Having gone five years without a Major win, World No 1 has already served notice that he's in form by winning World Golf Championships last week
World No 1 Tiger Woods tries to snap a five-year major win drought and claim his 80th career title starting today in the 95th PGA Championship at formidable Oak Hill.u00a0Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the all-time record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, served notice he is on form with a seven-stroke triumph at last week’s World Golf Championships event at Firestone, giving him five victories this year.
Tiger Woods
ADVERTISEMENT
“I feel good. I’m very pleased with where my game is at,” said Woods, who shared sixth at the British Open three weeks ago at Muirfield.u00a0Second-ranked Phil Mickelson, whose fifth major triumph at the British Open came a week after a Scottish Open win, Masters champion Adam Scott of Australia, US Open champion Justin Rose of England and countryman Lee Westwood, a Muirfield contender until the final holes, are also figure to be in the hunt for the top prize of USD 1.445 million at the USD 8 million event.
But they also appreciate how dangerous Woods can be with confidence and the hunger for a first major title since the 2008 US Open.u00a0“Tiger is a factor no matter what,” Scott said. “He has been up there in majors recently and just has not finished it off. But obviously he put it all together last week. He’s going to be feeling good about where his game is at. I’m just worried about getting my own golf ball around the course.”
“Having him back, having him play well, having him win like he has won this year is great for golf. He is playing solid and played great last week,” Mickelson said.u00a0“It’s also great for the game to see guys like Adam Scott and Justin Rose come out and win major championships. That just makes it exciting because we have a number of players that can really create a lot of interest.”
Obstacle course
And they have a course that can create plenty of danger.u00a0Oak Hill has hosted two prior PGA Championships, three US Opens and the 1995 Ryder Cup, and the par-70 layout has been expanded to 7,163 yards.u00a0Ben Hogan set the course record of 64 in 1942 and Curtis Strange matched it in the 1989 US Open. Nicklaus fired Oak Hill’s low 72-hole total of six-under 274 in winning the 1980 PGA Championship.
“The scores are going to be really good,” Mickelson predicted. “You are going to have a great discrepancy in the scores. If you play well you can make birdies. If you hit it poorly you are going to be severely penalized with thick rough.u00a0“The course is a fair, difficult test that you want without going over the edge and without trying to protect par. It’s just the perfect fair test. It’s one of the best setups that I’ve ever seen for that.”u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
