US Open 2007

World number one Woods is bidding for his 13th major title

Tiger Woods called Oakmont Country Club "difficult but fair" ahead of the 107th US Open, which starts on Thursday.

The 7,230-yard course is a par 70, features the longest hole in US Open history, the 667-yard par-five 12th, and a 288-yard par three - the 8th.

Last year's event, at Winged Foot, was won with a score of five over, and similar scoring is expected at Oakmont.

Twenty-eight Europeans are in a field of 156 while Australia's Geoff Ogilvy is the defending champion.

606: DEBATE When players are asked what the winning score will be, few are expressing it in relation to par Five Live's Iain Carter

World number one Woods, who is looking for his third US Open title, said: "It's fantastic. The course is difficult, but it's fair.

"We have to see what happens with pin locations. If they go crazy, they can make it impossible.

"But if they put pins in generous spots then I think it will just be a fantastic test."

Woods, US Open champion at Pebble Beach in 2000 and Bethpage in 2002, has been using a three-wood to reach the par-three 8th in practice.

It makes Winged Foot seem very pleasant. This one has been built up as being tougher than the rest Ireland's Padraig Harrington

The hole will play at two distances over the course of the championship, 252 yards from the front teeing area and 288 from the back tee to the middle of the green.

And the US Golf Association has confirmed that a pin placement could be selected for the final round that would make it 300 yards from tee to hole.

However, despite its length, Ogilvy believes it will be "one of the easier holes of the week".

He said: "If it blows into the wind, no-one is going to get there in one. But it's going to average less over par than probably 15 other holes out there."

World number two Phil Mickelson, who is struggling with a wrist injury and has yet to play a full practice round, called it a "par three-and-a-half".

"It's a great golf hole and everybody has to play it," said Mickelson, who double-bogeyed the final hole last year to hand victory to Ogilvy.

"Just because we don't know what to say par-wise, it doesn't mean we shouldn't have holes like it."

Els won his first major at Oakmont in 1994

Woods believes Oakmont's 482-yard par-four 1st could provide the sternest test of the week.

"It's a pretty narrow hole and, if you hit the ball in the bunkers there, you're probably not going to advance it to the green," he said.

"With the second shot, even if you hit it well, it's 50-50 whether it stays on [the green] or not. I think that's one of the more difficult holes I've ever seen as your opening hole."

Driving is expected to be key over the four days, as it is thought to be almost impossible to stop the ball on Oakmont's sloping greens when playing from the punishing rough.

And Ireland's Padraig Harrington says the set-up makes Winged Foot "seem very pleasant".

"You kind of come to expect it at the US Open and this one has been built up as being tougher than the rest," said Harrington.

Harrington is bidding to become the first European to win the US Open since England's Tony Jacklin in 1970, and the first to win a major since Scotland's Paul Lawrie, who won the Open in 1999.

South Africa's Ernie Els, the last man to win a US Open at Oakmont, hopes previous experience will help him find a way to his fourth major victory.

Els beat Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and America's Loren Roberts in a play-off for his first major in 1994.

"I'm going to try and play it the same way I did in 1994," said Els, now 37 and without a major title since winning the Open at Muirfield in 2002.

"It definitely is a different look but we are basically going to play the same shots from the tees and same irons into the greens."

Woods tees off with Ogilvy and Scotland's US Amateur champion Richie Ramsay at 1306 BST.

Els and Harrington (1244) are paired with Masters champion Zach Johnson, while Mickelson (1836) tees off with Australia's Adam Scott and 2003 champion Jim Furyk.

Of the Brits, Luke Donald (1328) is paired with South Africa's Retief Goosen, champion in 2001 and 2004, and Argentina's Angel Cabrera.

Paul Casey (1803) is paired with South Africa's Trevor Immelman and America's Stewart Cink, and Justin Rose (1858) tees off with American duo Charles Howell and Sean O'Hair.

Colin Montgomerie, who also blew victory at the last hole at Winged Foot last year, is paired with America's Chris DiMarco and South Africa's Tim Clark and tees off at 1233.