I'm sure all the spectators who followed John Daly, Scott McCarron and myself in the third round of the Byron Nelson on Saturday enjoyed every second of it. Three of the biggest hitters on the US Tour really giving it a lash. As the rookie and the young guy in the trio, I wasn't fazed at all - but, the thing is, I walked off the course as low as I've ever felt in my short professional career.

Why? Well, I had two triple bogeys in the round, and it ruined what could have been a really good week for me. In effect, that meant six shots down the drain on Saturday, and I was flat going to the first tee for the final round. The Byron Nelson finished a four-week stretch on the circuit for me and, although I made three cuts out of four, I failed utterly to capitalise with my weekend play.

I'm not playing in The Colonial this week, after which there is a rerank for the school graduates. I do know, though, that I'm not going to slip down the rankings and, if anything, I'll probably move up a spot or two.

However, last Saturday blew me away. It was a weird week, and two incidents - in particular - will demonstrate why I felt so down after the round. I knew I needed to make a good score and was really delighted when paired with Daly and McCarron.

John, of course, is the longest hitter on the tour and is ranked number one in driving stats. McCarron is ranked fifth, and I'm ranked eighth. So, I wasn't at all surprised that we attracted a huge gallery. I'd met Daly on the range at the Honda Classic a few weeks ago and he is a really nice guy. So, I was very comfortable playing alongside him having shot 70-68 in the opening two rounds to give myself an opportunity for a big pay-day. My first blow came at the 15th hole - my sixth, having started on the 10th - on the Saturday. I'd parred the first four holes, was comfortable with myself, but overshot the green and got a wicked hard bounce on a cobble-stoned cart path. The ball finished up over 30 yards further on, in a bunker that belonged to another hole, and I was faced with a shot back over the TV tower and put it into water. A triple bogey.

However, I regrouped really well, birdied the next - a par five - when reaching the green with a drive and four iron and saw my 20-foot eagle putt just lip out. And I'd added another birdie to my card by the time we got to the fourth, our 13th. Then, disaster struck - not just me, but Daly also. We both hit two huge drives which flew a mound. We both hit the cobbled cart paths. And we both got the wrong kick to the right. When I got up to my ball, it was just touching the out-of-bounds, a thick white line. That was it, once it was touching it was OB - and that killed me. I had another triple bogey and couldn't recover from that.

Playing with the two guys didn't faze me, as I've said, and I was actually pumped up. But I had a good 15 or 16 holes and those two triple bogeys and, when I was on the tee Sunday at 10 to eight, I was still a bit flat. Take away those triples, and I'd have been fired up.

It's all part of the learning process, I know, but I could have done without it. It could have been a good week for me, that's the most frustrating part.

Yet, there are some positives I took away with me from Texas. I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the putter and didn't three putt during the four rounds. That's good; and I know I'm playing real well, and swinging good, and my attitude is good.

The other positive was getting to meet Byron Nelson, one of the game's genuine superstars and a gentleman into the bargain. He sat by the 18th green all day Sunday and, after walking up the final fairway, with the crowds thronged from tee-to-green, it was fantastic to shake hands with Byron and his wife. Anyway, I travelled up to New York from Texas and am staying upstate with a good friend of mine, some two hours from the city. After four weeks on the road, it is nice to unwind and relax. Next week, I'll play in a Nike Tour event in Knoxville when I'll have a friend from Birr on the bag for me. I should be ready to fire on all cylinders.

(In an interview with Philip Reid).