US OpenProfessional golfers, especially those focused on the ultimate prize, can be masters of doubletalk. But when Tiger Woods, in something of a contradiction, describes Shinnecock Hills as "it's fair, it's difficult", the world's number one is not talking gibberish. It's true.

Indeed, anyone taking in the vista of this old Indian reservation from the elevated ninth green - with its montage of green and brown grasses and the slightest glimpse of a blue ocean - can only experience a spine-tingling moment, and know that whoever conquers this course, with its wild links characteristics, will emerge a worthy champion of the 104th US Open.

Just who that man will be, however, is open to wide conjecture. The last six majors, stretching back to the US PGA in 2002, have been won by first-time winners, most recently Phil Mickelson at the US Masters in April. And, to be sure, the list of players capable of extending that sequence hasn't been exhausted.

For starters, Padraig Harrington (ranked seventh in the world) and Darren Clarke (ranked 14th, but on the eve of the season's second major still searching for a putter that will transform his tee-to-green play into tangible rewards on the greens) have developed into serious contenders.

Sergio Garcia, coming off his second tour win of the season at the Buick Classic, is another capable of ending Europe's incomprehensible failure to win this particular major since Tony Jacklin's success in 1970.

That win by Jacklin came eight years before Garcia was born, and the inability of any European to win since then - especially considering it was a period dominated by players like Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo - is a source of bewilderment.

"I've no explanation for it," remarked Garcia, "but it would be great to get a European guy to win here, or at least threaten. But this is a course that has a European look to it, it feels like you're back in the British Isles."

Ironically, Harrington has altered his swing in recent years to a higher ball flight to make it more conducive to American parkland conditions, where players benefit from firing shots into mainly receptive greens. This time round, he has had to return to his golfing roots.

"I've been working on getting a lower ball flight in practice, not necessarily off the tee but more with the iron shots. It's about being able to hit shots and hold them up in the wind so that they are not going sideways when they hit the firm greens.

"If it's going in at a 45-degree angle, it's hard to stop the ball before it goes over the back. Really, it is about shot selection as much as shot-making. You've got to know when to ride it on the wind and when to hold it in the wind. It's about the experience of picking the right club and the right shot for each shot.

"You know, if someone goes out and does that and gets it right early on, does it a few times, he is going to go on with confidence and he's going to hit the right shot all week. If someone gets the confidence of picking the right club for the right distance, he'll probably keep doing it," claimed Harrington.

This is the Dubliner's third straight week playing in the US, and he comes in on the back of a runner-up finish at the Buick Classic - where Garcia won a three-way play-off - but believing that last week's course at Westchester has no similarities with Shinnecock Hills, apart from "having 18 tees and 18 holes".

With four top-five finishes in majors (the 1997 and 2002 British Opens, the 2000 US Open and the 2002 US Masters), Harrington said, "hopefully I'm getting to the stage where I can compete from day one and then all four days and get myself in a position on Sunday from which to win."

And that's the hard part. Although Vijay Singh, grouped among the favourites, nominated Harrington as a potential winner. "If you look at the guys who haven't won a major, they're still very capable of winning one because of the way they've been playing. Take Harrington, for instance. Padraig's playing great golf and he knows links courses," said the Fijian.

For anyone chasing the title, patience will be the key. "You've got to go out there, buckle down and just play . . . the fewer mistakes you make, the better," remarked Singh. "Good shots may not be rewarded all the time, so you just have to take that and go with it."

Such a philosophy was being expounded by all the leading lights heading into a championship where, in most cases, an aggressive mindset will be thrown out to be replaced by a more cautious, patient approach.

"This set-up will favour the guy who is going to keep his patience and keep the ball in play, so that's a lot of players who have a chance to win," insisted Ernie Els.

Woods, without a win in a major since his US Open triumph at Bethpage in 2002, remained confident things have started to turn around. "I know that I haven't played up to my absolute peak, but who does week in, week out? It's certainly not from a lack of effort."

For a change, though, Woods is not the favourite; that tag has fallen onto the shoulders of Phil Mickelson. "I love this championship," said Mickelson, seeking to become just the sixth player to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year, a feat last achieved by Woods in 2002.

"Growing up here in America means a lot to me, and coming so close for the last couple of years, I think provides an opportunity if I play well to come out on top. It's something I'd like to do."

It remains to be seen if the Midas touch that deserted Mickelson for so long in majors, but finally arrived at Augusta in April, is still with him, or has returned to a fellow-major winner; or if the sequence of first-time major winners will be extended to seven.