or pulled it badly left then I'm sure I'd be a lot more frustrated and annoyed right now than I am. I hit two putts that I thought were pretty good.

That's all you can do when you're out there, hit the shot you want to and wait to see the result. I can live with the miss as that's exactly what I did.

Going into the play-off, I was still in a pretty good frame of mind. I definitely thought back to Las Vegas and how I had pulled through a three way playoff to lift the trophy. I knew I could definitely do it again.

However, what I didn't predict was that Kuchar was going to pull off a fantastic shot to two feet from the left rough.

When something like that happens you just have to take your hat off and congratulate your opponent.

I gave my birdie putt a run but ended up making par and lost on the hole that ranked the hardest all week. That's definitely not something to be ashamed of.

I can take a ton of confidence out of last week. I led going into the final round and never relinquished the lead all day. I'm now third on the FedEx Cup rankings with a chance to win it all at the Tour Championship.

I've moved up to 61st in the world rankings, only 11 spots away from one of my major goals. And most importantly, I've proved to myself that I can win on one of the biggest stages in world golf.

Even though I'm now playing my sixth week in a row, I can't wait to tee it up again in Boston this week. I feel I can play even better here than I did at The Barclays, if I drive the ball better.

This course should suit me more on paper than Ridgewood did last week. Hopefully, I can keep those putts rolling in over the next few weeks and give myself another chance to win again.

All I can do is hit my shots the way I want to and see where I end up. Everything else is out of my control.

Sadly, I just didn't play well enough this year to be under consideration for the European team. I guess that's nothing to be ashamed of when you consider some of the names that may still miss out.

The strength of European golf right now is maybe better than it has ever been and I'm more disappointed at how I played for a large portion of the season than I am at not being in contention for a Ryder Cup spot.

I'm the type of person that tries to take care of all the small things in my game, knowing that if I do that and keep improving then at some point I will be on Ryder Cup teams.

The decision to play in the FedEx cup or go to Gleneagles this week is such a hard one for guys like Casey, Donald, and Harrington. They haven't secured qualification and aren't certain picks given the strength of other players in contention.

I know how hard it is to schedule your year. It's impossible to play in all the tournaments that you want to and you're going to have tough decisions to make at some point.

I'm sure these guys had this part of their schedule locked in for a while. The FedEx Cup Playoffs are the most important part of the year on the PGA Tour, so it's tough to take them off. Especially if you're near the top of the rankings and have a shot at winning the $10m first prize!

Sometimes you just have to make tough decisions and stick to the schedule that you've planned. They're probably more frustrated at the fact that they haven't played their way onto the team. A good showing this week well may be enough to get the pick that they need.

For me, the Ryder Cup definitely hasn't lost any of its sparkle in the players' eyes. You still hear a lot of the guys saying that making their respective team was the main goal this year. You also see a lot of the guys on the bubble maybe playing a little more often in the second half of the year, trying to get as many points on the board as possible to secure their spot. The Ryder Cup is definitely the biggest event in golf.

There's a lot of hype over here in the US, largely helped by the "will Pavin pick Tiger?" question. I haven't been back home for over 10 years to catch the pre-Ryder Cup build-up in Europe, but I think that it's maybe a little more intense.

It's still a huge event for the US but I think that Europeans maybe look forward to it just a little bit more and have more passion. It's pretty clear though that once the competition gets underway both teams will do everything they can to win. You just can't beat the intensity; it's what makes it the most exciting sports event to watch in the world.

There has been a lot of talk over here about the US being underdogs due to the fantastic strength of the Europeans and the great year that European golf has had. That's something that scares me a little bit as it was the same two years ago and we all know who won that one!

The European team is a little stronger on paper. However, both teams are so unbelievably close and talented that what it says on paper doesn't mean anything. It's possibly an advantage to be the underdog as it takes a lot of pressure off.

This European team has already been labelled as maybe the strongest of all time. All that does is add extra pressure to the guys. There's a big difference between being expected to win and believing you will win.

So, will Pavin pick Tiger? I don't think there's too much doubt about that to be honest. It's an incredibly hard thing to leave out the number one ranked player in the world, and maybe the best player to ever play the game.

Even if Tiger hasn't been at his best this year he still is Tiger Woods. A lot has been said about how he played at Firestone last month, but I think if you look at his major results this year (4th, 4th, 23rd, 28th) it shows that his game is still pretty good despite all that's going on.

