Jimmy Gunn played in the biggest tournament of his life, none other than the 115th U.S. Open this past weekend at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash., nine miles southwest of Tacoma.

Gunn finished tied for 27th with a four-day overall score of 5-over par 285, considering it was his first USGA event and first major, that's considered a big win in the book of the 34-year-old Scot who turns 35 on July 18.

Plus he shot a 1-under-par 70 in each of the last two rounds on Saturday and Sunday, matching what runner-up Dustin Johnson shot during his final two rounds.

"It was awesome," the ninth-year professional said. "I played some great golf. This is the toughest golf course I've ever played. But I loved the course, I felt comfortable out there. People were asking me there, 'Were you not nervous or starstruck because it's all the best players in the world?' And I said, 'No, not really. The last round I played with Sergio Garcia, it was another day on the course for me. I may have been a little nervous on the first tee shot (on Thursday in the first round), but I hit it down the middle and I was good to go."

ALL OF this is fine and dandy, to borrow an Irish term, but how Gunn got to his first major in the first place is a pretty sweet yet somewhat stressful story.

On June 8, Gunn finished 11th at a U.S. Open sectional qualifying event in Memphis, won a playoff over J.J. Henry by birdieing the fourth hole, while Henry made par and making Gunn the first alternate.

Gunn was one of five alternates to get into the tournament, after no one at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis on June 11-14 was able to break into the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking. The USGA held a total of six spots heading into championship week.

He did not find out he was in until June 15, the Monday morning the week of the U.S. Open.

"I played great in Memphis the first round, I shot 2-under," Gunn said. "I hit 17 greens but I didn't putt very well. I only shot 2-under, I was like, 'Dammit.' But then I shot some bogeys, I shot 3-under there, I was 5-under overall (in the one-day, 36-hole sectional qualifier), I knew I was going to be tied. I knew deep down it was probably going to be for a spot for the Open. We both parred the first three holes."

"I knew being the first alternate meant that I had a good chance to make it," Gunn said.

"I went to Memphis and I was first alternate there but technically, I was second alternate for the whole tournament. Only one person (at the FedEx got into the top 60), it was Kevin Kisner, so there were five spots left but those spots are given to alternates. So I was given one of those. So it was me, Kevin Chappell and three others (Steven Marino, Josh Persons and Andy Sullivan)."

Gunn saw that he had a great chance of getting in, after his performance in Memphis.

"If you do your homework, which I did, I knew I had a really good chance (to qualify)," Gunn said. "In the last five years of the U.S. Open, four or more alternates got into the field. It's really difficult to have six guys to get into the top 60 in the world. The reason the USGA does that, is to cover their (butt) in case it does happen, because it could. They couldn't tell me I was in (at the time), but they were like, 'Look, if I were you, I'd probably arrange to come up here because the chances are, they're getting better."

FAST-FORWARD a bit to the U.S. Open and Gunn was more or less feeling it, as he holed three birdies right out of the gate in the first round last Thursday and 18 in the tournament. His bugaboo was shooting two double bogeys in the second round and back-to-back double bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes on Sunday's final round.

"I spoke to my agent and said I only had a 70," Gunn said. "I said if I hadn't shot four double bogeys on the week, I'm contending with the leaders. I'm right there. On the 10th hole (Sunday), I pulled my tee shot 5 yards to the left. But you can't let it get to you. I was very happy on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, I finished birdie-par-birdie and on Saturday, I was birdie-birdie-par."

Gunn played with Sam Saunders and Jarrod Bucher in the first two rounds, and with Camilio Villegas on Saturday.

Perhaps the most important part of Gunn's weekend was after the final hole on Friday of someone else's round.

Nick Hardy, who was among six amateurs to make the cut, the most in 49 years, made a bogey on the 18th hole, which opened a floodgate of sorts that allowed 15 more golfers to make the cut, including Gunn.

"It felt great, not really relieved," Gunn said. "But I felt like I played good enough. I was in the player hospitality (area) with family and friends."

Either way, Gunn did not have too much trouble playing on the greens that Henrik Stenson, ranked sixth in the world, said was "like putting on broccoli."

"I never complained about them because I figured if you have the right pace on your putts, they were actually holding the lines pretty good," Gunn said. "A couple of greens were really bad like No. 4 was gone, it was dead, they'd just lost it, it was dirt. But it was flat, you could still putt on it. I've putted on way worst things, I've putted on way better. I don't let things like that bother me, I figured it's the same for everybody. I played some great golf, I played some not-so-great golf. It was super tough. I love the course, it was very hard and fast. I seem to do very well in very difficult golf courses for some reason - I don't know why, I just do. I definitely felt like with this course, you could putt from like, 60 to 70 yards away if you wanted to," Gunn said. "So I had to recall some of my growing up days in Royal Dornoch for long putting. Because it's very hard to chip off concrete because it's very hard to get behind the ball and the greens were so hard. I've been doing a lot of putting from off the greens, because you've just got to get it rolling. Growing up in Scotland definitely helped me there. I've never played a course in Scotland that's that hard and fast."

Gunn's playing partner on Sunday, Sergio Garcia, tweeted on Thursday, the first day of the tournament: "I think a championship of the caliber of @usopengolf deserves better quality green surfaces that we have this week but maybe I'm wrong!"

Gunn occasionally talked to Garcia about the surfaces.

"We talked a while about the course," Gunn said. "But you have to remember, these superstars, a lot of the stuff they say gets taken out of context. Every single player will tell you the greens weren't great, because they weren't great. I made 18 birdies, you can't make 18 birdies without rolling putts in. He finished strong too, so it doesn't matter what you say. He wasn't saying they were unputtable, he was just saying they weren't that great, because they weren't. He wasn't saying they were unplayable or anything, he was just telling the facts."

AFTER THE final day on Sunday, on which he collected a check for $64,126, Gunn got to celebrate Father's Day with his father, James and his mother, Wendy, who were there all week. His fiancee, Jessica, McLoughlin, who lives with him in Phoenix, flew to Seattle on Saturday night, so she got to watch Gunn play all day Sunday. They all got to spend time with each other at the home of the parents of caddie Kellen Eakin, a former PGA Tour professional and University of Washington player and alum.

"We had a party at his place," Gunn said. "I didn't really have time to get him a gift, but on the final day (Sunday), my instructor allowed him to cross the rope and my Dad came standing there, watching me warm up."

AFTER A one-year sponsorship deal with the Coeur d'Alene Casino and Resort, Gunn went the first half of this year without their sponsorship. But that doesn't mean Gunn would not like to possibly get back with the resort.

"They can sponsor me this year, because I had mini-tours and stuff," Gunn said. "They sponsored me last year on the Web.com (Tour). But we're really close, I keep in constant contact with Mr. Bob Bostwick and I still have a great relationship with them and we'll probably do something down the line, for sure. If I get my (PGA) Tour card back after Q-school this year or for instance, if I maybe get a possible sponsorship which propels me into a bigger tour, then we'd probably sit back down this year or sometime."

Bostwick said it was a roller coaster watching Gunn's scores online, with his birdies and bogeys.

"All said and done, he showed his skill beautifully, finishing in the upper half among the best players in the world," Bostwick said.

Gunn is currently playing this weekend in the San Juan Open in Farmington, N.M., after finishing off his huge weekend in western Washington.

"I'm trying to get into the Scottish Open (July 9-12 at Gullane Golf Club in Gullane)," Gunn said. "I'm on the radar; I've got my fingers crossed.'

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @bourq25