Woods is 'back to his best' for Open

Thomas Bjorn, unlike Butch Harmon, hardly has a vested interest in talking up Tiger Woods' chances in the 130th Open Championship, which begins here tomorrow. Harmon, on the payroll of Team Tiger as his coaching mentor, might have been going a little far in suggesting Woods could win this week blindfolded.

If Tiger would like to put the theory to the test none of the other players would object. While Woods won by eight strokes last year at St Andrews, during his historic run of four successive major victories, the US Open last month proved even the world No 1 could not win without playing his best golf.

Bjorn played with Woods for two rounds in Tulsa and again in an early morning practice round yesterday. While some players try to avoid talking about the phenomenon that is Tiger, Bjorn, who beat the American in Dubai earlier this year, does so eloquently. "We all know there are 155 good players here and one that is just a little bit out of this world," said the Dane.

"If he has a great week, as he did last year, he is going to be very difficult to compete with. If he plays his normal golf, then if you step up your game and have the greatest week of your life, you can beat him.

"When I played with him at the US Open, he did not play badly, but he did not play his best golf. I see some changes since then. He seems to have improved. His strike looks a lot better, he looks very confident and very relaxed. He looks better than he has probably ever done."

Woods, who has won five of the last seven majors and six in all, is on the trail of Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 titles. What he would most like to emulate about the Bear is the way he always got into contention. Looking back on Tulsa, Woods, who was suffering from a slight ankle strain then, said: "It is disappointing when you are not able to perform the way you want to.

"You can't play well all the time but you try to, for sure. Unfortunately, I was not able to put the ball where I needed to put it. There was actually something very small in my swing which led to other breakdowns within the swing. It was only minor and once I fixed that, everything has seemed to come back. I am starting to hit the ball the way I know I can."

Woods, who will play early tomorrow with Angel Cabrera and France's Thomas Levet, was out even earlier yesterday. He teed off at 6am with Bjorn, Mark O'Meara and Adam Scott, who made the rookie mistake of leaving his clubs in the clubhouse overnight. Tiger had finished the first before the young Australian got them unlocked. Scott celebrated his 21st birthday the previous evening with dinner with his family. "He should only have been getting in at 6am," said Bjorn.

The fourball were round well before the rain hit, but not the strong winds which, unusually, made the back nine downwind ­ the 412-yard 18th playing a drive and a flick ­ and the opening holes play far longer than their yardage. Rather than a three-iron and a nine-iron at the second, it became a drive and a five-iron.

"I fell in love with links golf because of the options it presents and the challenges that vary on a day-to-day basis," Woods said. "It was nice to have a relaxing week in Ireland because an Open Championship presents a lot of challenges. You are going to be tested and are going to get mentally and physically drained. You don't need to burn yourself out in practice because it is nice to have a lot of energy going into the event. That is one of the things I have learned playing in majors."

Suggestions from Nicklaus and Greg Norman that the 25-year-old Woods should consider getting married were swiftly dealt with. "When I feel the time is right, then the time is right," he said. "I don't feel in any hurry. When I know, you guys will be the first to know."

Woods added: "Any time you want to succeed in life you are going to have to make sacrifices. I think I have made my share but, on the flip side, because of that success I have been able to enjoy doing other hobbies that most kids my age would definitely never even have thought about doing. That is a lot of fun." The only ones he would admit to, however, were "fishing, diving, fitness and doing other activities around the house".

If Woods can be distracted with a little housework this week (unlikely), Bjorn thinks 30-40 players can succeed as Retief Goosen did at the US Open. If Woods is at his best, that list comes down to only "two or three" and the Dane would not put himself among them.

He might be thinking of Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Sergio Garcia. Bjorn, who has risen into the world's top 10 for the first time, was joint runner-up with Ernie Els at St Andrews, and has finished second in his last two tournaments. "I think last year gave me the belief that I can contend among the best in the world," he said.

Levet, the 32-year-old Parisien who won the British Masters last month, was delighted to be paired with Woods. "It is a little present from God," he said. "I have watched how he plays and what happens in the majors, so I will be able to see it now for real. My parents will be happy because they will be following."