Tiger Woods could be in danger of turning golf into a boring, one-man show. That is the warning from his 1997 Ryder Cup captain Tom Kite after Woods won the US Open by 15 strokes on Sunday - the biggest victory margin in 140 years of major championships.

That has come only three years after he lifted the US Masters by 12 strokes in his first major as a professional.

"You need competition," said Kite, winner of the title when it was last held at Pebble Beach in 1992. "Otherwise it gets to be boring - kind of like Texas in the old Southwest Conference (American football). You knew who was going to win. It was fun if you were pulling for Texas - but it wasn't real exciting.

"I think there will be players who'll step up to the plate. There are some good young players out there. I think Tiger wants the challenge. He wants to be pushed and he needs it. The best victories anybody has are when you have to fight the hardest."

Ernie Els, joint runner-up with Miguel Angel Jimenez, agrees it would be better for the sport if the current gap closes.

"In the '60s you had Palmer; in the '70s Nicklaus and in the '80s Watson," said the South African. "It seems like we've got a dominant figure in Tiger Woods.

"He's probably the most recognisable sportsman on the planet right now. It brings in sponsors; it brings in a lot of media and a lot of fans.

"It seems like golf has really taken off with him coming through, but it would be even better if someone could step up and play with him. It's very difficult to do. He's a great player, and this latest performance was close to perfection."

Nick Price, winner of two US PGAs and the 1994 British Open, added: "We've all felt for a long time that someone was going to come along who could drive 300 yards and putt like (Ben) Crenshaw.

"Well, this guy drives a ball better than anyone I've ever seen and putts better than Crenshaw. When you put that together it's hard to beat. He's a phenomenon, no doubt about it.

"You better get used to writing about him because you're going to be doing it a lot over the next 10 years. Right now, when he's on his game I don't see anybody really challenging him - depending on the course.

"When I'm hitting five or six irons and he's hitting nine irons it's very hard to play against. Jack (Nicklaus) caught golf with its pants down when he came out, and we've seen the same with Tiger.

"When he plays his best it's almost impossible to beat him."