"If we're paired together I suppose I might feel a little nervous but I would just try to concentrate on my own game. I'd use the opportunity to try to learn from him," he said as he flew to New York for his first tournament on American soil.
The Styal star would have to make the cut to give himself any chance of pegging up with Woods which Nick Dougherty experienced at Oakmont two years ago where he was the surprise first round leader.
But Horsey, 22, is happy to be bracketed on the first two days with Californian John Malinger and Spaniard Jose Manual Lara, who is also making his US Open debut.
"It's good to get a quiet draw and go under the radar during the early stages," he said.
"I've no particular preference whom I play with after that and although I don't have a role model but I'd be happy if it were Tiger because he's the best on the world."
Horsey is already familiar with performing on the big stage and will have no difficulty coping with the noisy New York galleries which can intimidate the more sensitive players.
Talent
He took the leading role for Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup at Royal Country Down two years ago, after which he turned professional, played in all four rounds of the Open at Royal Birkdale last summer, and since graduating to the European Tour 10 months ago has surged into 48th place in the Race to Dubai rankings and established himself as one of the country's most exciting talents.
Bethpage is a tough course and Horsey knows he must be on his A-game if he is to survive until Sunday.
He's feeling more confident despite failing to qualify at Sunningdale last week, along with the rest of the region's hopefuls, for next month's Open at Turnberry.
His previous outing was at the end of May at the London Club where he tied 39th in the European Open.
"I wasn't comfortable with my game then but I played well at Sunningdale. That was just one of those days when the putts refused to drop. You have to accept them and move on," he said.
"I've been toning up my short game and done some swing work with my coach Graham Walker so I feeling more confident about this week.
"I'm getting close to my first big win but I need to finish stronger," he admitted, referring to his failure to stay in contention in the later stages of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in which he shared the first round lead.
"I'll just keep plugging away and hoping my consistency returns," he said.
Horsey travelled to America to meet up with his ISM stalemate, Manchester-based Yorkshire exile Simon Dyson, who has also qualified for Bethpage Black. Their manager Chubby Chandler had gone ahead of them for this week's showpiece.
"I decided to only play a couple of practice rounds because I did not want to overdo it but I will be well prepared," he added, revealing that this was his second trip in two months to the Big Apple, having taken his girlfriend Holly Westwood there for a surprise birthday present.
Horsey tees off at 7.22am in the first round.
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