At this stage, the tag is a little wearisome. The world and its mother knows that Phil Mickelson is a darn good golfer but, hey, he hasn't won a major - yet! - and, increasingly, you wonder if he ever will.

When he stands on the first tee on Thursday, it will be the 41st time as a professional that he has gone in search of a major title and, of them all, the British Open is the one that has caused most frustration.

In fact, in his nine appearances in the Open as a professional, and one as an amateur, Mickelson has never managed to secure a top-10 finish. Why should things be different this time? In a year where, by his own admission, he has not played well, what could possibly make him capable of conquering the links and the latest champion to put the claret jug in his trophy cabinet?

For one, Mickelson is never short of self-confidence. And, for another, the last three major winners - Rich Beem, Mike Weir and Jim Furyk - have been first-time champions. "I think the biggest element in becoming champion this week is in playing well. Whoever plays well will win. I don't think experience is going to be as big a factor . . . if you take the guys who have been playing well, Tiger (Woods) winning the Western (Open), Ernie (Els) winning the Scottish (Open), these are the ones you have to watch out for. Not only because they've done so well in the past, but because they are playing well right now."

Mickelson, who has slipped ahead of Padraig Harrington to occupy eighth place in the latest world rankings, changed strategy for his latest assault on a major and played in the Scottish Open as a warm-up.

"I've obviously not had a great year but I have started to play a lot better. I'm getting more consistency in my ball-striking and am getting a lot better control of my mishits, on which direction to miss them. I actually hit it pretty good at Loch Lomond but scored horrendously for the way I was playing. I'm hoping to put it together and, hopefully, it will happen this week. If not, I feel like it is much closer."

Although Mickelson hasn't performed well in previous British Opens he professes to a love for links golf, an infatuation that began when he played the Walker Cup at Portmarnock in 1991 and later continued by visits to Lahinch where he was made an honorary member.

Of Portmarnock, he remarked: "It's one of the best courses around . . . and the set-up for the Walker Cup that year was just spectacular, and made me very excited about links golf."

When Sandy Lyle won here in 1985, Mickelson watched on television and he was only a fledgling professional in 1993 when Greg Norman won and didn't make the trip.

Since arriving here, though, he has found it to possess character. "Knowing the nuances of the course will be a big factor," admitted Mickelson, "and I think the guys that played a lot here in the past will play well knowing where they can and cannot go. There's a lot of character around the greens. There's a lot of slopes, not soft pitches, and a lot of definition . . . it is going to make shot-making into the greens very important. The angles and approaches into the greens are very important because of how well the bunkering is. It demands a lot of strategy. But I think it is a wonderful set-up, a very fair set-up."

One other factor that Mickelson believes will benefit him on this occasion is that the ball he is using - the Titleist ProV1 - is, according to the player, "low spinning and goes through the air better. In the wind, it is better performing for me. I don't have to alter my swing to keep the ball down and control it in winds that we see at this championship. I'm excited about it."

Whether that excitement is merited will unfold on Thursday, as the man tagged "the best player never to have won a major" sets about changing that particular moniker.