Holder Tiger Woods has sounded an ominous warning to his rivals for this week's US Open, describing his game as close to its best.
The world No. 1 was virtually untouchable during 2000, when he won the last three majors of the year in record-breaking style, and he told a news conference on Tuesday that his ball striking was now almost at the same level.
"It's close to that, but not quite," said the 27-year-old American, after playing a practice round at Olympia Fields in the company of his close friend Mark O'Meara and the father-and-son combination of Jay and Bill Haas.
"I don't hit the ball as long as I did then with my shorter irons, that's for sure, because I don't go at it as hard. But everything else is about the same," he said.
"My trajectory is maybe a little bit different, my ball flight is a little flatter than it was in 2000 and I think it's just from the overall swing changes that I've made. But as far as the comfort and the confidence are concerned, it's very close," Woods said.
In 2000, Woods clinched his first US Open at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes before claiming the British Open at St. Andrews by eight shots and his second US PGA championship title in a playoff with Bob May.
This week, he is bidding for a third US Open crown in four years and the ninth major title of his career, despite having had had to reduce his tournament schedule this year following knee surgery.
However his relative inactivity has hardly held him back and, after launching his season with three wins in his first four starts, he is now itching to strut his stuff on the major stage.
"If you can win one major, you've had a great year," he said. "That's always been my goal, and that's my goal this week -- to win the tournament.
Woods won last year's US Open by three shots at Bethpage State Park's Black Course, but is expecting a contrasting challenge at Olympia Fields Country Club's North Course this week.
"I think this golf course is totally different than last year," he said.
"It's not as big a golf course and there are certainly a lot of doglegs, which means you have to make a decision what your line is going to be off the tee, and stay committed to those lines," he said.
"And the greens are a lot more undulating than they were last year," he said.
"This [course] is not as easy as people might think; it's a very difficult golf course. When you get the winds blowing through here and the trees are swirling, it's pretty tough to drive your ball into," he said.
Asked if he thought a winning score on Sunday of eight-under-par 272 was likely, he replied: "It all depends on the wind.
"If there's no wind, yeah you'll see those scores [eight under]. But if the wind blows, over par can very easily win this tournament," he said.
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