We're just used to him having a chance to win every week he tees it up. If you gave those major finishes to someone that's in the running for a captain's pick, it would only help their cause.

I hope Pavin does select Tiger as it would definitely bring an extra edge to the competition. I just can't wait to see how it all turns out. I really hope it's a close battle with Europe just clinching it at the end of the singles, with someone forever remembered as the player who sank the winning putt. I will definitely be watching...

It's good to come into this week after having a nice weekend at Firestone. Any time you are in a field that has everyone in the top 50 of the world rankings playing, you know it is a big event.

I struggled Thursday and Friday but managed to fight around in one over par on a very demanding golf course, which is a sign that my game is getting better.

I finally got in a better rhythm on the weekend and got a few putts to drop, which was a nice change from the last few months where I've not made nearly enough putts to be in contention.

I worked a little with one of the putting gurus out here on tour, Dave Stockton Jr, at the beginning of last week and as the week went on I really started to see some improvement on the greens, which is exciting for me.

We completely changed my pre-shot routine and how I visualise putts before I hit them, actually working on seeing the ball going in the hole as opposed to worrying about making a perfect stroke and being lined up absolutely perfectly.

It has been a frustrating year on the greens so far and I am definitely looking forward to this week more now that I've got some confidence back from the results I saw at Firestone.

Looking back at my results from the last three years, I always seem to be a very slow starter and then about this time of year I do find a bit of form that continues through the end of the season.

Hopefully last week's finish was the start of my summer and fall run and I've some big finishes coming up soon, starting right here at the PGA Championship!

My past record in majors is not impressive at all - four missed cuts in four attempts - so I'm changing my routine up a little this week. Normally for the majors I make sure I get to the venue on the Sunday before so that I can play the course on the Monday, Tuesday and probably also at least nine holes on the Wednesday.

In between these practice rounds I will spend all day on the range/putting green/short game area trying to sharpen my game up as much as I can.

I'm not sure why, but in the past I've felt like I have to put in extra work for these tournaments as they are so big. So much so, that by the time my tee time comes around on Thursday, I am overly anxious to get started and am probably almost over prepared.

I really do believe that it is possible to over prepare and put extra pressure on yourself to perform. You've spent so much time practising and getting ready so you have to play well! When you think like that you'll find that you very rarely do play at your best.

So this week I'm being a lot more relaxed and treating it just like any other tournament. I've found out that a major week can definitely drain your energy levels quickly if you are out there all day grinding Monday-Wednesday.

Hopefully I can go out there and enjoy myself more on Thursday and get off to a great start that continues all the way through Sunday.

After watching a lot of the top players in the world struggle last week at Firestone it really does give you the belief that it's maybe more possible now to win a major than it has been in a while, when Tiger and Phil have been so dominant.

I still do think that Tiger and Phil will find a way to be competitive this week and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they are within firing distance come Sunday. It was pretty obvious that Tiger was ready to get his rounds over with last week as quickly as he could. I know he'll have a slightly different focus this week.

I've found it slightly different coming to the PGA Championship for the first time in that I've not really heard the same talk about it or felt the same buzz as you normally do the couple of weeks before the other three majors.

I'm not sure why that is but there definitely is a little difference about this week. It may be because most of the players have known for a while that they are exempt into the field, compared to The Open or US Open when there are qualifying spots available just a week or two before the championships begin.

However, I'm sure that when it all gets going all the players will be just as focused as they would be for the other three majors and the pressure will be just as large coming down the stretch on Sunday.

There is so much at stake when trying to win a major. Not only do you get to put your name in the history books and reach the absolute pinnacle of your sport, there is also a five-year tour exemption that comes with it. Not to mention all the sponsorship doors that will open once you make that breakthrough.

These are things that you definitely do know and think about during the year and everyone knows what's at stake. However, I really doubt that when you are standing over a six-footer to win a major that that's what is going through your head.

If you do have those things going through your head, you probably will never have that six-footer in the first place.

It is amazing when you get in 'the zone' how you really don't think about things that you imagined you would. I realised that last year in Las Vegas.

At no point in the final round was I thinking about the money or the bonuses that come with a win.

All I was thinking about was trying to win and giving myself the best shot to do that. It's afterwards that you get to sit back and enjoy all that comes along with a win. I know I sure would like to sit back this time next week and think about where in my house to put the Wanamaker Trophy!

