. McDOWELL RENEWS BELIEF HE'S A MAJOR MAN IN PRO GOLF

FROM THE BBCSPORT.COM WEBSITE

Graeme McDowell says he has "renewed belief" he can win more major championships after tying for second place at the US Open in San Francisco.

The 2010 champion finished one stroke behind the winner, American Webb Simpson."The fact I came second and gave myself a chance of winning means I will take a huge number of positives from this week," said McDowell.

"I was nervous on the last two days but hit quality shots under pressure. I am very proud of how I played overall."

McDowell went into Sunday's final round joint top of the leaderboard with American Jim Furyk, but paid the penalty for a "disappointing" start to his final round.

"It was tough out there, I got off to a slow start and didn't give myself opportunities," he said.

"It was disappointing but I missed too many fairways and that is not ideal at the US Open.

"I thought I was in with a chance after birdies at the 11th and 12th, but then I hit a bad shot at 13 and bogeyed 14.

"At least the birdie at 17 gave me an opportunity going down the last, but in the end I fell just short.

"These tournaments are a bit like riding a rollercoaster - it hurts at the time and it's a bit scary but when you look back, you think 'that's pretty enjoyable, I'd like to do that again'.

"The crowd were fantastic, they really kept me going, I'm just disappointed I couldn't do it for them."

McDowell now lies fourth in the European Ryder Cup points list and has moved up to 11th in the world rankings.

"I'm excited about the Irish Open, and I guess there will be a little bit of expectation on me now," he added.