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The 2006 PGA Championship--Official Thread

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Mickelson chokes when he plays with Tiger. I am a huge Phil fan but that's just the way its been. I would love nothing more than to see Phil beat Tiger heads up on sunday, but I just don't think he has it in him.

Thump, tiger did use the titleist/nike combo but that was before they had designed a driver that tiger would use. he worked closely with nike in the design of the ignite and sasquatch. once he was happy with nike's drivers he commited to playing them.
 
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I'll pick Furyk...
 
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Don't know who here likes to bet golf, but I normally take 5 or so guys in each major. Tiger is 3-1, and I don't ever really bet more than a few bucks, so even though I really think he's looking good, there's no point there.

Right now I'm thinking about

Vijay 19-1
Sergio 29-1
Adam Scott 34-1
DiMarco 34-1
Harrington 51-1
Zach Johnson 81-1

About a year ago I decided to bet Scott, Sergio, and Harrington every major because I think they all have one in them at some point in their career, and right now the payout is still good. DiMarco has struggled recently, but finished strong in The Open and I've always liked him since the playoff at Whistling Straights. Zach Johnson, I'm taking because he had a really great "Playing Lessons From the Pro's" episode. The only other guy to have as good of a PLFTP episode was Geoff Ogilvy, and I remember kicking myself for not betting him in the US Open ... so from now on, I'm always betting the guy who currently has the best "playing lessons" episode.

I also really like Robert Allenby's game and think he might be a good "outside shot", but I'm having a hard time adding him to my list.

If you are interested in all the odds, I got them from sportsinteraction.com

If I were to rank who I think has the best chance, I'd go with

1. Tiger
2. Vijay
3. Furyk
 
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WestEnd said:
Don't know who here likes to bet golf, but I normally take 5 or so guys in each major. Tiger is 3-1, and I don't ever really bet more than a few bucks, so even though I really think he's looking good, there's no point there.

Right now I'm thinking about

Vijay 19-1
Sergio 29-1
Adam Scott 34-1
DiMarco 34-1
Harrington 51-1
Zach Johnson 81-1

About a year ago I decided to bet Scott, Sergio, and Harrington every major because I think they all have one in them at some point in their career, and right now the payout is still good. DiMarco has struggled recently, but finished strong in The Open and I've always liked him since the playoff at Whistling Straights. Zach Johnson, I'm taking because he had a really great "Playing Lessons From the Pro's" episode. The only other guy to have as good of a PLFTP episode was Geoff Ogilvy, and I remember kicking myself for not betting him in the US Open ... so from now on, I'm always betting the guy who currently has the best "playing lessons" episode.

I also really like Robert Allenby's game and think he might be a good "outside shot", but I'm having a hard time adding him to my list.

If you are interested in all the odds, I got them from sportsinteraction.com

If I were to rank who I think has the best chance, I'd go with

1. Tiger
2. Vijay
3. Furyk
Click to expand...

Where do you make your bets?
 
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay16.html

Tiger vs. Phil? It's a one-sided 'rivalry'

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August 16, 2006
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST <!-- Empty line is needed --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="http://a3.suntimes.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/@Top,Top1,TopLeft,Middle,Middle1,Bottom,x01,x02,x03,x04,x05,Frame1,Right1!Middle"></SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
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<!--publication CST --><!--pub_section SPT page 119 last modified 8/16/06 12:01 AM-->
<!--startdrop-->How sweet that they converge again, on a course originally designed for the ladies, in a pairing that suggests part fantasy, part prizefight and part Celebrity Deathmatch claymation chaos. The only problem with our fine fortune is that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson still aren't dueling as equals in the PGA Championship. In a sport defined by majors, recent developments have left the scoreboard in a White Sox vs. Cubs mode.


Tiger 11, Phil 3.
So really now, isn't a Thursday morning drama in the western suburbs more about an inevitable pecking order being reaffirmed atop the golfing hierarchy? In a matter of weeks, Woods renewed himself as the Jack-stalker and king of his sport, thrashing through the grief and tears of his father's death to dominate the British Open and later claim his 50th victory on the PGA Tour. This while Mickelson, poised to pounce on Tiger like never before, played the 18th hole at the U.S. Open like the old Michael Jordan-Larry Bird commercial: Off the tent, through the tree, into the bunker, past the green ... nothing but choke. On the cusp of legendhood, Phil lapsed into his old heartbreaker role and self-sabotaged his best chance to challenge Woods' dominance.
We've always hoped, prayed and rubbed our club heads together that someday, with each man in his optimum prime, they'd battle on even terms in a lengthy rivalry. And maybe some semblance of such competition is still ahead. But there is no denying where they stand in what will be recalled as a crossroads summer of 2006. Barring a kidnapping or chronic back injury, Woods steadily will stalk and break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles, which will end all debates about who's the greatest ever. As someone who was quick to label Tiger's stumbles a few years back as ''a slump,'' I now can say he has passed through enough life and career experiences -- swing changes, the loss of Earl Woods, holy matrimony, temper tantrums, dealing with the intense global glare -- to have a smoother ride in his 30s. He has changed his sport as much as Jordan changed his or Babe Ruth changed his, and when asked Tuesday if he might go down among the all-time athletic giants, he didn't dismiss the concept.
<!--startsubhead-->Tiger appreciating the moment


