Ross Fisher has happy memories of previous visit to Bethpage
Not many people can say they have finished ahead of Tiger Woods in a major championship at Bethpage, but England's Ross Fisher is proud to be one of them.
Woods led from start to finish and was the only player to finish under par in the 2002 US Open and was sixth when the tournament returned to the same venue seven years later.
Fisher was one of the five players to finish above Woods on the leaderboard, the 38-year-old threatening to pull off a surprise victory before having to settle for fifth place, his only top 10 in a major to date.
Heavy rain throughout the week led to numerous delays and a Monday finish as 54-hole leader Ricky Barnes struggled to a closing 76 and Lucas Glover held his nerve down the stretch to win his sole major title.
"The rain meant I didn't hit a shot from the Wednesday afternoon practice round until Friday late afternoon," Fisher told Press Association Sport. "It played very, very long and very tough, but that was a US Open and this is a US PGA so hopefully it will play a little bit easier and I'm looking forward to getting out there."
Fisher began the final round five shots off the lead and looked to be drifting out of contention after carding four bogeys and two birdies in the first 12 holes, but then eagled the 605-yard 13th to get within a shot of Glover's lead. Just a couple of poor shots down the stretch cost me but it was nice to be up there and contend in majors, that's what it's all about," Fisher added.
"It was 10 years ago but I remember exactly what I did, missing a tiddler on 12 from two feet for par and then hitting two great shots into 13 to make an eagle and having a good chance.
"Unfortunately I bogeyed 15 and 17 but it was still a great week and I really enjoyed it. It's something I'll never forget. It was only my second US Open but what an experience. Coming to New York, hearing the crowd - I just can't say enough for the crowd.
"Obviously they're cheering for Phil (Mickelson) and all the other guys, but I felt like I had a bit of support out there. I think they kept me going, they kept everyone going, because it was a long week."
A month after the US Open, Fisher held a two-stroke lead in the early stages of the final round of the Open at Turnberry, only to make a quadruple-bogey eight on the fifth and eventually finish in a tie for 13th.
Since then his best result in a major is a share of 15th in the 2011 Masters, a tournament he failed to qualify for this year after falling out of the world's top 50 towards the end of last season.
"Not being in the Masters or any of the WGC (World Golf Chamionship) events was a huge disappointment but it allowed me to have five weeks off and do a lot of work with Dennis (Pugh, his coach) up at Wisley," Fisher added. "I added the event in China to keep me ticking over and it was nice to come into some form with a top 15 in the British Masters last week."