For some time now Luke Donald has been many people's pick to be the player who ends Europe's long wait for a major champion. They could be proved right on Sunday.
The world number 11 went into the third round of the US PGA championship in Chicago today sharing the lead with Swede Henrik Stenson and Americans Billy Andrade and Tim Herron.
One behind and still favourite for the title, though, is Tiger Woods. But Donald now has a chance to put into practice what he said earlier this season.
"Tiger's absolutely the number one player in the world right now, but I think the only way for me to catch him is to start believing I'm as good as him," commented the 28-year-old back in March.
"If I don't believe that then I'm not going to be as good as him."
In the first three majors of the year Donald thinks he has been guilty of trying too hard, but the death of Darren Clarke's wife Heather on Sunday brought a change of outlook.
"Things like that put things into perspective," said Donald, who as a mark of respect was dressed all in black for Thursday's opening round. "You've got to take everything (in golf) with a pinch of salt. I was determined this week to dismiss bad shots - it didn't really matter. There are more important things.
"I think in previous majors I've been getting a little bit ahead of myself. I've got to the stage in my career where I feel like I should be having a chance to win, but I've been coming in expecting to play well and putting a little too much pressure on myself.
"I've just not been hitting the shots when I needed to hit the shots."
Stenson, like Donald, has opened with two rounds of 68 to be eight under par at halfway on the Medinah course where Woods was 11 under in beating Sergio Garcia by one in 1999.
That was the first major after Paul Lawrie's victory in the Open at Carnoustie and no European has tasted victory since.
Garcia, who has had 10 more top 10 finishes, was only three off the pace overnight, as was Stenson's fellow Swede Daniel Chopra, while Ian Poulter and Jose Maria Olazabal were only four back along with defending champion Phil Mickelson.
Woods and Mickelson went head-to-head the first two days and after giving the left-hander a three-shot start on the first two holes Woods won the duel by three.
Australia's US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, the third member of the group, matched the world number one, though, and they share fifth place with Ryder Cup hopeful Davis Love.
Donald, Stenson, Garcia, Olazabal and Poulter can each clinch their Ryder Cup places this weekend, but others hoping to be at the K Club have already departed.
Colin Montgomerie (71) and Padraig Harrington (74) were among the biggest casualties of a halfway cut which fell at level par. Graeme McDowell made the cut after a second round brought the Portrush pro back to one under.
They were four over and five over respectively, while Paul Broadhurst, Johan Edfors, John Bickerton, Kenneth Ferrie, Thomas Bjorn, Anthony Wall and Simon Khan, who occupy positions 11 to 17 in the points race, all crashed out as well.
Lee Westwood, 24th on the table and three under when he resumed today, and Poulter (25th) were looking to make a huge leap forward, but it could well be that Paul McGinley's decision to pull out so he could attend Heather Clarke's funeral does not drop him out of the top 10 who automatically book their places in two weeks' time.
