SOUTHAMPTON, New York -- Ben Crenshaw ended a year-long U.S. absence from the Grand Slam winners' circle with his Masters win but America's finest will be hard pressed to fend off the foreign stars at the U.S. Open starting Thursday.


The 100th anniversary of the U.S. Open returns to the links-like layout of Long Island's Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, one of five founding members of the U.S. Golf Association and a great "equalizer" among U.S. Open venues.


European golfers have dominated the Masters and British Open in recent years but have not claimed the U.S. championship since Briton Tony Jacklin's triumph 25 years ago at Hazeltine.


Shinnecock, a venue that plays more like a British Open site than the usual U.S. Open target-golf torture test, would seem to open the door a bit wider for the likes of Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer.


Wind is the trickiest obstacle at subtle Shinnecock where there are few trees to soften the boisterous breezes that blow across the narrow stretch of land lying between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.


Conquering natural elements on the rolling, contoured course carved from the land by native Shinnecock Indian labor more than 100 years ago is the primary challenge in this sublime test of judgment and control.


Defending champion Ernie Els of South Africa has a solid shot at repeating, while reigning British Open champion Nick Price of Zimbabwe and Australian Greg Norman, whose two major titles have come at the British Open, are also leading contenders.


Still, there are numerous Americans with the game to conquer Shinnecock. The soft-spoken Crenshaw, 1992 Open winner Tom Kite and Lee Janzen, winner of the 1993 U.S. Open at Baltusrol.


And 19-year-old Tiger Woods, the U.S. Amateur champion and low amateur at the Masters while averaging the longest drives in that elite field, will play the first two days grouped with Els and Price.