It comes from being stronger

It comes from being stronger.”But it was his short game that secured the Memorial win, particularly the chip-in at the 14th for par, when he had fluffed his first attempt. Woods’ imagination around the greens will come into play more at this US Open than usual, as the collars of rough circling the putting surfaces are not found at Pinehurst No 2. This will also help the Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal – oh, that the course had staged its first US Open when Seve Ballesteros was still in his prime – and Phil Mickelson.The Donald Ross layout, like Augusta, has the severity of the greens as its main defence. High, precise approach shots with the irons will be the key so add Singh, who will partner Montgomerie in the first round, to the list of possibles. Other US Open specialists not to be forgotten include defending champion Lee Janzen, Davis Love and Tom Lehman, who has played in the last pairing on the last day for each of the last four years.Pinehurst is a golfing Mecca in North Carolina, far from a metropolitan centre. Only true golfing fans will be making the trip, in the manner of pilgrims. For Montgomerie, who has suffered from crowd abuse in Washington and San Francisco in the last two years, that could be another positive factor in his attempt to become the first European since Tony Jacklin in 1970 to win the event.”It’s incredible that one tournament has failed us when we’ve won 11 of the last 20 Masters,” he said.

“It would be nice to do it considering no one has done it for damn near 30 years.”FAMOUS FOUR WHO HAVE DASHED THE AMERICAN DREAMGARY PLAYER1965English and Scottish born golfers won the US Open on 21 occasions between 1895 and 1927 but most were settled in the States, so Gary Player became the first foreign champion since Ted Ray in 1920. The South African led by three with three to play but took a five at Bellerive’s par-three 16th and ended up tied with Kel Nagle. He won the 18-hole play-off 71-74, and then made a generous gesture. Of the $25,000 he received, he gave $5,000 to a cancer charity and $20,000 back to the USGA to promote junior golf.TONY JACKLIN1970Like Player, Jacklin had acclimatised to American conditions by joining the US tour. He won the Jacksonville Open in 1968 but, more importantly, came back in 1969 to become the first home winner of the Open for 18 years. At Hazeltine, a new venue which Dave Hill suggested was a waste of a good farm and should have been ploughed up, Jacklin took a three-stroke lead on the first day by shooting 71 in bad conditions. He hung on for the next three rounds, winning by seven from Hill He was the first Englishman to win for 50 years.

Europe is still looking for its next champion.DAVID GRAHAM1981Despite winning the USPGA in 1979, David Graham was seen as a journeyman who had travelled along a hard road. He left school in Melbourne at the age of 14 to turn professional, causing a rift with his family which was never healed. Jack Nicklaus once said Graham should give up golf and design clubs but he kept going and, in the last US Open played at Merion, was three behind George Burns with a round to play. Graham played the last five holes in two under to Burns’s one over to win by three with the second lowest score ever of 273.ERNIE ELS1994, 1997Ernie Els was in his third season in Europe when he played in his second US Open at Oakmont in 1994.

“I have just played with the next god of golf,” said Curtis Strange as Els made it into a three-way play- off. Colin Montgomerie departed after 18 holes but Loren Roberts lingered until the second sudden-death hole. Three years later, at Congressional, Montgomerie and Els battled again in the final round, with only a bogey at the 17th separating them as Els won by one to become the first overseas-born player to win a second US Open since Alex Smith in 1910.. SO THERE you are at 10.50 on Tuesday evening, tuning in to Channel 5 for a profile of the man who picks the England football team. And who is it staring out at you when you finally get a half-decent signal? Alex Ferguson.