By Neil Silver, PA Sport

Brian Davis took the honour of finishing as the top Briton in the Open, then said he hoped one day to be in a position to win it.

The 28-year-old from Bishops Stortford shot a final-round 68 to end the week joint sixth on two under par, which saw him pip Nick Faldo by one stroke and earn exemption for next year's event at Troon by finishing in the top 15.

Davis said: "It is great to play well in my own country, especially in the Open which for me is the biggest tournament of them all, and maybe one day I'll be in a position to win it."

Davis was delighted to have his parents and wife Julie supporting him at Royal St George's this week - especially following her health scare when she collapsed last month for an unknown reason. Although she looked fighting fit, he revealed how his wife was not yet out of the woods.

"Unfortunately we still don't know what is wrong with Julie and she will be undergoing more tests," said Davis. "It could take weeks or months, who knows? We are just keeping our fingers crossed."

The key to Davis' success was his mental strength, which he put down to his performance at this year's US Open, when he took the field by storm after going five under for the first four holes.

"My experience of going through qualifying for the US Open and then playing in it prepared me for this 'major'," he said. "There is difference between playing Tour events and 'major' championships and mentally I was very tough from what I learned there.

"Playing one shot at a time on a normal event and a 'major' is completely different and it teaches you how to handle the pressure and I have proved a lot to myself."

Davis also apologised to all those supporters he appeared to "snub" during the Open. He explained: "All this week I have had a lot of people in the crowd - people from my club and friends from back home - almost wanting to shake my hand as I walked on the tee, but I had to ignore them because I was trying to stay focused, so they probably think I am a miserable so-and-so and I'm sorry."