91Èȱ¬

Scottish golfer Jimmy Gunn is confident he can use his appearance at the US Open to propel his career forward.

The 34-year-old was called into the event at Chambers Bay after initially narrowly missing out in qualifying.

"I've been playing good for a couple of years now," he told 91Èȱ¬ Scotland. "I'm really going to try and use this week to further my career.

"I did lose my card last year on the Web.com Tour but I've been playing great on the mini-tours this year."

Gunn regards the course as "one of the hardest" he has played but insists he can thrive on it.

"There's a lot of guys complaining about it; I'm not, I personally love it," he said.

"I think it's great. It's super 'linksy'. It's rock hard. If you've got a five iron coming into the green and you land it on the green, there's not a chance it's going to hold.

"You've got to really focus on one shot at a time out here. If you're not 100% focused, this course is going to bite you really quick.

"It reminds me of being back home [in Dornoch]. There's loads of slopes. You can putt it from 150 yards out if you want, it's shaved completely bare. It's going to be fun."

Arizona-based Gunn revealed he had witnessed Tiger Woods "hit a couple of shanks" while both were out practising and the Scot says he does not feel overawed going up against the big names at this year's tournament.

"I don't feel too out of place, I feel pretty comfortable out there," he added.

"Obviously, I have no status on the Web.com Tour anymore. There are different avenues off a finish here that could get me into finals."

Gunn moved to the United States in 2007 and puts the American twang in his accent down to the need to be understood.

"If we don't end up speaking slightly American, they have no idea what word you're saying," he added.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone said 'what?' to me, I'd be a millionaire right now."