But when coach Butch Harmon lists the Masters and US Open champion’s biggest attributes, the two at the top are things you can’t see. His heart and his mind.

To be fair, lots of players have the same determination and the same will to win as the world number one, who goes into the Open halfway towards golf’s first-ever Grand Slam of all four majors in one year.

But where Woods appears to separate himself right away from the best of the rest is inside his head.

When the pressure is on he usually plays better, not worse. When he has to do something he invariably does. And the fact that the others all know that to be the case increases the heat on them - and more often than not they melt.

After his US Open victory last month Woods was asked matter-of-factly for the last mental error he made in a major championship.

‘‘I don’t know. Sorry, I really don’t,’’ he replied. How others wish they could say the same.

So how has he got so good at it? Is his mental strength natural or trained?

‘‘At an early age, in comparison to other kids of my age, I was able to shut out distractions a little bit better,’’ he said. ‘‘And with experience I’ve got even better at concentrating.’’

Almost before he could walk Woods’ father Earl was working with him to mould the complete package. But it is truly remarkable that with all the attention he gets on and off the course, including the inevitable security matters, his focus is what it is.

It gives rise to the thought that for all the sports psychologists on the scene nowadays perhaps the best person his rivals - many of them friends too - should consult is Woods himself.

In Germany in May (another of his successful raids on Europe) the 26-year-old was asked if he was surprised other players did not approach him about the mental side.

He almost scoffed at the notion. ‘‘I don’t think you’re going to do that to any competitor. If you are an athlete you would understand what I’m trying to say. I don’t think you would ever go up to a competitor and ask that kind of advice.’’

But if they did, what would he say? ‘‘Depends what the question is.’’

The answers reveal the competitor inside Woods. His biggest advantage seems to be a no-go area for those who want to close the gap.

And the fact that he says he does not work very hard on the mental side of the game any more and does not feel the need to go to a psychologist merely adds to the aura.

Darren Clarke has got to know Woods well through both of them using Harmon, but has he tried to get inside Tiger’s head?

‘‘It’s a bit like his wallet - he doesn’t open it too often!’’ states the Irishman. ‘‘He doesn’t say much.’’

Colin Montgomerie, who travelled with his sports psychologist Hugh Mantle to the US Open (where he missed the halfway cut), admits it would be intriguing to see the workings of Woods’ brain.

‘‘I don’t enquire, though,’’ he says. ‘‘That would be a mistake. The only way to beat him is by scoring lower scores. You don’t beat him by doing what he does. If you do you will fail.

‘‘You’re not going to beat him mentally, you’re not going to beat him physically, you’re not going to beat him by outdriving him, better putting, chipping or iron play. The only way is shoot a lower score.’’

That is not as daft as it initially sounds. Woods does not always score 63. Sometimes he does not even score 73. He does not always win. He is human - until someone proves otherwise, that is - and as he grows older things will inevitably change. The era will come to an end some day.

Jesper Parnevik joked that introducing Woods to Elin Nordegren, the Swedish player’s former nanny, was an attempt to distract him from his work and bring that day closer.

So far it has not worked. Since the relationship became public he has played two majors and won two majors.

And won them in a way that suggests his focus is as sharp as it ever was.

At the Masters in April five of the six players immediately below him in the world rankings were breathing down his neck with a round to go. One by one they fell away.

In the US Open two of the same five - Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia - gave themselves another chance. But he shut the door again.

Woods holds centre stage in a way few in golf ever have over the years.

That stage is now Muirfield. Jack Nicklaus came there looking for the Grand Slam in 1972 and lost by one to Lee Trevino. Woods has a chance to go where nobody has gone before - and that’s what his mind is set on.