He is being described as Europe's great hope. Now that Padraig Harrington has withdrawn, Sergio Garcia is the popular nomination to keep the Open Championship on this a side of the Atlantic.

"I'll do my best," he promised.

The Spaniard doesn't accept that he's our main hope. He's flattered, of course, but . . . "there are a lot of European players who are playing well and have a chance.

"I just hope that I can be up there."

Someone reminded him that he's no longer the precocious, talented youngster who burst on to the professional scene. He's been playing major championships for six years and shouldn't he have won one by now? Did he feel that he was under-achieving?

No, he didn't.

"I'm the guy with most wins under the age of 25," he retorted. But did we feel he was under-achieving, he asked. We felt that he should have won a major by now, but the "we" was far from unanimous.

"Yeah, that's fine," came the response. "But it's not that simple; you've got to get things going in that particular week.

"I definitely feel like I've played well enough to win one but it doesn't come down to you all the time. You need a couple of good breaks here and there and, even if you get them, there is always the chance that somebody else is going to play better than you.

"When that happens, the only thing you can do is congratulate the winner and settle for second. But I'm not worried about anything.

"I like the way my career is going and I still feel like I have a lot of years of good golf to come."

It looked only a matter of time before Garcia won a major title after his sensational performance in the 1999 USPGA championship.

Aged only 19 and playing only his second major as a professional, the man from Castellon finished second to Tiger Woods at Medinah, producing an unforgettable shot from the base of a tree on the 16th hole of the final round.

That remains his best finish in a major championship to date but his form suggests he is ready to mount a challenge. Garcia recently finished joint third in the US Open at Pinehurst behind Michael Campbell and Woods.

Campbell, too, is in combative mood. Yesterday he returned to the scene of his major near-miss ten years ago and warned his rivals he would not make the same mistake twice.

The New Zealander, who last month won the US Open at Pinehurst, believes he has grown in stature as a player and that claiming his first major was the completion of a long journey which began here ten years ago.

Leading going into the final round, Campbell finished joint third as John Daly won a play-off against Costantino Rocca and the Kiwi said that at the time he had no way of coping with the pressure.

Since then, he has undergone a terrible spell when he was beset by injury and his game deserted him, forcing him to the brink of quitting the sport.

However, winning the US Open after coming through qualifying in England at the last minute has galvanised Campbell into a more steely character.

Not only did he win in America as a full-time European Tour member, but he also held off the final-round challenge of world No 1 Woods, chasing his second major of the year.

That has given Campbell renewed confidence and he relishes the opportunity to put things right. He said: "When you have a sniff of a major, it is always in the back of your mind, but now I have been labelled a major winner.

Back then [in 1995], I was a player that couldn't win a major. I stood on the first tee [in the final round] and I had no idea what I was doing - I nearly missed the fairway on the first hole and it is 100 yards wide.

"I had no way of calming my nerves down and was not ready to win because I was too young but I had self-belief and just hung in there and was patient.

"This week, I now know I can win majors. I proved to a lot of people I am a serious player. They respect me a lot more but, more importantly, I proved to myself I can do it.

"If I get to the same situation, I can probably handle it well."

Campbell credited Woods with his improvement. He said: "Tiger made me work harder, go to the gym for longer, work out harder, practice longer on the range. He has made a huge impact on my career in the last six years or so. Tiger came along and raised the bar.

"I think everyone has raised their game and I think it is good for the game to see different guys winning tournaments now.

"Over the last few years, we have had a few surprise winners in major tournaments, which is great for golf."

Campbell was complimentary about the lengthening of the course, with four new tee boxes adding 164 yards.

"The changes have made a big difference and I think they are good changes," he said. "What they (the R&A) have done over the years have definitely made the course more of a championship golf course."