Chris DiMarco strolled off the 18th green at the Westchester Country Club and smiled.

“That was a lot easier than last week,” said DiMarco after finishing yesterday’s pro-am round at the Barclays Classic, which begins today. “It’s good to be on this course.”

DiMarco is trying to put last week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst behind him, during which he missed the cut following a disastrous 10-over 82 in the second round.

“What happened to me on Friday is what happened to everyone else on Sunday,” DiMarco said. “I’m just want to put that behind me.”

That’s why he said he is pleased to be in Harrison this week.

“It was very frustrating,” said DiMarco, who thought the Pinehurst greens were too fast considering how high the rough was. “I didn’t like the course. It played more like a links course, like a British Open. If the course was built today, I don’t know that it would be called a classic.”

At least DiMarco shouldn’t have to worry about what Fred Couples said often hurts golfers the week after playing in a major.

“I think after the U.S. Open, there is a little bit of a letdown,” said Couples, who has made 10 straight cuts at Westchester. “But on a course like this, you can’t really fall asleep.”

DiMarco insisted that his increased profile since his near-toppling of Tiger Woods at the Masters was not a factor.

“No, it’s good to be a favorite,” said DiMarco, who finished ninth here a year ago. “You want to be a favorite more than you don’t. There might be more pressure put on you by other people, but it doesn’t impact the way I play. You have to want to win to compete at this level.”