It's a fair old distance from Dornoch to Chambers Bay - about 4,367 miles if you're sticking in a fuel expenses claim - but Jimmy Gunn is feeling quite at home.

Well, a wee bit. "Chambers Bay is harder and faster than Dornoch has ever been," said the 34-year-old Scot of this week's US Open venue that has certainly got the tongues wagging.

For the vast majority of the field, the course on the north west Pacific coast is something of a step into the unknown. Gunn's appearance in a major championship is also a venture into uncharted territory and the Arizona-based highlander is determined to enjoy his voyage.

"It means everything to me to be playing my first major," said Gunn, who was a multiple club champion at Dornoch and was twice the leading amateur in the Tartan Tour's Northern Open before swapping Sutherland for the sunshine of the States. "To play in these big events is what I have worked hard for over the years."

Gunn has certainly put the hours in to make his golfing dreams a reality, and we're not just talking about stints on oil rigs or helping his dad rattle up houses back in his formative years.

Trying to clamber up the career ladder in the US is a tough task but Gunn made a decent fist of it a couple of seasons ago when he came through all three stages of the qualifying school to earn a place on the Web.com Tour, the circuit just a level down from the promised land of the main PGA circuit.

His rookie season on the highly competitive second-tier proved to be tough, though, and he lost his playing privileges after finishing down in 113th place on the order of merit. This particular Gunn has had to re-load and go back to square one but he currently leads the third-tier Gateway Tour order of merit, after one victory and a trio of second place finishes. This week's taste of the fine fare on offer at golf's top table is an opportunity to savour.

"I love the course, it's super-fast and firm and really long, too," added Gunn, who is off in the last match today in the company of Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders. "I would say Dornoch has kind of prepared me for this. It's very links style, which I like. A lot of people are going to hate it as good shots can end up in trouble. You can't get ahead of yourself on a course like this. It's the hardest golf course I have ever played."

Gunn's American adventure over these past few years has been aided by a sponsorship arrangement that stems from a long-standing relationship between his hometown club in Dornoch and the Circling Raven resort on the Couer d'Alene Indian reservation in Idaho "I can never repay that debt," he said. "I could not have continued in the US without it."

It is the major championship tribe that Gunn is mixing with this week.