South African Louis Oosthuizen hopes he can end 2011 on a high to give him some momentum going into next year.
Oosthuizen, who is 30/1 with bookmaker to win the Frys.com open this week, shot to public attention after romping to victory by seven shots at the Open Championship at St Andrews last summer.
The win shot the 28-year-old into the world’s top 20 but he has found it difficult to maintain his progress this year.
Injuries and inconsistency have meant that he has managed just two top-ten finishes and has slipped to 49th in the standings.
But he showed glimpses of his previous form by finishing fifth at last week’s Dunhill Links Championship and hopes to continue his progress at the Frys.com Open.
Oosthuizen told Reuters: “It’s been a very disappointing year. The minute I felt like I was playing nicely, I had a few injuries and then whenever I’ve felt like playing pretty decent golf, I just couldn’t get on a run. Hopefully I can finish strong and next year will be better.”