The Open Championship 2001

The wind began to blow hard and the dark clouds took station above the north west coast as the elements played their part in turning Royal Lytham into an ultimate test of golf.

And ready to face it came the ultimate golfer, Tiger Woods, out on the course at 6am and then declaring he was feeling back to his best.

It could all be somewhat daunting for golfers of a weak disposition. But this is the British Open, the oldest and most prestigious tournament of them all, and the best of the rest are girding their loins to once again challenge the master in the toughest of conditions.

"If he has a great week like he did last year then he is going to be very, very difficult to beat," said Thomas Bjorn, who took the world number one's scalp in the Dubai Open in March.

"But if he plays his normal game and you step up your game and have the greatest week of your life, then you can beat him."

Bjorn accompanied Woods along with Mark O'Meara and Australian Adam Scott on the early morning excursion, a tactic which Woods has been using to get some relaxed holes in the bag before the crowds arrive.

And the Dane said that Woods was looking ominously good following three successive finishes outside the top 10. "He is back to his best and is looking confident and relaxed," he said.

Woods' coach Butch Harmon said on Tuesday that the world number one was so far ahead of the rest he could win this week with a blindfold on but the man himself was, as ever, reluctant to talk himself up -- or down.

"I've made a minor adjustment to my swing and I'm starting to hit the ball a bit more solid now," he said. "But when I play well, it's blown out of proportion a little bit and the same when I play poorly. The real truth is something in between."

Woods is drawn to tee-off at 9.01 local time (0801 GMT) in Thursday's first round with Argentine Angel Cabrera -- the longest hitter on the European tour -- and Frenchman Thomas Levet.

Like most of the players, he thought the course was playing tough but fair, describing it as a "wonderful test".

Thicker, deeper rough than usual but wider fairways than at Carnoustie two years ago mean the wayward shot will still be severely punished but the unlucky bounce should not lead to double bogeys.

"It's very, very deep but the fairways are wider so it's a much fairer test," said Davis Love. "If you drive fairly well you are going to stay out of it."

The wind, always an important factor here, was blowing contrary to its prevailing course on Tuesday, adding an extra problem for golfers already trying to pick their way between the 196 bunkers.

"You have to plot your way around the course," said Greg Norman while Bjorn said the winner would have to "think his way round".

For Ernie Els, joint runner-up to Woods last year, and Bernhard Langer, enjoying great form on the US Tour, the condition of the course was of less concern than the condition of their backs.

Els managed a practice round on Tuesday but then cancelled a news conference to undergo immediate treatment.

However, he was confident he would make it to the start on Thursday. "I'll crawl round the Lytham if I have to," said the South African world number three. "The Open is the greatest tournament in the world."

Langer, who has played in the last 21 of them, dearly wants a crack at the double points available to make a late push for a Ryder Cup place but is also struggling after withdrawing midway through last week's Scottish Open.

The winner at Loch Lomond, Els's compatriot and US Open champion Retief Goosen, is the form man in the field, having those two victories and two further top-10 finishes in his last four events.

"There's pressure on me this week because I'm playing well, but I am playing well and maybe that pressure will make me try even harder," said Goosen, who has a best Open finish of tied 10th.

"But if the weather stays as it is it's going to be really tough this week."

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