As I have mentioned in the past, the back-to-back weeks of the Scottish Open and The Open are as good as it gets for me. To come over and play poorly over those tournaments, especially at The Open, was tough and something that still frustrates me.

I had a respectable finish at Loch Lomond, tied for 26th place, but I felt that I was fighting my game the whole week and never really hit the ball well enough in any round to get myself into contention.

Luckily for me, my short game was working very well on Thursday and Friday, otherwise I would have been watching the weekend action on the TV.

Even though I got my driving sorted out by the time I teed off at St Andrews, I still struggled with my iron game. On a course like the Old Course you need to have your irons dialled in to get even remotely close to a lot of the flags and I couldn't do that, meaning I just didn't have enough realistic birdie putts to get anything going at all.

The Open was especially frustrating as you put in so much time and effort in preparing by playing the course a couple weeks early and spending plenty of time out there on practice days trying to figure out the best way around that fantastic golf course. Then when you tee off on Thursday all the preparation in the world doesn't matter if you can't hit the ball where you are aiming with your irons!

Looking back on the week now, it may be the first tournament I have ever played where I had more fun during the practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday than I did on Thursday and Friday. It was great to be out there soaking up all the history while trying to figure out where to go on the most unique layout you will ever see under Open conditions.

Normally practice rounds are hated by pros, but not at a place like St Andrews with the Claret Jug at stake. Players were definitely paying a little more attention when going around the Old Course early in the week as it really is a course you learn something new about every time you play it, whether it's your fourth or 40th time around.

That's what I think makes it such a special golf course; I don't think you can every really figure it out.

It was also hard for me to struggle at The Open as I had such great support from everyone. I had a lot of family and friends who made the trip through to watch me and it's never fun to go out there and struggle when people make the effort to come out.

Hopefully I can make it up in a future Open soon by having a great week.

It was a great feeling standing on the 1st tee on Thursday and I was definitely a little nervous, as well as tired, with a 4:30am alarm clock getting me up way earlier than you really ever want to.

I had always dreamed about playing at St Andrews in The Open and now here I was, on the tee with a couple of minutes to go before my name gets announced. You're standing there soaking it all in and then before you know it you're walking down the fairway to your ball and it all passes so quickly.

But it is definitely something I will always remember, even if I try hard to forget what I did over the next 36 holes!

After my Sunday round at Loch Lomond when it had been blowing a gale and lashing it down most of my front nine, I had mentioned that I had remembered exactly why I moved to the US ten years ago.

Loch Lomond is a great golf course which, in good conditions, allows you to make lots of birdies and shoot good scores. With weather like we had on Sunday it was a different animal that was playing extremely hard.

I shot three over par and moved up, something that almost never happens on a Sunday.

Let's just say I was ready to get over to St Andrews and hopefully some better weather as it's never too much fun playing in conditions like that. Needless to say, I had no idea what we were about to get on the Friday of The Open.

With the way the course was set up, combined with the wind, it was probably the hardest conditions I have ever played in. Some of the holes were cut in places that make you hope the person that put them there somehow didn't see the weather forecast.

If they did, then they must have wanted to protect the Old Course after Rory's 63 on Thursday. They succeeded!

It is a major and it's not supposed to be easy but there is a difference between challenging and slightly ridiculous. The Open Championship and wind goes hand in hand, though, and that's what makes the tournament so special.

You hit shots that you will never play any other week of the year. You have to have complete control of your golf ball when it is blowing that hard or you will be made to look like an idiot, something that happened to me a couple of times on Friday.

It was fantastic to watch Louis Oosthuizen win on Sunday, and really make it look so easy to do so to. He was in complete control of his game all week and really didn't give anyone else in the field a chance after his 65 on Friday.

It's hard to describe just how well he played on the weekend, as winning a major is the pinnacle of our sport and is supposed to be incredibly difficult. He sure didn't make it seem like that on a weekend of tough conditions.

Congratulations to him, the most convincing major winner there has been in a good few years.

He seems like a really nice guy to go with it, which is always great to see.

Watching him win also gives me a lot of confidence as we are in very similar times in our careers, both 27 years old with one previous win on our tours.

He showed that you don't need to be a top 20 player in the world to win a major; you just need to have all parts of your game clicking at the same time and, most importantly, have the mental ability to handle the pressure.

You just never know when it's going to be your time, so I have to be patient and hopefully at some point all the hard work will pay off and my time will come.

I don't think I remember seeing a golf course so burnt up since watching Tiger Woods and his 2-iron win The Open at Hoylake a few years ago. My initial reaction was shock, but the excitement soon followed.

