PGA Championship Player Guide

Tiger Woods, 33, USA

World Ranking: 1

Career Earnings: $84,521,189

Majors Won: 14

Career Wins: 66 (90 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 2

2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: Didn’t play—injured

Best PGA Championship: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007 (winner)

Strengths: “Tiger being Tiger. The overall package.” (Gary McCord)

Hazeltine challenge: “His driver isn’t the weapon it once was. In fact, it may be the weakest link in his bag. He’s still losing shots to the right throughout his bag. He’ll need to straighten out the driver or hit a lot of 3-woods.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Why he has a shot: “Tiger feels Hazeltine owes him one. He played terrific golf at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine; he birdied the last four holes and remarked, ‘I gave it everything I had,’ yet lost by one to Rich Beem. He once cited that his 3-iron from a fairway bunker at the 18th hole in the second round that year was the greatest shot he ever hit.” (Joe Passov)

Trivia: Golf Digest was already writing about him when he was 5 years old.

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Phil Mickelson, 39, USA

Editor’s Note: Phil Mickelson was on leave in May 2009, following his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis. His PGA Championship status is unclear.)

World Ranking: 2

Career Earnings: $53,761,536

Majors Won: 3

Career Wins: 36 (41 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 34 (tied)

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 7 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2005 (winner)

Strengths: “Hazeltine is an old school golf course. You have to drive it well, have a good second shot, the whole deal. There is nothing tricky about it. Phil’s played it before. Nothing’s going to present itself as any different. A lot of guys, you look for them to play the course from the fairway; you look for Phil to play it from the rough or trees. Since there are not that many trees out at Hazeltine, Phil can work the ball around. He’s strong enough.” (Gary McCord)

Hazeltine challenge: “Driving the ball is Phil’s weak spot. When he gets the cut tee shot under control and begins hitting fairways, he is very dangerous. As a high-ball hitter, he usually struggles in the wind.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Why he has a shot: “There’s nobody better than Phil at getting the ball up and down, especially at a PGA Championship. So his chances should be pretty good if he can get it to the green. If he drives it straight, he’s really in good stead.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: Nicknamed Lefty. Thirty-six wins, more than any modern player after Tom Watson . . . and Tiger.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/The PGA of America

Paul Casey, 31, England

World Ranking: 3

Career Earnings: $5,133,369

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 1 (11 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Missed the cut

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 15 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2008 (tied for 15th)

Strengths: “He drives it really long. He’s fairly accurate off the tee. Good iron game. Controls his trajectory really good. Plays the ball down a lot.” (Gary McCord)

Hazeltine challenge: “Casey acknowledges that he’s been a streaky putter over the years, with more success in match play than in stroke play. Yet, for a player with top-five-in-the-world talent and physical fitness, most believe it is what’s between the ears that’s held him back. He has rarely possessed the requisite focus and nerve on big occasions.” (Joe Passov)

Why he has a shot: “Having won now on the PGA Tour [at the Shell Houston Open] really helps.” (GM)

Trivia: He made some unkind remarks about the U.S. Ryder Cup team that sparked controversy, but he seems to have put the incident behind him.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Sergio Garcia, 29, Spain

World Ranking: 4

Career Earnings: $24,725,592

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 7 (20 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 10 (tied)

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 2 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 1999 (2nd), 2008 (tied for 2nd)

Strengths: “One of best ball strikers—tee to green—on Tour.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “He hasn’t started off the year very well, so he doesn’t have any momentum whatsoever.” (Gary McCord). “Sergio is plagued by the three P’s: patience, putting, and pressure. Despite his superb driving and shotmaking prowess, he seems to crumble at crunch time, most often due to tentative putting and a woe-is-me attitude when things don’t go right.” (Joe Passov)

Why he has a shot: “He could have, or maybe should have, won last year’s PGA Championship. He’s been coming close in majors.” (GVS)

Trivia: Nicknamed El Niño. His father is his teacher and has played in eight Champions Tour events.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Henrik Stenson, 33, Sweden

World Ranking: 5

Career Earnings:  $5,811,294

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 2 (9 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Didn’t play

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 4 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2008 (tied for 4th)