''That's a step in the right direction -- we're looking at golfers as athletes,'' Woods said in the Medinah media tent. ''I think if you're in that conversation, you've been very fortunate and had a great career. Hopefully, I can continue doing what I'm doing so I can be part of that discussion.''
He also sounded like a man who finally realizes he is winning the war, mostly against himself. Tiger knows what he has become: the biggest sportsman on the planet. Now it's time to finish what he started and enjoy the process. ''It's a dream come true,'' he said, smiling. ''I didn't think in my wildest dreams I could actually achieve what I have so far. I could never have dreamt that I could win this many times in my first 10 years.'' At last, he is allowing himself to breathe in, breathe out and appreciate Being Tiger.
Mickelson? He'll forever be known as the unlucky S.O.B. who happened to be born in the same era as Tiger. You won't hear this being seconded by Mickelson's short-game guru, Dave Pelz, who briefly interrupted an otherwise peaceful practice-round mood by telling the Chicago Tribune, ''When Phil's at his best, I'm thinking nobody can beat him.'' That would include Woods, Pelz emphasized, which might qualify as the most ill-timed piece of trash talk in recent sports history. Basically, he is trying to glorify his student's underachievement, leaving Mickelson to employ sheepish damage control.
''My man, he's enthusiastic,'' he said. ''I have tried to not give you too much to run with, and so I'm paying other people now to do it.''
Said Woods, all but drooling over his goatee: ''I think I'm pretty tough to beat when I'm playing well, too.''
The comments -- Pelz's Bells, we'll call them -- only will trigger the long-festering perception that Woods and Mickelson can't stand each other. Maturity has quelled some old tensions that hinted they were enemies more than rivals, as revealed four years ago when Tour pro Mark Calcavecchia told Golf Digest, ''Not everyone can get along with everybody else. They put up with each other, but they aren't the best of friends ... I think some of the things Phil says might rub Tiger a little the wrong way -- Tiger might think he's a know-it-all and cocky.'' Then came their standoff at the Ryder Cup, which was noted Tuesday by U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, the Aussie who will be the obscure mate in the threesome.
''It'll be interesting to see how they get along with each other,'' Ogilvy said.
<!--startsubhead-->Rivalry 'a good story'


And what does he mean by that? ''I don't know when it started, but that Ryder Cup pairing a few years ago --or was it the last Ryder Cup?'' he said. ''That probably set it more in motion than it was. They didn't appear to be best friends that day, I don't know. They walked on the first tee and they were on both sides of the tee. I don't know; they don't play practice rounds together. They're the two best golfers in the world, and you guys want a story, and that's a bit of a story.''
Either Ogilvy is a reckless gossip monger or he knows something we don't.
Only once have the two goliaths been paired together in a major, in the final round of a 2001 Masters won by Woods. While much will be made of their grouping in the first and second rounds -- are there enough police in DuPage County to handle the swelled, crazed galleries? -- the story line is bittersweet because it reflects what we haven't seen enough on meaningful Sundays. This should be a common event, not a rarity, and it's no surprise Woods is ho-humming the significance while acknowledging he won't be chatting much with Mickelson, not that he chats with anyone while playing.
''You're out there just handling your own business,'' he said. ''Obviously, I get along with some players better than others, and that's just the way it is. Sometimes I talk, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm in the mood to talk, sometimes I'm not going to say a word even if my best friend is out there. You're there to win a tournament. We can always go out for a beer later.''
It would be nice, as Mickelson said, if their prepackaged pairing extended to the weekend and didn't die on the leaderboard. That way, we truly could celebrate the champion of the world and his leading challenger. For now, this isn't a showdown as much as a happenstance meeting. Beyond Pelz, the fighting words just aren't there.
''I love the chance to compete against such a great competitor. He's one of the best players of all time, if not the best,'' Mickelson said. ''It's been a fun challenge for me and the other guys to play against him, and he's pushed me to work harder and get better and achieve levels of success I may not have achieved had he not been there pushing me.'' Sounds like a concession speech.[/FONT]
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