Nick Westby: Gap is closing but do not back against Woods making history

One – history: he has won the last two Opens at the 'Home of Golf' with a combined winning margin of 13 shots.

Two – hunger: he may not have risen to previous heights since his return from a self-imposed and damaging exile but his best two finishes of a truncated 2010 have been at the year's two major championships, illustrating his insatiable appetite for victory in the game's defining tournaments.

Three – the record books: if he lifts the Claret Jug on Sunday night he will become the first man to win three consecutive Opens over one course, and if he is to be successful in overhauling Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors he may not get a better chance to win one than this weekend.

Granted, there are 155 reasons why he will not win. Assembled at St Andrews is the strongest field for some years and a case can be made for potential winners come Sunday evening from at least half the participants.

That Woods will not enter the year's third major as overwhelming favourite – he is still the shortest odds at 6-1 – underlines how far his stock has fallen since the revelations about his private life and the struggles he has endured since returning to the course.

It also illustrates how quickly the players below him are closing the gap and that this is the most open Open for many a year, with a number of leading players hitting form and the British contingent at last having been shown how to succeed in the pressurised environment of a major by Ulsterman Graeme McDowell, following his marvellous victory at last month's US Open.

The list of contenders is endless and challengers can come from anywhere, as Tom Watson showed so thrillingly at Turnberry last year. The man who missed out on a play-off by a shot 12 months ago, Lee Westwood, is coming back to fitness after a leg injury, Justin Rose has won twice in his last three events in America and partners Woods over the first two days, while Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington are all winners now of the game's big events.

But for all his strife off the course, it is hard to imagine Woods – who is becoming more withdrawn as the criticism flies in at him – not drawing on his astonishing reserves of willpower to win his fourth Open.

I was there the last time he won at St Andrews – Woods's favourite course – in 2005, when his name rose to the top of the leaderboard at 11am on the first morning, and never moved from it.

Twelve months later, I saw him use a driver only once as his tactical nous enabled him to plot his way around a sun-burnt Hoylake with his irons.

Despite languishing in 113th place on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings – has he ever been so low? – he has still contended in both of this year's majors, finishing fourth at Augusta, five strokes behind Phil Mickelson, and fourth at Pebble Beach, three adrift of McDowell.

Another motivating factor will be the world No 1 position he so proudly holds, which is coming under constant threat from his big rival Mickelson.

Woods has points to prove and scores to settle. He may be at his best when people perceive him to be at his most vulnerable.

Whatever happens, this could be a defining Open for the generation's finest player.

If Woods were to win here on a course where 12 months ago he would have viewed as a banker bet, his career and quest for Nicklaus's record would be back on. If he fails, this phenomenal golfing life may be consumed forever by his sins off the course.