Mickelson remains single minded

US OpenSo, a cheetah can change his spots. Once upon a time, Phil Mickelson's devil-may-care attitude on a golf course won him admirers, but not majors. Times change.

Now that "Lefty" has swapped his aggressive, risky strategy for a more conservative, thoroughly prepared game plan, he has become the most dominant player in the majors; and, here at Winged Foot in leafy Westchester County, the world's number-two ranked player will seek to extend a winning sequence in the major championships to three, a feat only Tiger Woods of his modern day peers has accomplished.

These days, Mickelson doesn't know what it is like to lose a major; but, so far in his career, a US Open has evaded his clutches.

He has left no stone unturned in his quest to add the US Open to the US PGA title he won last August and the US Masters title he claimed in April. He has prepared so diligently he has become something of a local in the "pizza joints and ice cream joints" in these parts, having paid three separate visits since Augusta for a total of "nine or 10 days" in acquainting himself with the West Course here.

"I feel as though I know the course as well as I can, the challenge is in executing and hitting the shots. I know where I want the ball to go, and I know how the putts break. But I still have to hit them, that's the hardest part," acknowledged Mickelson, of a typical USGA examination where long, straight drives off the tee - on a par-70 course measuring 7,264 yards - will be required, but where the putter, on the course's severe and undulating greens, could prove to be the most important club in the bag.

It's a good job Mickelson's strategy has changed to a more conservative one, for Winged Foot preys on mistakes and has little tolerance for a risk-reward philosophy. Its greens are extremely narrow in places, shallow in others, and the bunkers are cavernous. And, then, there is the rough. Yesterday, in his final practice round, Padraig Harrington's drive on the 18th finished in the second cut of rough and, attempting to play out with a rescue club, he moved it barely six feet. It could prove to be a familiar sight over the next four days for many in the 156-man field.

Unlike past US Opens when the rough was severe from within a couple of feet of the fairways (some of which are as narrow as 18 yards in the land areas), a different approach has been adopted this time round with the rough graded so it gets progressively deeper. "It makes play fair," observed Mickelson. "If you miss the fairway by two yards, you're not penalised nearly as much as if you miss by 10 yards."

Mickelson is not alone in believing the set-up is tough, but fair. "I'm very impressed with the grading of the rough. In the past, the guy who just misses the rough gets penalised the most because that's where they fertilise it the most. But here they've graded it once, graded it twice, and graded it a third time. If you miss the fairway by 15 yards, you're really in trouble. If you miss by five, you can hack it out," remarked Paul McGinley, one of four Irish players - along with Harrington, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell - playing.

Although the heavy rainfall of a week ago, when five inches of rain doused the course and led to the club closing it to play for two full days so it wouldn't be damaged, has led to the greens not being as firm as envisaged, it will still present a stern test for those aspiring to take the title from Michael Campbell, who won at Pinehurst last year.

"The golf course is very difficult," said Woods, who is playing for the first time since the US Masters in April, an absence from tournament play caused by his father's illness and death. "You've got to be very patient, to hit the ball really solid off the tee but also to position your irons well. You can't have one part of your game missing, you've got to have everything come together."

Woods, who held all four majors at the one time in 2000/01, after his US Masters win in 2001, a feat proclaimed as the "TigerSlam," is the only one of the modern era who has lived out what Mickelson is attempting here, by winning a third successive major. It has been dubbed the "MickelSlam," although it is a bit premature at this juncture.

Mickelson must not only conquer the course, but also a field that is the strongest of the year. It includes not only Woods, but also Retief Goosen, something of a specialist in the demands presented by US Open courses. In truth, there are a large number of prospective winners, but Mickelson's mindset is to ignore the charge towards a career slam. "All I'm trying to do is be successful on this one golf course at this one event."

His growing maturity has been reflected in his results. It could be again.