PGA Championship 2013: Latest Chatter Surrounding Golf's 4th Major of the Year

The grand finale of this year's major championship season arrives Thursday as the world's top golfers prepare to take on Oak Hill Country Club for the 2013 PGA Championship.

Housed on Oak Hill's East Course in Pittsford, N.Y., this year's PGA Championship should provide a fitting capper to what's been a difficult run in 2013. The combined score of major champions this season is a whopping 11-under, indicative of just how much tour officials have ratcheted up the difficulty. Exactly one person has finished under par over the last two majors—Phil Mickelson, who won the Open Championship at three under.

While we might add a couple of golfers to that list this week, don't expect an abundance of low scores. The par-70 course comes in at 7,163 yards, nearly 200 yards longer than U.S. Open host Merion Golf Club. The last time the PGA came to Oak Hill in 2003 for a major, just three players finished under par—and conditions will probably be worse this week. The U.S. Open may have a reputation as the toughest test in golf, but it seems the others are catching up.

This year's PGA Championship also comes with the pressure of living up to an absolutely thrilling Open Championship. While it's hard to predict when moments like Phil Mickelson's final-round 66 are going to happen, it's fair to say golf is in a great place.

Mickelson is soaring, Tiger Woods is back to lapping the field, and everyone wants to know what's going to happen with Rory McIlroy next.

With the event still a day away, let's check in on the latest news and notes coming in from the great state of New York. 

Tiger Says Greens Are Playing Fast, Talks Course Strategy

Anytime Tiger Woods enters a major golf tournament, history rides on his result. He sits four wins away from tying Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships, which would be astounding had he not been just as far away five years ago.

A half-decade has passed since Tiger's last major win. It's a fact anyone who has even a cursory understanding of what's going on in the sport knows. With every passing major, the questions get increasingly pointed. It's no longer a "when" question with Woods; it's an if.

Tiger knows this well. No pundit is as harsh a critic as he is on himself. Woods has long viewed his success on the basis of major championships, and even with five wins this year, most would deem his 2013 a failure without success at Oak Hill.

How will he find said success? Well, Woods spoke with reporters after a practice round Tuesday, noting that accuracy off the tee and speed judgement could be paramount to success.

"The golf course is in fantastic shape. It's dry now, it's got some speed to it, and the rough is certainly up, and it's clumpy," Woods said, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. "It's imperative to hit the ball in the fairways and hit the ball on the greens, because it's going to be tough to get up-and-down."

While conditions could change, Woods also noted the course is playing fast enough that he may eschew his driver altogether.

"It's playing quick," Woods said. "These fairways, especially on the left side, they obviously cut it down-grain on the left side so you can get a lot of chase to it. On some of the holes, you run out of room quick. The balls are running out there."

The world's top-ranked golfer is coming off his most dominant outing of the season, a seven-stroke victory at the WGC-Bridgestone. He tied his career-low round with a 61 on Friday, holding on down the stretch to finish at 15 under. The win was his eighth at Firestone. It marked yet another triumph this season on a familiar course, as a majority of his wins have come at places where he's historically succeeded.

That said, his dominance last week bodes well for the PGA. The last time Tiger won an event by five or more shots the week before a major, he went on to win that event, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Shaun Micheel Parlayed 2003 PGA Championship into Charity Work

The last time the PGA Championship descended upon Oak Hill, someone named Shaun Micheel won the tournament at four-under.

Who is Shaun Micheel, you ask? No one knew then, either. At the time, he was a 33-year-old pro who had been around since 1994, barely hanging onto the fringes of the tour. He was one of the forgotten players we never speak of on the golf circuit—guys who play week in and week out for a check, just trying to keep their cards.

He had another captivating run at the PGA Championship in 2006 at Medinah, finishing second in the tournament behind only Tiger Woods. Those represent Micheel's only top-five results in major championships.

These days, Micheel is anonymous as ever. The years since that win at Oak Hill haven't changed much in Micheel's golfing life. He's now in his mid-40s with just one PGA Tour victory for his career, and he has yet to make a cut this season on either the PGA Tour or Web.com Tour. He hasn't had a top-10 finish on tour since July of 2010.

While some golfers would be upset about people only remembering them for one event, that's not the case for Micheel. Winning the PGA Championship was not only his best professional triumph, but it also allowed him to do more off-the-course work.

Speaking with PGATour.com's Stan Awtrey, Micheel revealed how that triumph allowed him to get involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. ''My wife (Stephanie) and I love families and we love kids and wanted to do anything we could to help,'' Micheel said. 

Initially a participant in an event hosted by John Daly, Micheel took over the hosting duties in 2004—mostly thanks to the notoriety gained by his PGA win.

''Ironically, I won the PGA Championship and it seemed like a perfect opportunity for me and them to get together,'' Micheel said. 

The Make-A-Wish Foundation and Micheel have hosted an event every year since, with the proceeds going to help children in need. Micheel may not have won any more PGA tournaments after his triumph in 2003, but it's hard to say this story had anything but a happy ending.

Latest Betting Odds Say Go with Tiger, Stay Away from Rory

Here is a look at the latest betting odds for this week's championship, courtesy of Vegas Insider:

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