Woods looking for second leg of Grand Slam

Tiger Woods has a grand stage as he prepares for the second leg of the Grand Slam.

Woods looks to win his second consecutive major title this week at the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in the shadows of New York City.

As usual, Woods is the favorite heading into a major tournament. He's won seven of them, and an eighth would put him halfway to the elusive Grand Slam, something that has never been accomplished.

While Woods already has earned the "Tiger Slam" by claiming all four majors in succession over a two-year period, no one ever has won all four in one calendar year.

"Obviously, with Tiger holding them all at once, there's somebody out there now that people honestly believe can win it," said Davis Love III, whose only major title came at the 1997 PGA Championship.

The buildup began with Woods' third Masters title in April. Since then, networks have promoted the U.S. Open as "Watch Tiger chase a Grand Slam."

"I guess they are trying to sell tickets," joked Woods, who is the world's biggest sports star at the age of 26. "I don't know. I have no idea."

Woods doesn't know if he'll win the next three majors. Right now, he's focused on the U.S. Open, not the expectations of a posssible Grand Slam.

"I think for my own expectations level, I come to every tournament to try and win," he said. "And that's what I'm going to try to do this week again."

Woods' peers expect him to be the player to beat. After all, he's been Player of Year on tour the past three seasons and has won five of the last eight major tournaments.

The only knock against Woods is that he never before has won on a par-70 course, going 0-for-8. The Black Course is a par-70 measuring an Open-record 7,214 yards.

"Kind of stretching it a little bit," joked world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, who called Woods 'potentially the greatest player of all-time.' "Isn't it just trying to find angles?"

Even Mickelson knows who is the favorite. Woods is the only player the immensely talented lefthander worries about at tournaments, especially majors.

"It is a very difficult challenge to compete against him," said Mickelson, who has never won a major. "Because he is able to do things with the golf ball that not many can even envision."

Woods' dominance has been especially present at majors. Three of his triumphs have come by a combined 35 strokes as he often humbles courses that challenge other players to break par.

"He's the bar where we try to rise to, and he sets the standards for us, for sure," said Chris DiMarco. "I get to see it for the first two days, too. So that will be fun."

That's not all DiMarco will experience the first two days of the tournament in a trio with Woods and Darren Clarke. With Bethpage just 50 miles from Manhattan, raucous crowds are expected to follow the world's best player.

"I've been out here for a few years now," Woods said. "And I don't think I've ever seen the excitement level that I've seen like this early in the week.

"The fans are definitely into it. A couple of times, you've got to remind them, it's only Tuesday or it's only Monday."

Whatever the day, Woods is the favorite.

"It doesn't matter what tournament you play in," defending champion Retief Goosen said. "If Tiger is teeing it up, he's going to be the guy to beat."