But that didn’t diminish the joy of his one-over par start to the US Open yesterday.

The Corowa ace made three early bogeys in a round that made him proud, especially the one-under inward nine that left him in the fray.

“I felt like I played the golf course really well — I did a really good job of that,” Fraser said after starting his third bid for the US national crown.

“I missed a short putt for bogey on the second hole but got it straight back with a birdie.

“I played well and the back nine I played great.

Fraser’s 71 left him tied for 42nd in the field of 156 — fifth among the Australians and six shots behind the leaders Henrik Stenson (Sweden) and Dustin Johnson (US).

Talk all week has been about the giant Chambers Bay layout being a bombers’ paradise and offering little to shorter hitters such as Fraser.

But he struck a blow for the more traditional style by hitting 13 of 14 fairways.

“In an ideal world, I’d love to hit it longer — it’s a long course — but at the same time, you’ve got to hole putts,” the European Tour veteran said.

“I felt today I holed out really well.

“I made three or four good par saves inside 6-7 feet. That was the key to keeping the round going.

“You’ve got to be smart about how you play every hole and how you approach every shot.

“I felt like I did a really good job today and, hopefully, I can do more of that in the next few days.”

Fraser, in his ninth major, said he got a buzz from being in the first group off the first tee, especially alongside Tecoma’s hometown hero Michael Putnam.

“I felt really comfy up there then the local boy hits the first tee shot and the crowd around him gave him a pretty big roar. It was good to be a part of that,” he said.

“If you don’t get excited by a tournament like this you’ll never get excited.”

To make the start even sweeter, Fraser overcame nerves to clunk his best drive of the day, straight down the middle.

“I rehearsed that drive this week and it’s reassuring when it goes like that.

“I thought 71 was a good score today.

“I probably deserved a couple less, but it’s a US Open — it’s supposed to be tough.”