It's been up and down this last month. I had a week off after the US Open to prepare for France, in which I felt my game was starting to come together nicely and I began to see real signs of improvement. I went to France and played nicely on a golf course that I've always struggled with in the past, which is one of the best courses we play. I managed to put together a nice week and almost got myself into contention, just on the fringes, and finished sixth. It was a week I really needed in the season and I felt as if I was getting a bit of momentum and direction back so I was very pleased. The downside to that was I got ill during the week and was just ticking over, which maybe helped me achieve the result I needed. Unfortunately I had to take a few days off and pull out of the JP McManus pro-am on the Monday and Tuesday, which I was really disappointed about as it's such a great event.

So I had a few days off before travelling to Loch Lomond where I didn't really get to prepare how I wanted to and ended up rushing and doing a little too much on Wednesday. It was very tough conditions with the weather and the greens not being in great shape as they'd had a tough winter. Putting all that together, I was going quite nicely and then had a couple of three putts in my last few holes which turned a really steady round from a top ten to middle of the pack. I wasn't very happy with the poor finish and lack of mental clarity. I went out for the second round and struggled a bit and then made a triple at the tenth which really cost me and I just couldn't make any putts the rest of the day to make the cut and continue the momentum. I was really disappointed with that but looking on the bright side it gave me a couple of days to rest and prepare for The Open.

I travelled across to St. Andrews on Sunday. The course was in unbelievable shape- I've never seen it that good. I was able to do a bit of extra practise and really prepare for the week as well as I could. The downside to playing France and Loch Lomond is the fact that you don't get into the links mode. The rest of the practise days weren't that windy so it was awkward to get into that links mind frame and hit such extreme shots. I wasn't really swinging it brilliantly and was lacking ball control. I was hitting it relatively straight but with a cut all week so I couldn't really shape my ball into the wind and do what I needed to do. I got away with it the first day because it wasn't very windy and I played pretty steady. I felt like my putting really improved and was getting back to where it was last year which was very promising but unfortunately when the wind came in on Friday and we were in with a seven hour round in heavy winds it was a tough day and I wasn't able to drive the ball as well as I could. My irons weren't as precise as they needed to be to get at the pins. The Open is all about dealing with the weather that you get and I didn't deal with it that well. I putted really well for the first 27 holes and then left myself some long putts on the back nine and three putted a couple of them and then missed a chance on the road hole (17) which ended up putting me outside the cut. I was very disappointed to miss the cut after having such a good first round and putting myself in a good position but you live and learn- that's what The Open is all about.

In the media I was quoted as having a bit of a dig at the R&A. I felt as if my words were taken a bit out of context. I said a few things jokingly and they obviously came across not how I intended them. I didn't feel the pin positions were located in the best positions considering the weather that had been forecasted for Friday. I felt that if the pin positions had been more central in the greens, allowing for the weather, then the field wouldn't have been split as much as it was down the A.M. and P.M. draw. With that being said, I would like to apologise to the R&A for my comments as they were over the top. Even though I was very frustrated after playing it wasn't meant in that light. I was immediately interviewed after walking off the course and missing the cut by one. I was annoyed and disappointed with myself and in the heat of the moment said a few things I shouldn't have that I felt were taken out of context. As far as I'm concerned that's over and The Open was a fantastic success. I'd like to congratulate Louis on one of the most stunning performances that I've ever seen. A few people have said it was a boring Open but if Tiger Woods had been eight or nine ahead everyone would have been loving it so I think Louis deserves every credit for holding off such in form players and destroying the field, so to speak.

As I said, the last few weeks have been up and down. I've had a few different caddies. Dean worked for me in France and Loch Lomond; he was only a short term option and was meant to finish at The Open and I was going to move on to look for someone else. I decided to change a week early and get Paul Smith on the bag who is now hopefully permanent- we're still in a trial. He used to work for Miguel Angel Jimenez and he has a lot of experience around the Old Course and he's won quite a few tournaments with Miguel. I feel like we could be a good match- we got on well last week and things went reasonably well in that regard. I'm looking forward to getting back to playing but as for now I'm having two weeks off so that I can have a solid week off away from golf. At the end of the day you can analyse why my form hasn't been where I have wanted and I think a part of that comes down to scheduling. I've tried to play a little bit too much, trying to push for the Ryder Cup and to improve in the world rankings but I know from past experiences that that's not the thing to do. I'm going to take two weeks off so I can have a week off and then a week to properly prepare for Bridgestone and PGA which are two huge events where if I play well I can really get the season back on track. Thanks for all the support!

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