TEE TO GREEN:I have to concentrate on my game and ignore the number-crunching, writes SIMON THORNTON

I’VE HAD a bit of time off since the Irish Open, which also gives me the chance to play in a couple of events on the Irish PGA circuit. It helps to keep my eye in while the bigger events like the Bridgestone Invitational and this week’s US PGA take centre stage.

Last week I teed it up in the Ulster Championship at Lough Erne. I had it going on the first day but played horrendously in the second round and shot 77.

It was just one of those days when my timing and rhythm was off – too many bad shots but that’s what happens sometimes.

Anyway, it’s back to work proper at the Czech Open next week, which will hopefully be the start of a five-week run. I know playing five weeks on the trot is not ideal and many players wouldn’t fancy it, but because of the limited availability of tournaments I have to play everything I can get into.

There was a re-rank after Killarney and that moved me up a few more places within Category 11. At the start of the season I was 29th then moved to 18th and have now climbed to 12th, which definitely helps me get into more events.

After the Czech Open I’ll play the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles then move on to Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria.

This time of year there is added pressure on tournament entries because those chasing a Ryder Cup place will compete more in Europe, whereas others (like myself) are simply trying to secure a tour card and livelihood for next season.

There’s no doubt we’re getting into the crunch part of the season but I try not to let it bother me too much. Every time I’m home people come up to me on the practice ground and ask what I need to keep my card. Sure, that’s the end goal but I’m not focusing on that. I have to concentrate on my golf game and ignore the number-crunching because that can become very distracting and also adds unnecessary pressure.

I’ll just keep playing and see what happens. Obviously it was great to get my card in the first place and it would be even better to keep it, but if it doesn’t work out this time then I’ll go work a bit harder and try again.

The rewards are so high on the main tour that all it takes is one or maybe two good finishes then the fuss is all over. I’ve been close this season and played in the final group in Munich and can take a lot of positives from that experience.

Killarney was a great week but it was disappointing to finish double-bogey, bogey par and just miss the cut. I had been playing well but got into a bad position at the 16th and poor course management cost me. In hindsight I should have played the percentages rather than pushing it when I didn’t need to.

On the whole I thought it was a great tournament, great venue, well organised and the whole town bought into it. A crucial part of the success was having the event played over a bank holiday weekend because there were loads of people around and that added to the atmosphere.

If there was any criticism of the course I’d say the greens were just okay. In my opinion, they weren’t great. I thought the surfaces were a little slow and bumpy in places. They were shown up a little on the back of Scandinavia the week before where they had perfect putting surfaces.

That said, I know the bad winter didn’t help.

The course is shorter than most of the tour venues we play but that doesn’t make it any easier. If you go off line there is still plenty of trouble to catch you.

I heard a lot of the older guys saying the 3 Irish Open has been lacking since the heady days of Portmarnock but they also said Killarney was one of the best tournaments in years.

The recent time off has given me a chance to work on my game and though I’m not doing anything specific with the long game I’ve have been focusing on my putting. I did some work with Phil Kenyon, who works alongside the famous putting guru, Harold Swash, the man behind the Yes putters.

I also enjoy the pro-ams and will play in the Fred Daly Memorial at Balmoral Golf Club in Belfast on Thursday. Usually they are a bit of craic playing with friends and if I shoot a good score then it gives me a bit of extra pocket money.

Swing-wise, everything is okay and I’m hitting the ball well. I just need to get the scoring going a bit better over the next few weeks.