PGA Championship 2013: Breaking Down the Experts' Picks

Tiger vs. Phil!

If there was ever a major that sets up as a confrontation between the two most decorated and scrutinized players on the tour, it's the 2013 PGA Championship.

The last of the four majors will be played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., and both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are at the top of their games.

As the golf world gathers at Oak Hill, there is no shortage of predictions on the outcome of the PGA. Will Tiger finally break his major drought? Can Lefty make it two majors in a row? Will Matt Kuchar or Brandt Snedeker break through here or will a surprise candidate emerge?

Here's what the experts are saying about what could be a compelling final major of the 2013 golf season.

The Golf Week writers are never shy about giving their opinions prior to any of the majors, and the PGA is no exception.

Many of their writers are going away from convention and not picking Tiger to piggyback off his seven-stroke victory in the Bridgestone Classic and finally get his 15th major championship.

Editor Jeff Babineau has decided to give his support to new daddy Hunter Mahan as the favorite to win the tournament, with Gary Woodland as his underdog choice. Babineau explains that Woodland was the last man to get into the field, and that's why he is receiving the editor's backing.

Veteran writer Jeff Rude is also in the Mahan camp, but his underdog selection is Graeme McDowell. Perhaps Babineau needs to send Rude a memo on the definition of an underdog, because McDowell simply does not qualify.

Senior writer Lance Ringler has cast his lot with Henrik Stenson, who finished second to Woods at Bridgestone and second to Lefty at the British Open. Bradley S. Klein thinks that long-hitting Dustin Johnson is going to get his game together and bring the Wanamaker Trophy home to girlfriend Paulina Gretzky. David Dusek likes steady Jason Dufner, whose facial expression almost never changes on the golf course.

Digital director Nick Masuda and Adam Schupak both decided to pick Tiger as the winner of the PGA. Masuda called himself a "broken record" because he picked him in the British Open as well, but he pointed to Tiger's five tour wins this season as the reason for his prediction.

ESPN's golf writers Farrell Evans, Bob Harig and Kevin Maguire have all come out with their picks. Evans likes Tiger, Harig is picking Zach Johnson and Maguire is going with Snedeker.

Rob Bolton of majorschampionships.com came out with his PGA power rankings. According to Bolton's numbers, Tiger, Stenson, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson and Kuchar should be the top five finishers in the PGA Championship.

Here's Bolton's analysis on why Woods will come home with the win.

"Fresh off his latest romp at Firestone, this time by seven strokes. Ranked T11 last week in fairways hit, second in GIR, first in proximity and first in par-4 scoring. Two top-six finishes in 2013 majors. Tops on TOUR in adjusted scoring."

Golf writer Tod Leonard of the San Diego Union-Tribune offered five longshot picks that golf fans should follow during the PGA. Leonard likes defending champion Rory McIlroy (25-1), Miguel Angel Jimenez (150-1), Jordan Spieth (80-1), Tim Clark (125-1) and Kevin Stadler (300-1) as his underdogs to consider.

Leonard also listed Woods, Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley as the true favorites in the event.

ESPN researcher Matt Willis makes regular golf major predictions in his column, and he does it by using various factors to separate the contenders from the winner, and he calls his column "The Eliminator." Without going into all of Willis's permutations, he comes up with Harris English as his creative pick.

For the record, English won the FedEx St. Jude Classic and has earned more than $2.1 million this year.

Kyle Porter of CBS Sports listed Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley as the players that he likes the most in the PGA Championship.

Snarky Alex Meyers writes Golf Digest's "The Grind" column, and he says that Woods will pick up major No. 15 in the PGA. He says that Bradley could give him a run for his money.

Finally, while Tiger is playing scintillating golf and Lefty is red-hot, the pick here is for Snedeker to win his first major as he cops the PGA Championship in a playoff over Bradley.

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