The challenge is simple: 61 players are wondering how they can find a way to beat the apparently unbeatable Tiger Woods in the inaugural £3 million WGC American Express Championship, which starts at Valderrama this morning. And their hopes are based largely on the long-accepted, though somewhat tenuous notion that golf is a funny old game.

Two weeks ago, when he finished in Woods' slipstream in the Disney Tournament, Ernie Els conceded: "Apart from consistently out-driving me by 30 yards, Tiger has gone to another level which I don't think any of us can really find right now."

In the wake of yet another tournament win by Woods in the US Tour Championship last Sunday, Colin Montgomerie echoed the South African's views. "I can't hit shots like him," admitted the Scot yesterday. "I can hit some, but I can't compete with his length. Neither can anyone else in world golf."

Montgomerie, who has won six times on the European Tour this season, added: "Take what I've done this year and multiply it by seven times - that's what Tiger has done. He sees certain holes different from the rest of us and I'm sure you will find him going for certain shots that we simply don't see."

Davis Love was conceding 35 yards off the tee to Woods in Houston last weekend. And Darren Clarke admitted: "Tiger's 40 yards ahead of me and, if he plays as good as he can this weekend, he can't be beaten. But golf doesn't always work out as expected, otherwise he would win every time he plays."

Remarkably, not even the brashness of youth could prompt Sergio Garcia to dissent from this general view. Could Woods be beaten? "Of course," claimed the 19-year-old. But he was quick to add: "It will depend on whether he plays great or not so good. Even then, you would have to play really well."

So, what's the point of it all for these highly competitive sportsmen? Cash, naturally. For instance, a second-place cheque for £243,769 on Sunday evening would push Padraig Harrington's European tournament earnings to close on £2 million.

Even for the less ambitious players in the field, the rewards are still considerable. This situation was captured beautifully by an exchange yesterday between this year's Ryder Cup captain and one of his assistants. "Are you going to look at the prize fund the Neil Coles way?" asked Ken Brown. To which Mark James, clearly familiar with the notoriously negative former tour player, replied: "Yes - from the bottom up."

One suspects that Ireland's challengers will have their eyes focused closer to the top. And Clarke will receive an extra little push from being drawn with Phil Mickelson, his conqueror in Ryder Cup singles at this venue two years ago. "I'm just dandy," he said, in an obviously buoyant mood.

He and Harrington, who is drawn with another American, Stewart Cink, have had regular consultations this week with a Belgian mental coach who specialises in golf. Jos Vanstiphout - "I'm not a sports psychologist" - had some interesting observations on his two Irish clients.

"Externally, Padraig and Darren are obviously very different," he said. "We know that Darren is explosive and he must try and use his energy the right way. But they're not so different on the inside, in terms of feeling the pressure of tournament play. Like you would expect from leading professionals, they are both very determined, living 100 per cent for what they're doing."

Prior to the Volvo Masters at Montecastillo last weekend, it was clear Harrington had stepped up in class over the last two months. And he took a further step up the ladder by sharing second place behind Miguel Angel Jimenez, in that it lifted him to 49th position in the World rankings.

As usual, Clarke was busy on the practice ground yesterday afternoon, though the player beside him was attracting far more attention, certainly from the local media. Despite back problems, Jose-Maria Olazabal seemed to be striking the ball sweetly, but he does not intend to decide on his fitness until this morning.

Meanwhile, the course is in beautiful condition, so much so that the fairways have been described as perfect. And according to Montgomerie, they provide the stage on which the weekend's drama should be decided.

"This course is unique in that hitting the fairway is half the battle; hitting the correct side of the fairway is everything," said the Scot. "You've got to play chess with the course and chart your way around. I believe we won the Ryder Cup here because we had 10 years of practice on it, whereas the Americans had only three days."

Then, by way of offering some crumbs of comfort to colleagues transfixed by the Woods phenomenon, he went on: "There is no premium on length here, apart possibly from the new, lengthened 17th. One hole out of 18 isn't much, and even there you can always make birdie the hard way."

He concluded: "I've done particularly well here over the years because I drive the ball quite straight and I control my iron shots. You never get away with anything at Valderrama if the iron shots are not controlled. I would rate it and Loch Lomond jointly the best inland courses in Europe."

Remarkably, Woods has won every strokeplay tournament he has played in since the British Open last July - the USPGA Championship, the NEC Invitational, the Disney Tournament and the US Tour Championship. Which means that the last time he lost was at Carnoustie, where he was forced to settle for a share of seventh place.

As it happens, the winner on that occasion was Paul Lawrie, his playing partner today.