There are no breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, as there were at Pebble Beach in 2000. There is no talk of this being "The People's Open," as there was last year when the U.S Open was played on Bethpage Black, the monsterish public course on Long Island.

There seems to be a decided lack of buzz about this year's national championship, which begins here this morning at Olympia Fields, an 80-year old club 35 miles south of Chicago. It doesn't help that Tiger Woods, the 103rd Open's defending champion, comes in amid some of his most lackluster play in four years.

Woods doesn't believe that his winless drought in the last three majors is of great concern. But if Woods doesn't win this week, it will mark the first time since the 1998 U.S. Open that he didn't hold at least one major title. Though he has played sparingly the past two months, Woods hasn't won since the Bay Hill Invitational in March.

"I don't think I've ever been in a slump," Woods, who'll be trying to win the ninth major championship of his already legendary career, said earlier this week. "Ever since I came out of the womb and I started playing golf, I've had a pretty good career."

Woods, 27, was only partially joking. While he is still going off as an 11-5 choice to win the Open for the third time (aside from last year's three-stroke win at Bethpage, Woods won by a major championship record 15 strokes at Pebble Beach) he is considered much less an immortal lock than at any major in recent memory.

Some of it has to do with the way Woods has played lately - a tie for 11th at The Players Championship, a tie for 15th at the Masters, a tie for 29th at the Deutsche Bank Open in Germany and a tie for fourth at the Memorial - but this modest 7,190-yard, par-70 course will bring many more players into contention than at other recent Open venues.

"There's obviously a premium on accuracy here, as all U.S. Opens are, but you're not beat to death with length," said reigning Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada. "There are some holes that are very long, but it's not each and every hole. So I think you're going to see a good mix of players in contention this week, compared to last year."

The list of legitimate contenders is not an obvious one. While it wouldn't surprise anyone to see Woods win again, thus becoming the first player to win back-to-back Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989, it would be a fairly big shock to see Phil Mickelson break his 0-for-39 streak in majors as a pro.

Mickelson, who finished second to Woods last year, comes here having missed the cut last week at the Capital Open outside Washington. Since a third-place finish at the Masters, Mickelson hasn't been close, his confidence seemingly shaken even more than at any time in his star-crossed career.

"I think that I may have to take a few more chances than I have in past Opens, in an effort to close the gap, to get below par heading into Sunday," said Mickelson, which given his propensity for gambling shouldn't be a problem for the lefthander. "I think that the leaders Saturday night will be a few under par and I'd like to be as close to the lead as possible."