By Stephen Joyce

Imagine if Tiger Woods had won at Muirfield.

What would the expectation be like this week?

Now the pressure's off, Woods is only going for a third 'major' of the season.

Just in case you thought this was going be a bit of a low-key event, only Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan have ever managed to pick up three of the sport's famous quartet of championships.

So to see a Tiger triumph this week as something of a mild consolation for being blown off course at Muirfield last month is to fail to recognise the enormity of the challenge of winning one 'major' - let alone three.

When Woods walked away with last weekend's Buick Open, it was his 32nd US Tour victory.

That's a record a quarter of a century veteran would be proud of but Woods has not even approached 30 yet!

Woods was imperious at Augusta in April and solid at Bethpage State Park in June to snap up the first two 'majors' and Hazeltine is hardly likely to produce the driving wind and rain that scuppered him at Muirfield.

Hazeltine is reputed to be a 7,300-yard 'monster' but the longest and tougher the course, the more likely it is that the field will have to bow to Tiger.

Of course, a demanding course with lightning greens should also suit Woods' biggest rival, Phil Mickelson.

Mickelson was predictably blown off course yet again in the Open Championship.

But he will spend the next few days trying to waive away suggestions that he is always destined to be the best player never to have won a 'major'.

He will not succeed.

Only a trophy will keep the snipers at bay - and that may not last for long.

Just look at David Duval, the previous holder of the most unwanted moniker in the sport.

The monkey came off his back at Lytham last year but since then Duval has been a shadow of his former self, plagued by health problems and a loss of focus.

The odds will not be that short of him even making the cut this week.

That's the wonder of Woods.

Not only does he win - he wins regularly.

No one else is coming close at the moment. Will a new challenger emerge this week?