Tiger Woods' Blueprint to Breaking His Majors Drought at 2013 PGA Championship

Tiger Woods doesn't need long-term memory to craft the perfect plan for winning the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. He simply needs to duplicate his impressive performance at Firestone Golf Club from this past weekend.

In winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by seven shots, Woods was a throwback to his previously dominant self and the exact golfer he needs to be to win his first major since 2008. From an execution standpoint, Woods' iron play was absolutely dialed in, and his putting was vintage Tiger.

Mentally, the world’s top-ranked player was relaxed, focused and comfortable over the weekend for the first time in quite a while.

The performance not only gave Woods his 79th career victory and 18th World Golf Championship crown, but it also provided the perfect blueprint toward winning a fifth Wanamaker Trophy this weekend in Rochester, N.Y.

While Oak Hill will certainly play tougher than Firestone, the two courses are very similar in design and demand for success.

Oak Hill’s tight fairways, noticeable elevation changes, well-guarded green complexes and challenging doglegs will test accuracy and execution just as Firestone did.

Woods gave his view of the challenge ahead at Oak Hill (via PGA.com and ASAP Sports):

"

Well, I like it. I liked it when I played here in '03. I think it's a fantastic golf course. It’s tough. It’s right in front of you. Really no surprises out there. You just have to play well. This is one of those courses where you've just got to bring it ball-striking wise. You've got to hit the ball well.

"

The question, however, is whether Woods can have accuracy off the tee, confidence on the greens and mental focus under the pressure of yet another major.

Consistency off the Tee

Provided he doesn't fall behind early and is then forced to take chances he normally would not, Woods will limit the use of his driver just as he has done in recent majors. Possibly just twice, according to James Corrigan of the Daily Telegraph.

Woods, however, can’t entirely ignore the club and hope to win his fifth PGA Championship. Rather, he’ll have to pick his spots, and in doing so execute better than he did at the U.S. Open and British Open this year.

Last weekend, Woods was able to minimize the effect of poorly executed drives. When he missed the fairway, he did so in places he could recover and avoid anything worse than a bogey.

When he found his target, he translated short approaches into real birdie opportunities and generally executed with his putter. If Woods can do that at Oak Hill, it will limit the pressure of an already stressful test and keep him focused when birdie opportunities present themselves.

Dial in on the Greens

If it’s important that Woods is in control off the tee, then it’s absolutely critical he continues to execute on the greens.

There’s no question he has struggled with his putter during this season’s three major championships. Most recently at the British Open, he openly complained about the speed of the Muirfield greens and struggled to get the ball into the hole the entire week, especially on Sunday when he desperately needed his putter.

At the Bridgestone, however, Woods was dialed in on the greens, especially with his speed. During his dominant second-round 61, which essentially won him the tournament, he needed only 22 putts to get around Firestone.

That was similar to his wizardry on the greens this past spring, when he won four times on the PGA Tour before mid-May. If he is even close to that duplicating that form from inside 20 feet this week, he’s going to be difficult to beat.

Get the Weekend Right

Since the beginning of 2012, Woods has played well in every major save one—the 2013 U.S. Open, where he struggled with a damaged elbow and tied for 32nd.

By and large, Woods has enjoyed solid starts that have placed him in or around the lead each time. Yet without fail, he’s stalled or outright struggled over the weekend.

In fact, in the past two seasons Woods is a cumulative 23 over par in the final two rounds of major championships.

Whether he’s pushing himself too much or struggling with confidence and the pressure of his five-year major drought, Woods has not been the same on the weekends.

At Firestone, however, he was relaxed, confident and determined. He executed a solid game plan, and if a few more putts had fallen for him Sunday, he would have drilled the field by more than the seven shots he ultimately did.

That’s the mindset Woods needs this weekend at Oak Hill.

He’s heard all the whispers about his struggles and the theories as to why he can no longer win the big ones. Fortunately for Woods, accuracy, touch, focus and confidence are the keys to success at Oak Hill, and those are the exact attributes Woods displayed in Akron last week.

A duplication of that performance at Oak Hill will end five years of major frustration for Tiger Woods and perhaps launch yet another period of dominance for the sport’s greatest player.

Woods, however, seems determined to employ a cautious game plan. While Westwood intends to pull out the driver on “at least 10 holes”, Woods disclosed that he may unleash the big dog just twice.