It was another top-10 finish for me at the Celtic Manor Wales Open, but I must reveal I almost pulled out of the tournament on the final day.

What happened was that I seem to have damaged my intercostal muscles during the final day of the European Open. Must have been some shot I hit from the rough. It started paining the day after the tournament, but visits to the wonderful physios on the European Tour and a couple of painkillers made it possible for me to play the first three days.

On the final day, however, the pain was unbearable. At the range, I was hitting my driver less than 200 yards, which was when I decided to cut short my warm-up and headed for the physios again. In the end, I somehow managed to go around the 18 holes, and considering the state I was in, I would have taken my two-under par round on Sunday and the tied sixth finish any day.

This really puts a spanner in my plans. I was looking forward to playing the US Open next week at Bethpage State Park, the venue where I played my first Major - the 2002 US Open. I was hoping to put in a couple of practice rounds before the actual week started, but that looks extremely doubtful now.

As things stand, I am having an MRI scan done in the States and depending on the results and the doctor's advice, I will take a decision whether to play the tournament on Saturday. Hopefully, everything will be all right by then.

I love the US Open and one of the main reasons for that is the way they set up the golf course. I always feel that tougher the course, I have an advantage because of my scrambling abilities. Also, I am playing really well at the moment and a good result at Bethpage Black will be important to my position in the Race to Dubai, as well as my chances of securing a US PGA Tour card for the next season.

Let's see how it goes. Jeev