This is what golf, especially links golf, is all about. Firm, fast fairways that can send your ball any direction they feel like, approach shots that have to be landed 20 yards or more short of the green, and chip shots that never really leave the ground.

This type of golf is something that you almost never see while playing in the States on the PGA Tour. You can pretty much guarantee that every week is going to be similar, with perfectly manicured fairways and greens - and thick, heavy rough all the way up to the side of the green that swallows up your ball.

That is one of the things I miss most about playing on the PGA Tour. Outside of The Open, there are no links courses on the schedule. The US Open at Pebble looked extremely firm, but that course is not designed to have balls bounce into greens, so it really isn't like a links course at all. You just needed to hit it high and soft, very high and soft.

A lot of people in the US think that, to be a good links player, you have to hit it a low draw to keep it out the wind, and quite often rain, that is bound to be a factor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, you need to be able to hit it low on quite a few occasions, but there are also plenty of shots that you may need to hit a high fade for.

To play well around these championship courses with a major set-up, you really have to have complete control of your ball flight and be able to hit it high or low, or shape it left or right, when you want to. Otherwise, there are plenty of flags that you will not be able to have a chance at getting the ball close to. Or even fairways and greens that you won't be able to keep your ball on.

If you have any weakness in being able to control your ball in a certain way, it will just get magnified when the wind is blowing and it is firm and fast around a place like St. Andrews.

The same is to be said about the short game too. You have to be able to pull off the chip and runs from around the greens with low loft clubs as well be able to hit high shots, if required, over a bunker or rough.

Not all, but most weeks on the PGA Tour, there is one shot that is preferable - a high one! When you watch nearly all the top players in the US, they hit the ball a mile in the air and can stop their mid and long irons very quickly. The way courses are changing, with 230-yard par threes and 500-yard par fours a common occurrence now, you need to be able to hit your long irons way up in the air to have a chance at getting the ball close.

This is one of the reasons I think that my game is well suited for the US and that I like it so much over there. I probably hit it as high as nearly anyone on tour and do not mind going at flags with mid to long irons as I know that my ball is going to land pretty softly.

When I first went to the US in 2000, my game was the opposite, I hit it really low. But living in Colorado and at 5000 feet of elevation for four years while at Colorado State University, I soon learned to hit it high to take full advantage of the thin air.

This is something that has benefited me a ton over the years while playing in America and I feel can also help me these next two weeks when I playing back here in Scotland. Loch Lomond (pictured) is an American-style golf course, so you definitely can use the high ball around there to be successful.

Then it will be time for me to get to work practicing keeping the ball down for St Andrews. It is a shot I actually really enjoy hitting but just have not had enough practice at recently. Hopefully, come tournament time, I can have all the shots feeling good and can take them to the course. This two-week stretch is the highlight of my year and I can't wait to get started.

He played brilliantly on Sunday and managed to survive longer than everyone else on a course that was taking chunks out of the top players in the world right from the start.

There are times when I watch golf on TV and think it looks fun and wish I was there. Last Sunday at Pebble Beach was not one of those days; it looked brutal!

A few of the hole set-ups looked a little questionable (17 in particular, with only seven players hitting the green on Sunday) but, overall, it seemed like the course was superb with good shots being rewarded and bad ones being severely punished.

It's always great to see Europeans doing well over here, especially when they are Brits, and seeing three wins in a row on the PGA Tour is very encouraging in a Ryder Cup year.

I just wish there were more saltires being seen at the top of the leaderboards. Hopefully I'll get one up there in the near future!

I had a couple of weeks off which was really nice as I actually took them off. Usually when I have a two-week break I will probably take three days away from practicing before getting back into it.

This is partly due to the fear that if I take a longer break I may take way too long to get back into it; that my swing might leave me if I don't play or practice.

It sounds a little insecure I know, but I feel like for every day I take off I need to practice two days to get it back. I wish I was more relaxed and could be comfortable taking more time off mid-season but I also believe that is one of the reasons I am where I am right now.

However, due to a niggling rib injury that I picked up on the week of The Memorial, I didn't touch a club for 11 days. Definitely the longest break I have ever had mid-season; and it was great.

I am not sure exactly what I did to hurt myself but I think I may have pulled something lifting my luggage. It seemed to get better as the week went on until Thursday late in my round when I took a big hack out of some thick, wet rough.

