Terence Daniels has acquired a particular liking for Southern Dunes Golf Club in Arizona.

The professional fired a four-under 68 playing in an amateur event at the par-72 course. He also finished ninth in a mini-tour event at the same venue.

It is for this very reason that Daniels has decided to try his luck at qualifying for the US Open for the first time at Southern Dunes next month.

“I played the Arizona amateur there and did well and played another pro event there and did well, so that is why I picked that course because I have played it before,” Daniels said.

“It is a nice course pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, so it is always in good shape.”

Daniels, who celebrated his 26th birthday last month, will be among those seeking to advance to the next phase of US Open qualifying at the upcoming 18-hole event to take place at Southern Dunes on May 14.

Local US qualifiers will be held at 111 venues in 42 states from May 2 to 19. Those players who advance out of local qualifying will compete in sectional qualifying, which will be held over 36 holes at ten venues on June 2.

Japan and England will host international sectional qualifying on May 26. The US Open will be held at Pinehurst from June 12 to 15.

Daniels, who plays on the Dream Chaser Tour in Arizona, qualified for the 2010 US Amateur Championship held at Chambers Bay in Washington.

“It was awesome and was always a goal of mine to play in a USGA before I turned pro,” he said

“Pretty much all of the best amateurs in the world were there, so it was huge.”

Qualifying for the US Open would be a massive feather in Daniels’s cap.

“It would be huge to qualify for the US Open which is one of the biggest tournaments in the world,” he said. “Everybody recognises it as one of the toughest tournaments to qualify for and once you are there one of the toughest tournaments to play in. It would be pretty big for my career to qualify.”

Daniels is scheduled to play in a tournament later this month in Arizona, his last before next month’s US Open qualifier.

“I feel pretty good about my overall game right now,” he said. “I still have about a month before the qualifiers, so I will be practising hard and working on the things I need to be working on to get even better. I am pretty confident in my game right now.”

Daniels was the among the field at last weekend’s Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship at Turtle Hill Golf Club. He finished 32nd overall at nine over par.

An opening round of one-under 53 left Daniels two shots off the lead heading into the final round of the 36-hole event.

However, the superb form that shone through the day before eluded him when it mattered most over the final 18 holes.

“Overall, it was a good experience but I wish I would have played better the last day,” Daniels said. “I thought the tournament was set up excellently and was probably one of the most organised tournaments I have played in.”

n Jeffrey Lindo won the men’s senior amateur title at last weekend’s World Par 3 Championship and was not joint winner with Craig Christensen as previously reported.