5 Years since Tiger not the favourite to win

There is a palpable thrill of expectation to this week's Open at Royal Troon where Tiger Woods, for the first time in almost five years, is not the favourite going into a major.

British company Ladbrokes are among four major firms to favour 2002 champion Ernie Els, at 6-1 or 13-2, to lift the prized Claret Jug on Sunday.

World number one Woods, no longer the dominant figure of four years ago, is back at 8-1 and is under pressure this week to end a run of eight majors without victory.

His monopoly at the top of the global pecking order is also under increasing threat, with second-ranked Els and twice major winner Vijay Singh snapping at his heels.

Should Els clinch his fourth major title this week and Woods finish outside the top 17, the laidback South African would take over as number one, ending the American's run of 257 consecutive weeks at the top.

The oldest of the four majors tends to be the most unpredictable, given the vagaries of the weather and the fickle nature of links course golf.

This year's championship, the 133rd edition which starts on Thursday, promises to be more open than ever before with a host of players queuing up as genuine contenders.

Apart from Woods, Els and Fijian Singh, U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, U.S. Masters winner Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III will fancy their chances.

Other likely contenders include Ireland's Padraig Harrington, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Australia's Stuart Appleby and Britain's Darren Clarke, all experienced at handling the unfavourable bounces and variable winds of links golf.

Given that American Ben Curtis was the shock winner of last year's Open after starting the week as a 300-1 outsider, the list of possible champions could run through the 156-strong field.

Par-71 Troon, lengthened by 96 yards since it last staged the Open in 1997, will provide a tough but fair test. The Ayrshire layout has one of the most difficult closing stretches in championship golf, and eight of the last nine holes play into the prevailing wind.

Troon has a second nine measuring 3,713 yards.

Whoever clinches the Claret Jug will have putted superbly well, avoided as much trouble as possible off tee and fairway and skilfully handled the sea breezes.

A fair measure of good fortune is likely to be another part of the winning recipe, and Americans appear to have a slight edge in this department having won the last five Opens at Troon.

"It's longer than any of the other courses, particularly if you look at the back nine," said former world number one Nick Price.

"It's probably one of the longest back nines we have on the Open championship rotation.

"You have to drive the ball great and obviously the Americans feel more at home on this course than on any of the other ones."

Woods, the 2000 winner at St Andrews, is bidding for his first major title since the 2002 U.S. Open.

"I'm very happy with my form," said the eight-times major winner. "I've always played my best when I've gone out and stayed focused on what I have to do and not worry about anything else.

"That's when I play successfully. It's what I've been doing and I'm going to try to keep doing."

While Woods continues to exude confidence in the face of increasing media scrutiny over his swing and his form at the majors, Els, Mickelson, Goosen and Singh are also upbeat about their prospects.

Although Mickelson has not finished higher than joint 11th in 11 British Open starts, he is likely to be a threat at Troon with his more meticulous approach at this year's majors.

Goosen is in prime form, having completed back-to-back wins at the U.S. Open and European Open in his last two starts, while Singh has been the game's hottest player over the last 12 months with five victories on the PGA Tour.

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