I woke up on Friday and thought I was going to have to withdraw. So the doctor told me to rest it for a while just to make sure it didn't flare up again.

I have been pretty lucky over my relatively short career in that I have not had to deal with any serious injuries, so I have never been stuck at home wondering what to do with myself.

I am a bit of a grinder normally, so being forced to spend some extra time on the sofa was maybe a benefit in the long run as I have a big few months of competitions coming up.

I am definitely refreshed, if a bit rusty, and I am excited to get back into a tournament again this week. It's also a lot easier to take some time off when there are World Cup games on all day!

After this week I am heading back home for a week to see the family before playing at Loch Lomond and then St Andrews.

Then I head back over to the US to play in the new Greenbrier Classic, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.

All of that takes me up to the FedEx Cup, where I will hopefully progress through to the Tour Championship.

It's a massive sequence of big tournaments and I feel like this rest period will be of benefit when I am coming to the end of that run. There is nothing worse as a player when you feel burnt out and don't even really want to be at an event.

Hopefully I can shake the rust off this week and have a nice tournament to give me confidence for heading back to Scotland.

The Scottish Open and The Open is my dream two weeks and I'd love to play well again on the bonnie banks and then have my game peaking for St Andrews.

After watching Graeme play so well last week and finish the US Open the way he did, I know it's possible. All the Brits can take a lot of confidence from his performance and hopefully we can look forward to a great week around the Old Course.

The US Open was regarded as the toughest test of them all, if at times an overly extreme one, and I was going to get to see how I fared.

I did not know at the time that I was headed for not only the hardest major but it was also around probably the most difficult course the US Open is played on.

The greens were firmer, faster and had more slope than I have ever seen, the rough so thick if you missed the fairway by two yards you needed a full swing (aiming sideways) to get the ball back on the fairway and we had a par three that played over 300 yards one day!

Let's just say, I realised immediately why players say they need a week off to recover after playing this tournament. However, I absolutely loved it.

Unfortunately, I missed too many fairways that week which then goes hand in hand with missing the cut, but I will always remember my week at Oakmont and the crowds that were bigger for practice rounds than I had ever seen before on a Sunday.

I am glad I got to experience playing in a US Open with the course set up bordering on unplayable, since that was the last year that the USGA really got fiendish like that.

When I played last year at Bethpage Black I really liked the course set-up. Even with the ridiculous amount of rain we got that week if you drove it barely into the rough you still had a chance to advance the ball either on the green or close enough.

But if you sprayed one more than five yards into the rough you were met by the same old cabbage there was at Oakmont.

Since the USGA started to do this with the rough I have not heard one complaint from any player and I think it really does make it fairer.

US Open courses are already ridiculously long and difficult, with very tough pin positions, so you don't need it to be as extreme as it used to be.

I think that these changes will make a huge difference at Pebble Beach next week and I can guarantee two things; no one will win by 15 shots and the runner-up will not be 12 over par!

The course will be a lot different from when the PGA Tour goes there in February for the AT&T Pro-Am, with the fairways and greens being a lot firmer.

Due to this and the warmer weather the course will play a little shorter, with the exception of the holes where the USGA has built new 'US Open' tees.

But the course playing shorter does not automatically mean easier, as there are a lot of fairways at Pebble Beach that have significant tilt to them, so the firmer they get the narrower they effectively get.

A perfect example of this will be holes 9 and 10, two long par fours and two of the most spectacular holes you will ever see, right along the cliff edge.

Both of those fairways are sloped big time from left to right so you will only really have the left half of the fairway to land your ball if you want to avoid running down into the rough.

When courses are designed like this it puts a premium on driving the ball well and you have to shape your drives both ways to maximise the width of the fairways. I think that whoever does well will be someone that is working the ball well off the tee and can get the ball on the fairway, as that is the only chance you have at finding the flags.

If I stick to that theory, I should count out Tiger and Phil since they are not the type of players to split the fairway off the tee most times. But I just can't do that.

How can you not have Tiger as one of the favourites? He has to have great memories of winning in 2000 by 15 shots and he putts poa-anua greens better than anyone else in the world.

Also Phil seems to be gradually getting his game back and his record at the US Open is amazing so I am sure he will be there or there about too.

And then you have to have Lee Westwood as a contender as it has been almost a given over the last few years that he will have a chance on Sunday in majors.

Aside from those three guys I would look for players who drive the ball well and can move it right to left easily to have a chance, as most of the hard holes require a draw off the tee.

