This year's championship, the 133rd edition which runs from July 15 to 18, promises to be more open than ever before with a host of players queueing up as genuine contenders for the prized Claret Jug.

World number one and 2000 winner Tiger Woods, no longer the dominant figure of four years ago, is under pressure to end a run of eight majors without victory.

His monopoly at the top of the global pecking order is also under increasing threat, with second-ranked Ernie Els, British Open champion at Muirfield in 2002, and twice major winner Vijay Singh, the world number three, snapping at his heels.

South African Els and Fijian Singh will fancy their victory chances at Royal Troon in Scotland next week.

So too will U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, U.S. Masters winner Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III, the world number five who has finished in the top 21 in his last seven Open starts.

Other likely contenders include Ireland's Padraig Harrington, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Australia's Stuart Appleby and Britain's Darren Clarke, all of them experienced at handling the unfavourable bounces and variable winds of links golf.

SHOCK WINNER

Given that American Ben Curtis was the shock winner of last year's Open at Royal St George's after starting the week as a 300-1 outsider and the world number 396, the list of possible champions at Troon could run through the 156-strong field.

Significantly, though, Curtis was the best-prepared player going into last year's championship, despite having previously played just two rounds of links course golf.

He was first to arrive at the Kent layout on the Saturday morning and got in more practice rounds than anyone else in a bid to get to grips with all the quirks, bumps and humps at Royal St George's.

Par-71 Troon, lengthened by 96 yards since it last staged the Open in 1997, will require similar attention to detail.

The Ayrshire layout has one of the toughest closing stretches in championship golf, and eight of the last nine holes play into the prevailing wind.

Whoever clinches the Claret Jug will have putted superbly well, avoided as much trouble as possible off tee and fairway and skilfully handled the sea breezes.

WINNING RECIPE

A fair measure of good fortune is likely to be another part of the winning recipe, and Americans appear to have a slight edge in this department having won the last five Opens at Troon.

"It's a great golf course," said Woods, who fired a brilliant seven-under-par 64 there in the third round of the 1997 Open on his way to a tie for 24th.

"It's probably the easiest nine holes you'll ever play in a major championship, and then the hardest nine holes you'll ever play in a major championship.

"Just about everybody is three to five under par going out, and rarely anyone shot even par coming in."

Although Woods has not won a strokeplay title since the WGC-American Express Championship last October, he has produced four top-10 finishes in his last five starts.

After tying for seventh at the Western Open on Sunday, he told reporters he was pleased with his pre-Troon form.

"I'm very happy with it," said the eight-times major winner. "One of the things I work on for the British Open is trying to be able to hit the ball really high and really low so I've got a whole arsenal I can work with out there.

"Hopefully I'll have that two weeks from now," added Woods, who hit several superb 'stingers' on the last day at the Western when he had his best ball-striking day of the week.

WINDY CONDITIONS

A stinger is a low, hard-running iron shot that is ideal for links course golf in windy conditions.

While Woods continues to exude confidence in the face of increasing media scrutiny over his swing and his form at the majors, Els, Mickelson, Goosen and Singh are also upbeat about their British Open prospects.

"I've played pretty well the last three years and everything is right there," said three-times major winner Els. "It's kind of exciting."

Although Mickelson's best British Open finish was a tie for 11th at St Andrews in 2000, he is certain to be a factor at Troon with his less aggressive approach at this year's majors.

"I like Troon. It's a good British Open test, but it's fairly straightforward," the left-handed American told Reuters.

Goosen is in prime form, having completed back-to-back wins at the U.S. Open and European Open in his last two starts, while Singh has been the game's hottest player over the last 12 months with five victories on the PGA Tour.