90th PGA Championship

The 90th PGA Championship tees off this week at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., with the world’s finest golfers competing for the season’s final major championship and the Wanamker Trophy — along with a $7.5 million total purse and $1.35 million winner’s share.

This week’s trip to the Detroit-area marks the first time the PGA Championship has been hosted by Oakland Hills since 1979, when David Graham tied Ben Crewshaw with an 8-under 272 following a double-bogey on the 72nd hole. Graham, however, was able to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. Coincidentally, Oakland Hills Country Club was founded the same year as the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA of America).

There are 10 PGA Champions competing this week at Oakland Hills:

• Vijay Singh (2004, 1998)
• Phil Mickelson (2005)
• Rich Beem (2002)
• David Toms (2001)
• Davis Love III (1997)
• Mark Brooks (1996)
• Steve Elkington (1995)
• Paul Azinger (1993)
• John Daly (1991)
• Bob Tway (1986)

But 2006 and 2007 PGA Champion Tiger Woods will not be able to defend his title and make a run at a three-peat this week at Oakland Hills. Last year, Woods became only the third player to win at least four PGA Championships — trailing Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagan, who each won five. Tiger also became the first player to repeat since 1936-37, when Denny Shute won back-to-back Wanamaker Trophies.

Tiger is only the fourth PGA Champion who has not defended his title. Hagan won in 1921 but did not attend the following year due to a grueling exhibition schedule. Sam Snead was the 1942 PGA Champion, but the 1943 tournament was not played as a result of World War II. But the most obvious comparison is that of 1948 PGA Champion Ben Hogan, who could not compete in 1949 following injuries sustained in a car wreck.

Had he not been derailed by a season-ending knee injury, Woods would be attempting to become the first player since Hagan to win three straight PGA Championships. Hagan won fourth consecutive titles from 1924-27.

Without Tiger (this year’s U.S. Open winner) in the field, the traditional Thursday-Friday pairings of the season’s three previous major championship winners was altered. Masters champ Trevor Immelman and British Open winner Padraig Harrington will be paired with 2007 U.S. Open Champion Angel Cabrera — rather than Tiger’s one-on-one 2008 U.S. Open playoff sparring partner Rocco Mediate as some had suggested.

Harrington will attempt to become just the fourth player in history to win the British Open and the PGA Championship in the same year. In 1924, Hagan was the first to do so. It took 70 years for Nick Price to join him in the club. Since then, Tiger has accomplished the feat twice, winning both the British and PGA in 2000 and 2006. Immelman will also be working against an historic trend. The last player to win the Masters and the PGA in the same season was Jack Nicklaus in 1975.

Outside of the current major championship trophy holders (or green jacket-wearers), there are a few players to keep an eye on.

• Vijay Singh – fresh off of a victory at last week’s World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational, the shot-making Fijian is riding a wave of momentum into the PGA, where he won the Wanamaker Trophy in 1998 and 2004. On the other hand, Vijay was ice cold with his flat stick at the WGC — making just 9-of-19 putts from 4-to-8 feet — and no player has ever won a major with a belly putter. Plus, Singh has missed the cut at the PGA the past two years.

• Phil Mickelson – with Tiger not around, Lefty is the most recent PGA Champion, having won in 2005. But Mickelson is coming off of a disappointing finish at last week’s WGC event, bogeying three of his final four holes on Sunday after carding zero final-round bogeys prior to the collapse down the stretch.

• Kenny Perry – arguably the top player on Tour over the past few months; finally making a major championship appearance after catching heat nationally for skipping U.S. Open qualifying and missing the British Open to play in Milwaukee.

• Jim Furyk – the 2003 U.S. Open champion finished tied for fifth in the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. An all-around steady player who has posted four Top-5 finishes over his last 10 major championships.

• Sergio Garcia – THE PLAYERS Champion still has the major monkey on his back after losing to Harrington in a playoff at last year’s British Open at Carnoustie.

• Anthony Kim – a 23-year-old phenom who already has two wins this season and is being over-hyped as the “next Tiger.”

Players will have their hands full at the 7,395-yard, Par-70 layout of Oakland Hills, which is tree-lined and has water in-play on three holes — most notably on No. 16.

According to Pat Croswell, the head golf pro at Oakland Hills CC, the difficult second shot at the 16th hole “is one of the most intimidating shots. … Some players may be tempted to use one extra club and take the water out of play. They run the risk of catching one of the three rear bunkers and leaving a difficult sand shot.”

Historically, the PGA Championship has been a tournament for first-time (or one-time) major winners. In fact, of the 89 past champions, 31 have only a PGA Championship victory in their major championship trophy case. So, don’t be surprised to see a relative unknown or unexpected champion this week.

The 90th PGA Championship will be televised by TNT on Thursday and Friday (1:00-7:00 p.m. ET) as well as Saturday and Sunday (11:00-2:00 p.m. ET), before CBS takes over primary coverage (2:00-7:00 p.m. ET) over the weekend.