Local pro Dwayne Pearman failed in his bid to qualify for the next month’s US Open after carding a disappointing 11-over-par 83 at the Atlanta National Golf Club in Alpharetta, Georgia on Tuesday.Pearman, who turned 50 last year, had six bogeys, two double and a triple bogey in the 18-hole qualifying round.But he said the score didn’t reflect how well he hit the ball on what he described as the “toughest golf course I’ve ever played”.“I didn’t really play bad, I felt I hit the ball good,” said Pearman yesterday after returning from Atlanta. “I was worrying about my putting before I got there but that wasn’t the problem. I putted good, drove the ball well but just didn’t score.”Pearman arrived in Atlanta on Sunday, had a practice round on Monday and took to the course for the qualifying round on Tuesday.“It was a good golf course, but tough and I guess I didn’t pick the right spot this time,” said Pearman who was initially planning to playing in a qualifier in Florida.“It wasn’t the length so much, I’m hitting it a good distance. I feel and can keep up with the young boys, I just think it was the lay-out of the course. You’ve got to hit the ball straight, there are trees on both sides, there’s water and you have to play it a few times. I would like to have played it a few more times.“I had a triple bogey on a par- three (12th) and double bogey on a par three (17th) and both of them were going over water.”The outcome has not deterred Pearman from trying again to qualify for the US Open in the future. This year’s Open will be played at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, having held 111 qualifiers in 43 states throughout the US since May 3 to 16 for thousands of would-be qualifiers.“It’s kind of tough because I don’t travel as much as I used to and don’t play as much as I used to, but my game feels good,” added Pearman.“I wouldn’t want to play a course like that and not be playing a lot of golf because it was tough. It was a pretty strong field, probably between 70 and 100 guys, like a one-day shoot-out.“That course beat me up and it wasn’t even windy so I can’t blame it on the wind. The only reason I went there (to Atlanta) was because I couldn’t get off that morning and had to catch an afternoon flight on Sunday. If I didn’t have to work that morning I would have gone to Florida.”The US Open will be held for the fifth time at Merion GC from June 13-16.