Marcus Fraser has walked off many golf courses with numbers better than 71.
But that didn’t diminish the joy of his one-over-par start to the US Open today.
The Corowa ace made three early bogeys in a round of which he was rightly proud, especially the one-under inward nine that vaulted him back into the fray.
“I felt like I played the golf course really well – (did) a really good job of that,” Fraser said after starting his third bid for the US national crown.
“I missed a short putt (that led to) bogey on the second hole, but got it straight back with a birdie at the next.
“Overall I played well and the back nine I played great.
“You’ve just got to keep plodding along and I enjoy playing the game that way.”
Conversation all week has been about the monstrous Chambers Bay layout being a bombers’ paradise and offering little to the shorter hitters, of whom Fraser is a card-carrying member.
But he struck a blow for the more traditional style by hitting 13 of 14 fairways and those who like to think — rather than blast — through their golfing challenges.
“In an ideal world I’d love to hit it longer; it’s a long golf course, but at the same time you’ve gotta hole putts out there and I felt like today I holed out really well,” the European Tour veteran said.
“I made three or four good par saves from inside 6-7 feet and that was the key to keep the round going.
“You’ve gotta be smart about how play every hole and how you approach every shot and I felt like I did a really good job of that today and hopefully I can do more of that in the next few days.”
Fraser, in his ninth major championship, said he got a lovely buzz from being in the first group off the first tee, especially with hometown hero Michael Putnam leading the field away alongside him.
“I felt really comfy up there … then the local boy hits the first tee shot and the crowd around him gave him a pretty big roar and it was good to be a part of that.
“If you can’t get excited about playing a tournament like this you’re never going to.”
And to make the start even sweeter, Fraser overcame the nerves and clunked his best drive of the day straight down the middle before the physical challenges kicked in.
“Obviously I rehearsed that drive a lot on the range this week … and it’s always reassuring when it goes like that.
“I thought 71 was a good score for me today, probably deserved a couple less but … it’s a US Open, it’s supposed to be tough.
“I loved it out there.”