Unfortunately, I will be watching from my sofa as I had to withdraw from the qualifier with a niggling rib injury.

I have a huge stretch of tournaments coming up over the next couple of months and did not want to risk making it any worse playing 36 holes in one day and then not getting any time off if I managed to qualify.

I will definitely be watching (between any good World Cup games!) and look forward to seeing how cruel the USGA decided to be!

There's no other tournament that I would rather play in than the Open and when it's around the Old Course it is the pinnacle.

Glen Day, a fellow qualifier from the International Qualifier in Dallas on Monday, put it perfectly when he said: "Anybody that doesn't want to play that tournament, especially this year at the Old Course, doesn't know anything about golf!"

I had been thinking about the qualifier for a while and to come through it the way I did makes it even more satisfying. Now I can look forward to a great fortnight playing at Loch Lomond and then St. Andrews.

Not taking anything away from qualifying, but I played good for two rounds on Monday to get into the Open, not great golf over two years!

I guess it's like getting picked to play for Scotland at a packed Hampden against England; it just doesn't get any bigger.

It's the type of tournament that you play golf to play in and practice hard to get into. You then hope that you can perform when you get there.

Standing on the first tee last year at Turnberry was a big moment for me as it was my first ever Open Championship.

It was the tournament that I used to go and watch with my dad when I was a kid and I used to dream about one day maybe getting the chance to play in it.

I think the fact that I played last year will help me a lot this time and I'll be more prepared to go out and be in contention all week.

I love the golf course, even though I've only played it five times in my life, and the fact that I get to stay at my parent's house all week (about 20 minutes away) will be a huge advantage.

Not only do I get to spend some time with them, but it'll be a nice and relaxing week away from St Andrews and all the buzz of the championship. Not to mention the home cooking that I'll get to enjoy!

I really do feel that I learned a lot last year at Turnberry. I was a little impatient in the first round and that cost me at least a couple of shots.

Patience is one of the most important qualities to have when playing tournaments and the need for it is magnified in majors.

I remember watching Monty battling Tiger last time out at the Old Course in 2005 and the unbelievable reception he received from the packed galleries over the weekend.

Hopefully, this year things can all come together for me and I can be the one in that situation on Sunday. It's definitely about time we had another Scot getting their hands on the Claret Jug.

His performances over the last few years, especially in the majors, show that he is very deserving of that ranking.

To finish in the top three in three consecutive majors is a fantastic achievement and shows just how good Lee is playing.

It makes it even more unbelievable that, at one point, he had slipped all the way down to 250th in the world.

I'm sure Lee wishes he could get his hands on one of those major trophies. But, if he keeps playing the way he is, it won't be long before it's his time.

I'm sure there will be more than one in his trophy cabinet by the time he's done. He's just too good and consistent a player for it not to happen.

World golf rankings only really matter when you are inside the top 50 in the world. If you are inside the top 50, you are pretty much eligible for any tournament in the world. But, most importantly, it gets you in all the majors and World Golf Championship events.

I really don't pay any attention to rankings right now as I know I need to have a nice run of performances before I'll be challenging for a top-50 spot. I don't monitor it on a weekly basis and actually checked my ranking for the first time in a month or so when writing this blog (currently 105th!).

I've always said that my goal is to improve every year and, if I continue to work hard and do that, I will eventually be where I want to be. I know that some players may have goals to reach a certain ranking, but I'm pretty sure that most players don't monitor them too closely.

When I won last year in Las Vegas, the most surprising and positive thing I took from winning was how calm I felt coming down the stretch. That proved to me that I belong in that position and I know that, if I have the chance to win again, I can pull it off.

The next time I'm in contention, I'll try to react the same, although I'm sure it would be a lot different if it was a major. I would definitely try to stay as calm as possible, but you only need to look at players in contention coming down the stretch in majors to see how hard that is. It's the pinnacle of our sport to win a major and everyone knows that when trying to win one!

For me, the key to seeing a win through is believing in yourself. Golf is all about trusting your ability and there's not a time that you need to do that more than when you're under pressure in the final round.

If you start to doubt yourself coming down the stretch then its game over as the pressure will get to you and magnify any errors. It's what you practice so hard for and that's when the hard work pays off the most.

It's so hard to win a golf tournament that sometimes the only difference between finishing first or second is a good or bad bounce on one of the final holes.

When there are so many things involved in winning, you can't be too hard on yourself when you have a close call.

