ROBERT Dinwiddie has tried 13 times to qualify for the Open Championship and 13 times he has failed - but today he will start playing his second US Open.

And if the 28-year-old Durham golfer enjoys himself even half as much as he did on his debut at Torrey Pines three years ago then he will have had a good week.

Dinwiddie, who turned professional after playing in the 2005 Walker Cup, was only five shots off the lead at the halfway stage of his first major before slipping back to 36th.

"I've done exactly the same as I did for Torrey because it worked all right there,'' he said.

"I had a full practice round on Sunday when it was quiet, then Monday completely off - I didn't even come to the course - and then nine holes Tuesday and nine Wednesday.

"It means so much to be here. Even going out for a practice round you're somewhat nervous. It's completely different to a regular European Tour event - you spend so much time stopping to sign autographs and the days are so much longer.

"Take yesterday. I got here at seven, played nine holes, had a spot of lunch, then came to the range and it was half one.

"You feel like you could be completely spent before the tournament starts, so it's key not to wear yourself out.

"It's everything I expected it to be - the set-up is very similar to Torrey. I'm not super long, but I like to think pretty straight, so if I can get a bit of run I'm not too far behind and can hit a reasonable club into the greens.

"If you drive it well it helps in any tournament, but particularly here. It's course management - there'll be times when you're better off not going for the green, but leaving it short and then trying to get up and down.

"I think I have higher expectations than last time. I'm determined not to be daunted by it, but I'm trying to play that down as much as I can.

"It's about bringing it all the way back to concentrating on every shot and trying to hit it as good as I can, then add it up and see how I've done.

"One thing I've never seen before is an extra yardage book just for the breaks on the greens. As if we hadn't got enough to think about already!

"I think I'm going to forget about it to be honest - with greens like this it comes down to feel. At the end of the day you're trying to simplify it as much as possible."

At 320th in the world Dinwiddie has to be considered one of the outsiders for the second major of the year - he is available at 1,000/1 on some betting lists.

But he is a good enough player to have produced a course record 63 at Wentworth in the 2008 BMW PGA Championship and this same week last year he had his best finish on the European Tour.

That was joint runner-up in the St Omer Open, one of the smallest events on the circuit. Now he is at one of the biggest and lapping up every second.