Strengths: “He’s a power player who looks like the best player in the world when he’s playing well.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “[Before his recent win at The Players Championship], he was more famous for stripping down to his underwear to play a shot from a water hazard at Doral, a truly curious incident, than for any of his wins.” (GVS)

Why he has a shot: “He’s a very accomplished player. Like [fellow Swede] Robert Karlsson, he just needs to get close and feel what that’s like. There is not a whole lot of weakness in his game.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: He recently lost an undetermined amount of his savings to scandal-tainted Texas billionaire Sir Allen Stanford.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Geoff Ogilvy, 32, Australia

World Ranking: 6

Career Earnings: $19,462,154

Majors Won: 1

Career Wins: 6 (7 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Didn’t play

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 31 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2005, 2007 (tied for 6th)

Strengths: “He’s long, reasonably straight, a very good iron player, a terrific putter, and has a good short game.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “Ogilvy’s main weakness might very well be expectations. He seems so cool and collected, hits his irons so high and pure, and sinks so many putts, he seems like the next sure thing. That sort of pressure can cause back pain in a hurry.” (Joe Passov)

Why he has a shot: “In mid-spring 2009, Ogilvy ranked No. 2 in putting average on the PGA Tour. In 2008, he finished 104th in that stat—very misleading, because he ranked second on Tour in putts of less than five feet and seventh in putts from 10 to 15 feet. Translation: Ogilvy makes a lot of putts when they count.” (JP)

Trivia: He was a talented junior athlete in several sports, medaling at state and nationals.

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Kenny Perry, 48, USA

World Ranking: 7

Career Earnings: $28,901,701

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 13 (14 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 29 (tied)

2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: Withdrew

Best PGA Championship: 1996 (2nd)

Strengths: “He’s a pretty straight driver who hits a right-to-left shot all the time.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “Within the span of six months, it’s hard to fully recover from a loss like the one he suffered at Augusta National.” (Gary McCord)

Why he has a shot: “I don’t think his Masters mishap hurts his PGA chances. If anything, the self-deprecating, yet classy, way he handled his misfortune takes the pressure off. The fact is, his total driving, greens in regulation, and all-around numbers for the past three years show that he’s a threat to contend—and to win—any major he enters.” (Joe Passov)

Trivia: He likes to race cars.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Padraig Harrington, 37, Ireland

World Ranking: 8

Career Earnings: $15,687,793

Majors Won: 3

Career Wins: 5 (22 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 17 (tied)

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 1

Best PGA Championship: 2008 (winner)

Strengths: “His game is solid all around. He can win anywhere. Nicest guy on either tour. Very smart, friendly, and well-liked. He’s a popular champion.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “By his own admission, he is a classic plodder, who excels on courses that punish every little mistake. ‘I tend to be more conservative, always with one eye on a good place to miss,’ he said earlier this year. Hazeltine, however, rewards the shotmakers, the risk-takers. Padraig’s game revolves more around execution that it does around feel. He might not possess the requisite flexibility to thrive at Hazeltine.” (Joe Passov)

Why he has a shot: “He is so mentally tough. He is right there with Tiger.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: Nicknamed Paddy. First photo you see on his website is of James Braid, the last Brit to win back-to-back British Opens.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/The PGA of America

Vijay Singh, 46, Fiji

World Ranking: 9

Career Earnings: $61,206,967

Majors Won: 3

Career Wins: 34 (59 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 8

2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: Missed the cut

Best PGA Championship: 1998, 2004 (winner)

Strengths: “Vijay’s strength is his strength, both physical and mental. Anyone in his mid-40s who is capable of enjoying five-hour, 400-ball range sessions and similar commitment to the gym has to be reckoned with at crunch time in a major.” (Joe Passov)

Hazeltine challenge: “He’s struggling with his putting and sometimes with his driving.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Why he has a shot: “Vijay is never out of it. He works too hard.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: Nicknamed The Big Fijian. Vijay means “victory” in Hindi. Has more wins over the age of 40 than any player in history. 