I would rather barely miss out any day than finish a few shots back and not have had the chance to win coming down the stretch. It's the pressure and close calls that drive me and make me want to work harder - so you succeed the next time.

You practise your whole life to get into the position that he had, with a chance to win a Tour event, and then lose out by calling a penalty on yourself on the first play-off hole!

I was watching when it happened and couldn't believe it; not because I thought he wouldn't call a penalty on himself, you just never want to see a tournament end like that. He had played so well all week.

To be completely honest I wasn't 100% sure on the rule.

I had a feeling that, if the stick that he clipped on his backswing was dead and not attached to the ground, then there might be an issue.

He may not have understood the rule completely either and that's why he had to call over the rules official. If there's any doubt that's definitely what you should do.

It must be a tough one to take but I heard him in an interview say that he actually took a lot of positives from what happened and the support he has been receiving.

If he can take those on and keep playing great golf then his time will come. The golf gods are definitely on his side now!

After some of the negative publicity golf has received over the last few months it's great for the game that people see that it's still very honest.

I do think that golf is one of the most honest sports around: it's the only sport that I'm aware of that players call penalties on themselves when they have broken a rule.

I think it definitely does make golf stand out and I believe fans respect the fact that we're honest and rely on hard work and practising to win tournaments, rather than cheating.

Players definitely don't know all the rules.

We know most of them but sometimes situations come up that are a little different and we need to get a ruling from an official to make sure there are no mistakes made.

There's so much money at stake every week that you can't afford to make a mistake and either get disqualified or penalised shots.

It could be very expensive come the end of the week, or even cost you the chance to win a tournament.

Some rules are frustrating, but there are so many possible scenarios in golf that it's tough to have a rule book without having a few rulings that some people will not like.

The one rule that I would change is getting relief from a seeded divot in the fairway.

It's always a little frustrating when you hit a good drive down the middle and get there to find your ball in a divot.

Often you can't go at the flag with your approach shot or even in some extreme cases have to lay up.

I would say that I'm right in the middle when it comes to pace of play. I'm definitely not one of the fastest players on Tour but I am also definitely not the slowest.

I don't take much time with full shots but take a little more time putting.

I like to make sure I'm confident of the line and the putt that I have before I hit it.

It sometimes does get a little frustrating when you're paired with someone that's slow and very deliberate when they are out there.

Especially if it causes your group to fall out of position and then get put on the clock, because you feel like you have to rush even if it's not your fault that you've fallen behind.

If you get bad times you start to get fined by the Tour, so it's something you want to avoid!

You have to try to just stay in your own routine and not get too frustrated but sometimes it definitely affects how you play.

In saying that, most guys on Tour play at a good pace, so it's not something you have to worry about too often.

I'm not a huge watcher of golf when I'm not playing, but the Masters is one of a select few tournaments that I do like to watch, especially on Sunday.

I think it's because it's the only major that's at the same course every year. You know all the holes on the back nine and the drama that can unfold over the final stretch.

The memories that stick out for me from watching as a kid are Greg Norman's collapse in the final round in 1996, when Nick Faldo won. Norman was always my favourite player when I was younger, so that made it a tough one to watch.

Tiger Woods really bursting onto the world scene by blowing the field away by 12 shots, and breaking about every record known in 1997, is also something I probably won't ever forget watching.

The guys all get pretty excited this time of year and you definitely notice them out on the range this week working a little harder than normal. You can tell all the players are excited to get there and want to make sure they're as ready as they can be for the first major of the year.

Most of the guys I've talked to have already been to Augusta at some point over the past few weeks to play practice rounds. Making that trip shows how big this tournament is to everyone.

It's normally a pretty easy decision to pick the winner, with either Tiger or Phil Mickelson being a pretty safe bet. This year is a little different, though, with Tiger making his first appearance in what seems like forever and Phil obviously fighting his game a little.

But, even with these things, I still think that both players will be right there on the weekend. It's tough to bet against Tiger, the best player ever to play the game, regardless of what has happened over the last few months.

Ernie Els is obviously playing great right now and looks to have rediscovered some of the form that made him a contender almost every week for so many years. He has to have a lot of confidence right now and watching him make clutch putts on the last few holes to win at Bay Hill says a lot about how he's playing.

