The Tiger is coming

GULLANE, Scotland -- Ernie Els and Vijay Singh couldn't catch him at the Masters. Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia couldn't stop him at the U.S. Open.

Next up for Tiger Woods could be the most formidable opponent yet in his pursuit of a true Grand Slam: History.

Only two players -- Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus -- have gone to the British Open with hopes of winning golf's four professional majors in the same year.

Neither returned home with the third piece of the puzzle.

That's the challenge awaiting Woods when the 131st British Open begins Thursday at Muirfield, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.

Woods is the prohibitive favorite -- again -- to capture his third straight major.

"I was always asked the question whether the Grand Slam was impossible. I said no, but it's highly improbable," five-time Open champion Tom Watson said. "Now, we have a situation where that 'highly improbable' has to be redefined. He's won seven out of the last 11 majors. That's pretty good betting odds."

British bookmakers agree, lowering the odds of Woods winning the Grand Slam from 50-1 at the start of the year to 4-1 after he won the Masters and U.S. Open.

Then again, the expectations of Palmer and Nicklaus were not much different.

Palmer first cooked up the idea of a modern Grand Slam in 1960 after winning the Masters and U.S. Open in dramatic fashion -- birdies on the last two holes at Augusta, a seven-stroke comeback in the final round at Cherry Hills.

In his first appearance at a British Open, he trailed by four strokes going into the final round at St. Andrews when Palmer produced another patented charge and shot 68, only to finish one stroke behind Kel Nagle.

Nicklaus' bid ended at British Open

Next came Nicklaus, who looked unbeatable in the majors in 1972.

He won the Masters by three strokes when no one made a move in the final round -- does that sound familiar? -- then hit the most famous shot of his career, a 1-iron that glanced off the flagstick on the 17th at Pebble Beach, to win the U.S. Open by three strokes.

But at Muirfield, Nicklaus trailed Lee Trevino by six strokes after the third round. Undaunted, the Golden Bear made a furious charge on Sunday and was leading the British Open at one point.

Trevino chipped in for par on the 17th hole and beat Nicklaus by a single shot.

"The frustration and disappointment were more intense than I care to remember even now, a quarter of a century later," Nicklaus wrote in "My Story," his 1997 autobiography.

He never had another opportunity.

No one has -- until now.

Woods won his third Masters when he took command early in the final round and watched five top players collapse trying to catch him. The U.S. Open at Bethpage Black wasn't much different. Woods built a four-stroke lead and played mistake-free when it mattered.

"I've always believed all four could be won in one year," Greg Norman, who won the "Saturday Slam" in 1986 by leading all four majors after the third round. He won only the British Open that year.

"Now that he has won the Masters and the U.S. Open, everyone is kind of intimidated, a bit scared, because Tiger has only one goal in mind," Norman said. "If he wins the British Open, it's going to be even harder to stop him in the PGA. His confidence is extremely high, and when you've got a great player with such high confidence, it's a potent mix."

Helping Woods along -- as if he needs it -- is that he has done this before.

At the Masters last year, Woods became the first player to win four straight professional majors -- just not in the same calendar year, the way Palmer envisioned when he first spoke of the modern Grand Slam.

"You can call it what you want," Woods said after winning the U.S. Open. "When I was at home, I had all four trophies on my mantle, and no other person can say that.

"Hopefully," he added, "I can do it again."

Woods withdrew from the Western Open because of flulike symptoms, giving him his longest layoff -- four weeks -- before a major since he turned pro in 1996.

The greater test might be Muirfield, which first held a British Open in 1892 and is considered one of the best links challenges in Scotland.

While Muirfield is relatively short at 7,034 yards (par 71), it has 148 bunkers that have walls so steep that the only play sometimes is to go backward. The course has 14 changes in angles and draws its strength from the fierce wind that blows in from the Firth of Forth.

Because of a wet spring, the rough is so thick that the only option -- even for Woods -- will be to hack it out to the fairway.

"He will not have a big advantage with his length or his strength, because I think the rough at Muirfield is such you will not be able to advance the ball," said Nicklaus, who won the career Grand Slam at Muirfield in 1966 when the rough was up.

"The only advantage is he's a better player."

That's been enough to bring Woods 32 victories on the PGA Tour and eight majors in just six years as a pro, which puts him ahead of pace to break Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.

Should he win the next two majors and an undisputed Grand Slam, Nicklaus wonders whether his record -- the benchmark for greatness in golf -- will even matter.

"I think my record will be pretty meager after he's won two Grand Slams," he said.

It's not over yet.

First, Woods has to conquer an Open where luck is more of a factor than any other major. He has to hope for the best starting times because the wind can be fickle. Links golf allows for funny bounces, and a bounce in the wrong direction can spell trouble.

And there's always the chance a Bob May is lurking.

May, who has never won a PGA Tour event, gave Woods the fight of his life in the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, taking him into a playoff before losing by one stroke.

The more likely challenge will come from Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia or Padraig Harrington of Ireland, the only other players who have finished in the top 10 at the two previous majors.

Perhaps it's not too late for 45-year-old Nick Faldo, who finished fifth at Bethpage Black and who won the British Open the last two times it was played at Muirfield -- including 1987, when Faldo closed with 18 pars.

"I bet he'll be watching tapes of me winning at Muirfield and see if he's worked out the secret," Faldo said playfully. "I know what it is, but I'm not going to tell him."

There's no secret to Woods.

Give him a lead early in the week, and his confidence builds.

Give the lead on Saturday, and he's never been beaten in a major.

Give him the silver claret jug, and there could be no stopping him from a Grand Slam.