While most of the world's leading players were licking their wounds after being crushed here at Pebble Beach last weekend, Tiger Woods had some rather disturbing news for them: he plans to become even better. And we shouldn't be surprised, as all great exponents of the game have placed the challenge of winning above everything else, especially monetary gain.

Those who might feel that Woods, having already amassed hundreds of millions of dollars, will soon lose his competitive edge had better think again. His target is to become the greatest golfer the game has seen and he will do whatever is necessary to make that a reality.

"You're always trying to work things out in this game of golf and I'm going to try to get better," he said. "Whether it is trying new equipment or trying new techniques, there's always something to aim at. But to be honest with you, there's really no substitute for hard work."

Woods, who now becomes an even bigger attraction in the J P McManus International Pro-Am at Limerick GC on July 10th and 11th, went on: "Those of us who play golf have a bug and I know there are things I'm going to continue to work on, to try and keep improving."

Though he will be defending the Western Open in two weeks, his next main target is the forthcoming British Open. Victory there would not only secure him the grand slam of the four major titles: it would place him in the company of such as Tom Watson and Lee Trevino as a winner of the world's two greatest open titles in the same year.

"If I could somehow be fortunate enough to play well and at the right time, it would be a great feeling to get the Claret Jug," he said. "I came close at Royal Birkdale in '98 (he just missed a play-off involving Brian Watts and the eventual winner Mark O'Meara) when it might have been a different story had I made a few putts at the weekend."

Meanwhile, nobody was in a better position to witness the stunning quality of Woods' shotmaking in a closing 67 last Sunday than his playing partner Ernie Els. And the twice former winner of the title said: "If you want to watch a guy win the US Open playing perfectly, you've just seen it this week."

The champion of 1994 and 1997 went on: "He meant business in the final round, I tell you that. He was never in trouble, any kind of trouble. He was very, very calm. He never lost his cool once. His short game helped him out quite a bit on a couple of holes but overall he was just awesome - the ultimate professional."

Els concluded: "It was a pleasure playing with him. Who knows what he's going to do from here."

Woods later revealed that his primary target for the final round was not to card a bogey. He knew that if this were achieved with his 10-stroke lead, there wasn't the remotest chance of anyone even challenging him seriously, much less depriving him of victory.

That was why he made such an exultant gesture when holing a 15-foot par putt at the 16th. "One of the biggest moments of the day was making that putt," he said. "If I missed it, I would have been really angry with myself, but I buried it and it felt so good."

A fascinating aspect of the winner's performance and that of Padraig Harrington was how closely they were matched in some statistical categories. For instance, Woods had an average of 27.5 putts over the four days compared with 27.3 from the Dubliner, who actually fared marginally better than him on the greens.

And they both hit exactly the same ratio of fairways - 73.2 per cent. Then there was the fact that Woods carded 44 pars compared with 43 from Harrington.

So what separated them? Essentially, it started with the fact that Woods drove the ball an average of 20 yards further - 299.3 yards as against 279.3. This allowed him achieve the key statistic of hitting 70.8 greens in regulation, whereas Harrington hit only 51.4. And the outcome? Woods had a total of 21 birdies over the four days compared with the Irishman's 13.

Add that difference of eight strokes to the fact that Harrington had 14 bogeys and two double-bogeys compared with only six bogeys from Woods, and the scoring gap becomes formidable. In the same context, neither Els (29.0) nor Miguel Angel Jimenez (28.3) putted well enough to be serious contenders.

Meanwhile, Woods clearly loves what he does and has the facility to retain positive memories of his development in the game. For instance, when asked what was the best shot he ever hit, he replied: "In college, I hit a shot at Palmetto Dunes (South Carolina) right through a tree."

He went on: "I had about a one-foot opening and sliced a low two-iron off pine needles from 230 yards to six feet. And I made the putt for eagle. My best as a pro had to be my second shot to number 18 during the final round of the 1997 AT&T here at Pebble. I needed an eagle to tie Mark O'Meara and hit three wood from 267 yards to the front edge of the green."

Last Sunday, the three-wood never left his bag on the 18th where he hit a four-iron off the tee, then an eight-iron lay up and finally two-putted from 18 feet. In fact, the three-wood was the only club which he didn't use in the course of the full round, reflecting the searching challenge presented by a great layout, even to a player of his quality.

As to the satisfaction he will derive from last weekend's performance, he said: "When I won the Masters in '97, it was two to three years before I actually understood what I had done. All the records are great (he won by an unprecedented 12 strokes with a record aggregate of 270), but I don't really pay attention to that. I pay attention to the fact that I now have a green jacket when I go home."

And the USPGA Trophy and now the US Open trophy. And the virtual certainty of one day having the old Claret Jug there, possibly sooner than even he dares hope.