The final major championship of the season gets underway this week as the PGA Championship heads to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. As with any major, the best in the world are vying for the title in an attempt immortalize themselves in the annals of golf history. The group of major champions thus far in 2013 has been an eclectic one: Adam Scott at The Masters, Justin Rose at the US Open and Phil Mickelson at the British Open.
Oak Hill is the only club that has hosted the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Senior U.S. Open, Senior PGA Championship and Ryder Cup – so there has been plenty of history that has played out at this track since its inception in 1926. This historic course last hosted the PGA Championship in 2003 when Shaun Micheel took home the title with a score of four under par. In case you wondering – Tiger Woods finished tied for 39th that year and Phil Mickelson tied for 23rd place. Rory McIlroy, the defending champion at this tournament, was 14 years old in 2003. This year, the PGA is allowing fans to vote for the Sunday hole location at the par-3 15th hole. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about that.
Tiger Woods comes in as the heavy favorite – but that designation has been a subject of much debate. He hasn’t produced in majors for quite some time, despite the fact that he has racked up eight wins in the last two years. McIlroy is one of three European winners at this event in the last five years – so if you’re placing a wager on the tournament you may want to keep that in mind. Additionally, 14 of the last 18 major championship titles have gone to first time winners so you can’t really count anyone out.
Who will put their name next to the fourth and final major title of the year?
Carl Conrad is the Senior Golf Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.
