Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy will rightly talk up their chances going into this week’s US Open.
They are in form, having both won a fortnight ago Rory at Wentworth and Scott beating Jason Dufner in a play-off to win the Colonial.
Scott is relishing his status as World No.1 and wants to stay there as long as he can. McIlroy is only sixth at the moment, but he’s determined to catch the Australian.
They are both superb drivers and they intimidate the rest by bombing it long and straight off the tee.
In normal circumstances, the US Open is associated with thick rough and fast running fairways, which places a premium on accuracy.
This year, Pinehurst No.2 will offer a different test, as for the first time, the USGA is staging the men’s and women’s US Open on the same course, just a week apart.
I’m certain that has had an impact on the set-up as Pinehurst has lots of bunkers but looks fairly open off the tee.
However, the greens will be lightning fast. They are undulating and upturned so there will be lots of run-offs. That means chipping and putting will be essential, along with holding your nerve.
That’s where Luke Donald comes into his own, as we saw in the final round at Wentworth.
With the focus on others, he might be able to sneak in under the radar. But he must remember the importance of staying calm on the first couple of days and not to get ahead of himself.
There’s no doubt that all the attention in America is going to be on Phil Mickelson and his quest to join golf’s most elite club.
Phil already has a wonderful legacy with five Majors, but it would be something else to add his name to Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus and Woods as the only men to have achieved the Grand Slam.
Ever since he won our Open at Muirfield last year, his thoughts have been on this week.
He has been so close so many times to winning his national Open, with six seconds. He was unlucky at Pinehurst 15 years ago when only a great putt on the final green by the late Payne Stewart beat him.
By his own standards, 2014 has been a very bad year. He is 95th in the FedEx Cup and he’s not even had a top ten, let alone a sniff of winning.
But he’ll have devised a plan with Butch Harmon and short-game guru Dave Pelz to take to Pinehurst, where the galleries will be behind him.
I’ve no doubts Phil would swap any other victory for one US Open title.
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