Rhys Enoch endured a tough final day at his first US Open – but sill came away with a cheque for £18,000 as he finished tied for 71st place.
It was not enough to give the Welshman his best Major finish as he was behind the 56th place he managed at last year’s Open at Carnoustie.
But the week at Pebble Beach in California still provided Enoch with the round of his career after the 31-year-old shot a blistering 66 on Friday to make the cut.
That followed an opening round 78 and he backed up his second round showing with a consistent par-71 round on Saturday.
But Sunday’s final day proved much more difficult for the Cardiff-based Welsh number one who fired a five-over-par round of 76 to finish the tournament on seven-over.
That left him tied for 71st place – 20 strokes adrift of eventual winner, Gary Woodland of the USA.
Enoch’s problems came early as he began with three bogeys at the opening three holes and he dropped another shot at the fifth.
He pulled a shot back with a birdie at the sixth hole but was out in 39 – four over par.
His back nine was steadier, with two bogeys and a birdie as he finished on five-over for the day – enough to improve his world ranking by 15 places from number 358 to 343.
Enoch had qualified for the year’s US Open when he tied for eighth spot at Walton Heath in Surrey – grabbing a qualification place ahead of the likes of Lee Westwood.