PGA Championship 2013 Favorites: Odds and Predictions for This Year's Tournament

The 2013 PGA Championship tees off on Thursday at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., sporting some of the top names in golf.

Tiger Woods is coming off his fifth victory of the year at the Bridgestone Invitational, but he hasn't won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open. Will Tiger finally notch his 15th career major championship, or will the pressure get to the 37-year-old?

Masters winner Adam Scott, U.S. Open champ Justin Rose and British Open victor Phil Mickelson will also be competing for the PGA Championship. 

Let's take a look at the current favorites. Should they be labeled favorites, or are they being given too much credit?

Read on.

*Odds via Bovada

Tiger Woods (7-2)

Tiger Woods is the favorite at the 2013 PGA Championship, just he has been the favorite for every major this year.

It's not hard to figure out why Woods gets so much love in the oddsbooks, given he has won 14 career majors and posted a combined 16 top-10 finishes and eight victories on the PGA Tour in the last two years.

But the question still persists after the 2008 U.S. Open: Does Tiger have what it takes to win a major anymore?

At this point, you have to believe Tiger's struggles to win majors in recent years at least partially have to do with his mental game. He's racked up wins outside of majors, but he has consistently fallen short down the stretch at majors.

That being said, this may be as good a time as any to bet on Tiger. He posted a ridiculous 15-under-par 265 at the Bridgestone Invitational, seven strokes ahead of second-place finishers Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson. That included a 61 in the second round, tied for his best score ever.

It is worth noting that Woods ranks first in scoring average before the cut this year but 73rd in the third round and 135th in the final round, via PGATour.com. In that sense, it would appear to behoove him to start out strong at the 2013 PGA Championship, which would enable him to do just enough to emerge victorious down the stretch.

Woods has won the PGA Championship four times in his career. He finished 11th at the major last year. I'm picking him to win this year.

Phil Mickelson (14-1)

You never really know what you are going to get with Phil Mickelson.

On one hand, he's one of the most talented golfers in the world. He's posted six top-10 finishes and two victories this year, including a win at the British Open.

On the other hand, he's missed the cut three times and placed 37th or worse four times. After winning the British Open, he finished 21st at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Mickelson has eight career top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship, including a victory in 2005. The last time he played the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in 2003, he placed 23rd.

Oak Hill doesn't favor inaccurate drivers. In that sense, Mickelson may have trouble with the course, as he ranks 161st on tour in driving accuracy, per PGATour.com. On the other hand, Mickelson didn't drive all that well at the British Open but still won with an excellent putting game.

In the end, I don't think Mickelson finishes in the top 10 at the 2013 PGA Championship.

Adam Scott (16-1)

Since winning the Masters this year, Adam Scott has posted one top-10 finish, finishing third at the British Open. He is coming off a 14th-place finish at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Scott has three career top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship, and he finished 11th last year. In 2003 at Oak Hill, he finished 23rd (eerily similar to Tiger).

The 33-year-old isn't the most accurate off the tee, ranked 90th on tour in the category, but he has at least improved in that regard. He also ranked second in the field in driving accuracy at the British Open.

I'm not picking Scott to win the 2013 PGA Championship, but I do believe he will be in contention on the final day at Oak Hill.