In the run-up to a major, any major, Tiger Woods's practice day strategy is as clear as the blue skies over Long Island - or Inis Fada, as one of the golf clubs at Bethpage is named - and as simple as a junior infant's arithmetic. Philip Reid reports from New York

It involves hitting the first tee not long after dawn, when the early birds are foraging for the worms, and getting back to the clubhouse before the heat of the day is on your back.

Invariably, too, it involves having his buddy, Mark O'Meara, as one of his playing partners.

Yesterday, as on Monday, it was no different. Last month Woods had nipped up to this public facility - where anyone with enough patience to wait overnight in a car can pay out $31 for the privilege of playing - to get a preview of the course and attested then that it was one of the most difficult par 70s he had ever faced. After practice rounds these past two days, he was in no mood to change such an assessment.

"The way it is set up, it is going to be a test for all of us," said Woods, the world number one and seeking to add this second major of the season to the US Masters he took in April.

Practice days are important to Tiger. While you'll see most players aiming at the flags, if they're lucky, Woods can often be found aiming to different areas, to places where he figures the hole will be on tournament day.

"Off the tees, I'm trying to get lines. How I want to shape the ball. What is the prevailing wind? What's the forecast going to be? What club do I hit off the tee to give myself the best chance of putting the ball in play.

"From there into the greens, you kind of have a feel for where they are going to put the pins and go ahead to those locations. You're just trying to get a feel for how you want to play this golf course, just getting an understanding of what works best."

The result is that Woods has the look of a man who knows what he is about this week. "Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable. I feel pretty comfortable about my game, and about my game plan for the golf course," he admitted, which sounds kind of ominous for those attempting to derail his ambitions to win all four majors in the one calendar year.

Indeed, if the noise from the galleries over the past two practice days is anything to go by, then Woods - who also has Darren Clarke in his group for the first two rounds - can expect his golf shots to be accompanied by rising decibel levels.

"The fans are certainly into it. Even early in the morning when we teed off at seven they were into it. It's really going to be interesting late on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, especially when the heat and humidity and beverage of their choice has taken effect."

And, Woods knows, he's the man who'll be responsible for the loudest roars of all. New Yorkers, you see, don't know how to stay quiet.

Meanwhile, security for this year's Open is the toughest there has ever been for the second of the year's four major championships following last September's attacks on New York and Washington.

The Black course and its surrounds are bristling with both local and county police and security has been so tight that French professional Jean Van de Velde took two hours to gain access to the course on Monday when he failed to produce the correct registration papers.

Record crowds of 42,500 are expected for each of the four days once the tournament gets underway tomorrow and every spectator will be thoroughly searched before entering the course.

Cell phones are banned and the only permitted items for spectators to bring along are the clothes they are wearing and a small bag. The only cars allowed anywhere near the course are those driven by players and tournament officials.