PGA Championship 2013: Latest Odds and Betting Tips for Golf's Top Contenders

Just when it seemed you couldn't bear the thought of another glaring reminder of summer's rapid end, the golf world sends perhaps the most sobering one of all—the PGA Championship teeing off Thursday at Oak Hill Country Club in New York.

The year's fourth and final major championship is a back-to-school reminder for not only the youth of the nation, but also the world's top golfers. More than half a calendar will pass between Sunday's final round and the return of major season at next year's Masters. While the PGA has done a nice job of turning the FedEx Cup into an event worth watching, Oak Hill represents one last opportunity at golf immortality.

Each player in the field knows this. But the ones most cognizant of the fact their sport will be exiting the national lexicon almost immediately after Sunday's final round will be hoping to make a big impression.

For some, the summer months have been an unadulterated success. Phil Mickelson did the unthinkable at Muirfield, sweeping the Scottish and British Opens for his first two wins across the pond in two decades. Tiger Woods, despite going majorless, has five wins on tour—more than double that of anyone in the world this season.

For others, 2013 has pretty much been a nightmare. Rory McIlroy has dropped all the way back to No. 3 in the world as he's failed to win a tournament this entire calendar year. And such was the case for Bubba Watson as well, who has been unable to parlay his 2012 Masters championship into an elongated period of success.

With someone named Shaun Micheel winning the last time the PGA Championship was played at Oak Hill, let's just say the world's best will be looking for something more this time around. 

With that in mind, here is a look at a the latest betting odds and a few tips for this week's action.

Stay Far, Far Away on Rory

I have confidence in saying that, eventually, Rory McIlroy will find his game. He's far too talented, far too brilliant on a golf course for his prime to be that little beacon of transcendence we saw toward the end of last year. 

It just seems highly unlikely that Eureka moment will come this week and lead to a second consecutive PGA Championship. About this time a year ago, McIlroy was seemingly staking his claim as the world's best player. He shot 13 under over four rounds at Kiawah Island, defeating the entire field—one that once called Tiger Woods a co-leader through 36 holes—by eight strokes.

McIlroy's eight-stroke margin of victory was the biggest in PGA Championship history, and he became one of the youngest players to ever win multiple titles. He would go on to just narrowly miss winning the FedEx Cup and looked like the rightful heir to Tiger's throne.

But 2013 has not been kind to the 24-year-old Northern Irishman. He's yet to win a tournament, has finished no higher than a tie for 25th in major championships and has faced a wave of criticism about his game and personal life. Gary Player and Nick Faldo both called out McIlroy for not having golf as his top priority in life, and the legendary duo seemed to insinuate his relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki was holding him back.

All of this is going on while McIlroy has seemingly been struggling deeply to control his emotions on the course. The world's third-ranked player spoke with the Associated Press last week before the Bridgestone Invitational, opening up about his mood swings.

''I've become a little bit too emotionally involved with my golf over the last few months, I guess,'' McIlroy said. ''I've let it either get me excited or get me down, where I should really just not get too high or too low about it at all.''

McIlroy went on to finish in a tie for 27th. While acceptance may be the first step to recovery, it seems he's still got a few to go until he's back in form. Maybe McIlroy comes back and shocks the world this week; I just wouldn't bet on it.

Sorry, Phil. Not Happening Again

Easily the most glorious thing about Phil Mickelson's triumph at the British Open was its improbability. Heading into Muirfield, Lefty had just two top-10 finishes across the pond. He had forever struggled with links golf, a style that preaches patience as the greatest virtue of all else. For Mickelson to make a comeback from five strokes down and somehow win by three?

That was one of the finest performances of his entire career, under any advanced measure or one of feeling. Phil now has two top-two finishes in major tournaments this season—more than anyone else in the world.

The problem comes when expecting a similar result—especially one to come at his second-worst major. He's not had the struggles throughout his career at the PGA the way he has at the Open Championship pre-Muirfield—he's finished in the top 10 eight times—but Mickelson still hasn't found his stroke in the tournament of late.

Since winning the event in 2005, Lefty has just one top-10 result and has found himself out of contention on most weekends. Last year he finished in a tie for 36th, shooting no better than a 71 and going over par in three rounds. While past performance does not necessarily indicate future result—again, see Muirfield—the improbability of Mickelson winning two majors in a year for the first time at age 43 just seems too far-fetched.

One dangling carrot: The fans in New York will be showering him with adoration all week, and there is perhaps no one who plays to the crowd better. He was tied for the opening-round lead here in 2003 and was in contention through 36 holes before his game faltered en route to a tie for 23rd.

Who knows, maybe this time he won't falter. But when you're laying down money, there's no sense in betting something on a whim.

Take a Chance on Tiger

If you've become gun-shy about predicting Tiger Woods to win a major golf tournament, join the club. As a card-carrying member of the "pick the field" club in Tiger vs. The Field debates, the prevailing feeling that he's playing too well to not win compels me to go the other direction. I did the same for the Open Championship and, well, it didn't exactly work out.

But, after his scintillating win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, Eldrick looked as close to being on top of his game as ever. His putter was sensational throughout the week—though not so great in the final round—as he went on to essentially lap the field. Buoyed by a score of 61 Friday, Woods went 15 under for the event to win by seven strokes.

The win was quintessential, in-his-prime Tiger. The world's top-ranked golfer used that second round, which tied for a career best, as a barrier between he and the rest of the field. There has always been a common misconception that Woods somehow likes coming from behind. He doesn't. Tiger is the greatest front-runner perhaps in sports history, a guy who likes to build his lead early and then go straight to conservative mode on the weekend.

Perhaps the most astounding fact about the way he plays is that even-par always looks in reach. When Woods wants to hover around even and just hold a steady balance, he's been by and large able to pull it off. He shot just two under over the weekend at Firestone. While some would use that to point out his weekend flaws—Woods has not been good post-Friday this year—it's been a strategical switch throughout his career.

Another factor working in Woods' favor is history. The last time he won an event by more than five strokes, he went on to win the next week's major, per ESPN Stats & Info. It's not exactly a robust sample we're talking about here, but for the first time in a while it feels like Tiger deserves his favorite status.

Just don't make any bets after Round 2 if he's not high up on the leaderboard.

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