By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent

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One major in the bag, three to go. For the past two years that has been Tiger Woods speaking, but now it is Canadian Mike Weir.

Going into Thursday's United States Open at Olympia Fields near Chicago the left-hander is the only player in golf who can achieve the ultimate this season. A Grand Slam of all four majors.

"It's a long shot, but I never say never," said Weir, who won his first major at the Masters in April by beating Len Mattiace in a play-off.

"I guess it has finally sunk in that I am Masters champion and hearing that on the first tee Thursday will be a thrill.

"Winning hasn't changed me, but it has changed things. From a golfing perspective I can feel the difference as I get ready to play in my first major championship as a major champion.

"In other years I would come to the US Open, play my practice rounds, talk to reporters down from Canada and from Utah (where he now lives) and maybe a few others and otherwise go about my business.

"This year I'm on the cover of Golf Magazine, I have a press conference and there's just generally more demands on my time.

"It's a good problem to have, but I'm glad I'm having it as a 33-year-old with 10 years as a professional under my belt. If this had all happened when I was younger, it might have been harder to handle.

"I don't think complacency will be a problem. I've never been a guy to enter a tournament just to get my 20 events in, it's just not my nature. If I'm going to play, I'm going to win.

"In other years three wins, with one of them a major, might be enough to earn player of the year, but already Tiger and Davis (Love) have won three times and Ernie (Els), Vijay (Singh) and Kenny Perry have won twice, so there's a lot of guys who have a shot to be player of the year.

"Hey, winning the Grand Slam would probably lock it up!"

Weir's Augusta triumph will be remembered for some brilliant putting under pressure after Mattiace had come racing through on the last day to set the clubhouse target.

"The Masters was as good as I've ever been mentally and obviously with my putting and short game - but it was nowhere close to my potential for ball-striking," he added in his column for Toronto's "Globe and Mail" newspaper.

"I still don't think I've ever had everything gelling at once for an entire tournament, so that's something to shoot for.

"I might be a major champion, but to me the most exciting thing is that there's a lot of room for improvement.

"The biggest question professional golfers face is how they will stand up under pressure. We can all hit the ball far, wedge it close and putt well, otherwise we wouldn't be out here.

"What's important to me is not only that I won the Masters, but how I won the Masters. On the last few holes the only person that could affect me winning the tournaments was me and I had no margin for error.

"Winning under the most extreme pressure gives me a sense of confidence that I don't think anyone can take away from me.

"It's hard to tell how that will affect me this week, but right now I have an almost no-pressure feeling.

"I don't feel the heat of my own or other people's expectations because it's been such a great year already. Hopefully that means I can just go out and play freely.

"That's probably what Tiger feels like. He's accomplished so much that he is probably just out there playing and competing for his own goals and doesn't have to worry about what anyone else thinks. As a result, he plays even better.

"Hopefully the same thing happens to me. I noticed it the other week at the Memorial. I didn't really play very well the first three days, but I never got frustrated like I might have in other years.

"I was much more patient with myself. I knew things would come together, that it was just a matter of time. That's exactly what happened on the Sunday and I made a bunch of birdies and ended up in third place. In other years I might have pressed too much and ended up 20th."