THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Padraig Harrington wins Open in playoff Round 4: Late bogeys cost Romero The Open Round 4: No final round charge from Tiger Woods Round 4: Richard Green equals course record Round 4: 18th at Carnoustie strikes again Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Justin Rose boosted by round of 67 Round 3: Late problems cost Ian Poulter dear Round 3: Tiger Woods shoots 69 but still eight back Round 3: Chris DiMarco back in the mix after a 65 Round 3: Steve Stricker shoots course record Round 2: Sergio Garcia holds on to lead on Friday Round 2: Rory McIlroy claims Silver Medal Round 2: Garcia not bothered when he wins major Round 2: Phil Mickelson struggles and misses cut Round 2: Tiger Woods still in the hunt despite 74 Round 2: Weir jumps into contention with round of 68 Round 1: Sergio Garcia leads with opening 65 Round 1: David Howell happy with eventful 72 Round 1: KJ Choi happy despite late bogeys Round 1: Inspired Michael Campbell shoots 68 Round 1: Ruling overshadows Tiger's round Round 1: Last minute tip helps McGinley to a 67 Round 1: Amateur Rory McIlroy scores a 68 Top 20 favourites for the Open Tiger Woods targets third straight Open title Paul Lawrie returns to site of famous victory Colin Montgomerie backs European winner Draw for first & second rounds Seve Ballesteros retires from golf Jean Van de Velde suffering from unknown illness Wild weather day at Carnoustie Jim Furyk enjoys his low profile Phil Mickelson not worried about driving problems Peter Fowler aims to get career back on track Nick Faldo fears for "nice" Europeans No distractions for Tiger Woods Paul Lawrie still not getting credit for Open win Jose Maria Olazabal withdraws from the Open Rod Pampling seeks to change Carnoustie luck Sergio Garcia unhappy with Scottish weather Weather biggest factor in how Carnoustie will play Gary Player says some players take steriods Justin Rose seeks to break European drought Quotations about the Open Championship Course Guide: Carnoustie 2007 European Tour Schedule GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Jim Furyk enjoys his low profile

If Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the Cadillacs of American golf, Jim Furyk is more like the Model T.

The 37-year-old is distinctly low-profile, a hard-grafter with one of the most unconventional swings in the game who has nonetheless won a US Open in 2003 and has been ranked second in the world behind only Woods.

Preparing here this week for his 12th crack at the British Open, Furyk was typically modest about his spell earlier this year as world No. 2.

"I probably have gotten more attention for being ranked No. 2 in the world that I did for winning the US Open," he said.

"It's mind-boggling to me. I can't understand or fathom why that would be the case, but it has been.

"And I guess because Tiger is No. 1 and you have Phil and Vijay and Ernie and whoever taking a run at Tiger.

"It's flattering but it's not that important."

What is important to Furyk is that he builds on the platform that he established last year in finishing fourth behind Woods at Hoylake.

Prior to that he had endured a dismal run in the world's oldest and most prestigious tournament with five successive missed cuts.

Having made a reasonably encouraging start to his British Open career with two fourth places in 1997 and 1998, he is still somewhat baffled by that barren spell on the links.

"I can't explain really why I played so poorly on a five-year stretch where I missed the cut," he said.

"Early in my career I really felt like my game was suited to links golf and I hit the ball very low.

"I was comfortable in the wind and everything was suited to coming over here and playing in the Open Championship.

"But I worked on a higher ball flight, hitting the ball softer, shots that were needed in the United States and my career over there.

"When I came over to the Open I didn't do a good job adjusting and a good player should."

All that started to change at Hoylake last year though and Furyk said he is happy with the way his preparations for Carnoustie is going and is full of praise for the course calling it one of the top three venues on the Open rotation.

"It's right there in front of you," he said.

"You can see what you're trying to do on most holes There's not much hidden from you. There's not a lot of blind shots."

The weather conditions will be the key, he said, with a sub-par winning total likely if they are benign.