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Camilo Villegas, 27, Colombia

World Ranking: 10

Career Earnings: $9,537,313

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 2 (5 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: N/A

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 4 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2008 (tied for 4th)

Strengths: “He’s a power player who has greatly improved his short game, thus his recent rise.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “He’s a rising star who has yet to prove he can contend in a major.” (GVS)

Why he has a shot: “I think he is ready to make the next leap. He is turning into a very good player. He has worked hard.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: Nicknamed Spiderman for the way he splays his body flat behind the ball when reading the line of his putts.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Robert Karlsson, 39, Sweden

World Ranking: 11

Career Earnings: $1,614,261

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 0 (10 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Didn’t play

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 20 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2008 (tied for 20th)

Strengths: “Evaluating bunker sand, putting greens, and lies in the rough should be a slam dunk. After all, he’s the son of a golf course superintendent.” (Joe Passov)

Hazeltine challenge: “He’s one of the new breed of Super Swedes who got off to a super-slow start on both sides of the Atlantic in 2009. Statistics point to one certain culprit: crooked driving. As of spring, he found fewer than 58 percent of the fairways worldwide. Karlsson will have to slot more tee shots into the short grass if he’s going to contend at the PGA.” (JP)

Why he has a shot: “He needs to get there and knock on the door at a major and see what that is like—feel the pitter patter. Once he does that, he’s got everything.” (Gary McCord)

Trivia: Nicknamed Ivan Drago after the Dolph Lundgren character in Rocky IV.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America

Steve Stricker, 42, USA

World Ranking: 13

Career Earnings: $19,104,120

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 4 (6 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Missed the cut

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 39 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 1998 (2nd)

Strengths: “His driver has always been his problem club, but when he’s hitting it well, he can win any event, anywhere. A terrific putter, a great chipper, and a pretty good iron player.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “He hasn’t closed out tournaments when he’s had a chance to win on the final nine. A couple, in fact, have been kind of ugly.” (GVS)

Why he has a shot: “He’s been playing the best golf of his life the last two years. There’s still a major out there with his name on it.” (GVS)

Trivia: His brother-in-law, Mario Tiziani, lives in Shorewood and has played in several PGA Tour events.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/The PGA of America

Jim Furyk, 39, USA

World Ranking: 14

Career Earnings: $40,148,229

Majors Won: 1

Career Wins: 13 (18 worldwide)

Finished 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: 9

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 29 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 1997 (tied for 6th)

Strengths: “He manages his game well, hits it straight, and has a great short game.” (Gary Van Sickle)

Hazeltine challenge: “The putter has been curtailing him the last couple of years. Once he gets that figured out, the heart is there, the concept of how to do it is there, and he can do it. He’s not afraid of anything” (Gary McCord)

Why he has a shot: “It’s surprising that he hasn’t won another major after his 2003 U.S. Open win. Then again, Tiger Woods is alive.” (GVS)

Trivia: He putts cross-handed.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/The PGA of America

Anthony Kim, 24, USA

World Ranking: 15

Career Earnings: $7,343,545

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 2

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Didn’t play

Finished 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: 55 (tied)

Best PGA Championship: 2007 (tied for 50th)

Strengths: “Once he taps into the game management part of it, he’s got all the shots.” (Gary McCord)

Hazeltine challenge: “He’s a young 24 and he hasn’t played at Hazeltine in those tough conditions. It might be tough for a guy like that to step up.” (GM)

Why he has a shot: “It’s a learning process right now to play these golf courses under the gun. He needs to get as close to the lead as he can, to see what it is like and then just keep going.” (GM)

Trivia: He wears big bling-laden belt buckles.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/The PGA of America

Lee Westwood, 36, England

World Ranking: 17

Career Earnings: $27,523,291

Majors Won: 0

Career Wins: 1 (29 worldwide)

2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Missed the cut

2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills: Missed the cut

Best PGA Championship: 2000 (tied for 15th)

Strengths: “Westwood drives the ball very well and he’s gotten [near the winner’s circle] a lot.” (Gary McCord)

Hazeltine challenge: He has yet to win a major.

Why he has a shot: “Anyone who has faced a career free-fall, as Westwood did, and recovered displays the heart of a knocked-down boxer who pulls himself off the mat. Westwood is one of the best out there at hitting it long yet finding fairways, and he’s a terrific pressure putter from close range. As his upbringing and pro career have shown, perhaps his greatest attribute is his competitive fire. There’s just no quit in him.” (Joe Passov)

Trivia: He won the European Tour Order of Merit in 2000.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America