It would be great to see a strong European contingent up the top of the leaderboard with one of them putting the green jacket on at the end of the week. We managed a nice run at Augusta for a good few years, with Faldo, Langer, Olazabal, Woosnam and Lyle winning seven green jackets in a nine-year spell. Let's hope there's another strong run like that coming.

It'd definitely be a dream come true for me if I could get my name up there on the leaderboard and one day get a green jacket. Bar The Open, it's the one tournament that I'd love not only to play in but hopefully have a chance to win.

The golf course has so much mystique about it and you always hear that it's so different when you actually get there than what you think from watching on TV. I can't wait until I get my first invite and experience it all for myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to meet Colin Montgomerie last week at Bay Hill and have a chat with him. It was just one of those things that our schedules were completely opposite all week and our paths never actually crossed.

I would've loved the chance to pick his brain about a few things. He was obviously the dominant player in Europe for so long when I was growing up and I know I can learn a lot from him that would hopefully help me become a better player.

It was nice to hear that he had said some complimentary things about me and my game.

Hopefully, I can get my game sorted out a little over the next few months and see if I can make an outside run at the European Ryder Cup team.

I know that I probably have to win again or have some very strong showings at big tournaments this summer to stake a claim for a place. I know I can do it and I'm going to work hard to try and make it happen.

Ball-striking has always been the best part of my game and, during my time on Tour, I've always been high up in the total driving and ball-striking categories.

I'm currently in the top five in both.

I was surprised at how well I closed out my Tour win in Vegas last year, given it was my first time playing in the final group with a great chance to win.

To play well and win in a play-off has given me a lot more confidence going forward.

For some reason, I never have to practise with my driver.

That's always been the case and I seem to drive it pretty well every week. I don't know why but it's the one thing that comes most naturally to me.

We very rarely go after our driver 100% and when you're on a launch monitor, it shows that the difference in distance is minimal when you do and accuracy is definitely affected.

The most common mistake I see with club golfers when I play pro-ams is that they nearly always try to hit the ball too hard. I know everyone wants to hit it as far as they can but if you make solid contact with the ball swinging at 75% it's going to go as far, if not further than at 100%.

I guarantee it'll be straighter as well.

My biggest weakness is consistency with my short game. I can have weeks where I chip and putt great and then weeks where I lose a few shots because of it.

The one thing that I'd love to add to my game is a lot more consistency around the greens.

I'm definitely improving but still have work to do to be as consistent as the top players in the world and be up there at the top of the leaderboard on a weekly basis.

Golf tournaments are really won from 100 yards in, and it's no coincidence that the best players in the world all have very solid short games.

The biggest mistake I see with short game, particularly here in the US, is amateurs automatically reaching for their LW when they miss a green.

More than half of shots around the green would be easier and more consistent if they used a club with a lot less loft and got the ball rolling, instead of trying to fly it to the flag.

A good way to choose which club is to try to always land the ball in the first two or three yards of the green and choose a club that will make it all the way to the pin.

I'm definitely a "feel" player and don't like to get too technical with my swing. My coach and I try to keep it as simple as possible and like to talk about feelings in the swing as opposed to positions.

I'm also a player that struggles when I have technical thoughts going through my head during a round; I do much better when I think of feelings.

I rarely tape my swing and break it down frame by frame. My coach does that every few weeks just to check things but I don't even look at it a lot of the time.

Some guys get too caught up in having a perfect-looking swing rather than having one that they can repeat and, therefore, trust more often.

That's something I made the mistake of doing in the past.

Once I'm done on the course I'm pretty good at leaving and forgetting about my round.

I like to get away from the game and I'm not someone that watches a lot of golf on TV.

If there was a problem, I tend to go straight to the range or putting green to sort it out after I've played.

This way, I can leave the course confident that I've sorted it out before I turn up the next day.

Finally, it wasn't a big surprise that Tiger Woods will return to golf at the Masters. It's a setting where's he's clearly comfortable so a great place for him to get back into competition.

It will definitely be tough not playing in a tournament for more than four months and then having Augusta National to contend with.

It doesn't matter how many rounds you play at home or how much you practise, you'll have some tournament rust that will need to be shaken off quickly.

Add this to the intense scrutiny that Tiger is going to be under and it will be a big ask for him to play great.

In saying that, if there's anyone that can do it it's Tiger, as he's done plenty of things before that have amazed us.

To be honest, I haven't heard any players talking about Tiger's return.

We're all just ready to have him back playing on the PGA Tour and glad and excited that he's coming back.

You always want the best player in the world playing in as many events as possible.