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To: altair19 who wrote (53493)	8/17/2006 9:50:25 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 104155

Woods the player to beat at Medinah _____________________________________________________________ August 17, 2006 Tiger Woods tees off in Thursday's opening round of the PGA Championship as red-hot favourite to claim his second successive major title this year. The world number one has produced sublime form in his last two starts, securing last month's British Open by two shots and claiming his 50th PGA Tour victory at the Buick Open two weeks ago. Every component of his game appears to be in near-perfect order and, according to his caddie Steve Williams, he has never swung the club better. The game's best practitioner since Jack Nicklaus, Woods is unquestionably the player to beat at Medinah Country Club in the minds of his rivals. "The way he's been playing right now, he's always a threat," last year's US Open champion Michael Campbell said during a news conference on Wednesday. "His form is second to none. I think Earl passing away two or three months ago has empowered him a lot as a player." Woods's father Earl, who had been battling prostate cancer since 1998, died on May 3. "It's been an amazing accomplishment to succeed so quickly after his father passing away," New Zealander Campbell added. "I can see him getting even better and better as each year goes on." Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who won his first major title at the US Open in June, agrees. "He had that kind of swagger, kind of twirling the club after he hits it; that kind of strut he has when he's playing really well, that 'no one is beating me' look in his eye," he said. "He hasn't had that for a while. You don't think: 'Here we go again', but you're happy that the best player in history is back playing the way he can." Ogilvy has been grouped with Woods and Masters champion Phil Mickelson for the first two rounds in the traditional marquee grouping of the season's three major winners. Woods has triumphed five times in 12 worldwide starts this year, a remarkable statistic given that he took nine weeks off after the Masters in early April to deal with the illness and death of his father. He did not return to tournament golf until the US Open at Winged Foot. Hardly surprisingly, he missed the cut there in a major championship for the first time as a professional. Since then, though, he has flourished, tying for second at the Western Open and coasting to victory in his next two starts at the British Open and the Buick. Although he desperately misses his father, with whom he shared a particularly close bond, his hunger to acquire more major titles is probably stronger now than ever before. Hunting his 12th career major, Woods feels he is close to the dominance he produced in his golden run of five major triumphs in six starts from late 1999 to early 2001. "I think it's very similar," he said. "I've had some great steps in my career out here so far, and this is certainly one of them. Hopefully I can keep it going for a while." Woods and company will have to tackle the longest layout in major history this week. Medinah's No. 3 Course has been stretched to 7,561 yards since it staged its first PGA Championship in 1999, when Woods triumphed by a stroke over a 19-year-old Sergio Garcia. "The golf course is absolutely fantastic," the world number one said. "Obviously they've lengthened some of the holes and the greens have been redone, but the golf course is such a wonderful layout, wonderful shape to it. "You've got to hit the ball well and obviously control your irons into these greens in order to have a chance." Phil Mickelson, who clinched last year's PGA Championship at Baltusrol, will fancy his chances, as will twice winner Vijay Singh and the in-form Jim Furyk, who has finished no worse than tied for fourth in his last four PGA Tour starts. "I've had a fun year and a chance to win two of the three majors," said left-hander Mickelson, who finished a stroke behind Ogilvy at Winged Foot after double-bogeying the last. "I feel like I've prepared well for this tournament. The golf course suits my game and it's a course I feel comfortable on. I expect to play well." It is worth remembering, though, that the season's final major was won in consecutive years by unheralded Americans Rich Beem (2002) and Shaun Micheel (2003), underlining that any player in the field is capable of victory if his game is on that particular week. © 2006 Reuters