Live from the PGA at Hazeltine - Monday, August 10th

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Monday, August, 10, 2009.

Don't ask me why, but I woke up this morning singing these words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!

That was in Chicago and, after a leisurely five-to-six hour drive up here, I made my way out to the golf course late this afternoon.

Now I am singing.

My eyes have seen the beauty of Hazeltine golf course…

My eyes have seen the beauty of Hazeltine golf course…

What a golf course!

It is a parkland setting with a gentle topography that eventually finds its way down to the shores of Lake Hazeltine at the tight and tricky par four 16th hole, a hole that will undoubtedly impact the final outcome come Sunday afternoon.

The course has the feel of a Medinah, or last year's Oakland Hills, or one key participant's favorite—last week's Firestone CC.

What a PGA Championship it will be!

Tiger Woods leads the pack on the PGA TOUR this season, winning back-to-back at the Buick Open and WGC-Bridgestone after missing the cut at the Open Championship at Turnberry.

Seven times a winner of the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone CC, and now his 70th victory is now a reality.

How great is Tiger Woods?

Seventy times seven I tell you better than the rest.

Tiger needs only three more victories to tie Jack Nicklaus for second place with 73.

Could he possibly do it by the end of this season?

Then, nine more after that to tie Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 PGA TOUR triumphs.

Tiger Woods' pace to victory is seven years ahead of both Nicklaus and Snead.

So maybe it is just a matter of time and staying healthy?

More than a year has gone by since his last major accomplishment at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Of course, he was sidelined with reconstructive left knee surgery for eight of those twelve months.

Major Talley: Nicklaus 18, Woods 14.

Don't forget Tiger has won the last two PGA Championships he has competed in and also back-to-back PGAs in 1999 and 2000.

What a major championship it will be at Hazeltine this week!

Of course Woods is the favorite, but don't count out defending champion Padraig Harrington, who got back on track last week at the WGC-Bridgestone until a slow train derailed him a bit at the 16th hole, where he lost his lead and the tournament.

If it was a high school basketball game, the dads would be yelling "let 'em play."

Did being put on the clock on the 16th tee unnerve Harrington a bit?

Not one bit.

This afternoon I caught up with the three-time major champion on the 14th green and walked in with him as he played the final four finishing holes.

His demeanor was excellent.

He was workman-like, studying the golf course, but humorous at times with his entourage of eight and a gallery of a couple hundred fans.

He seemed to be focusing on his wrist position during the initial takeaway. He hit the ball solidly and with a high degree of accuracy. He seems ready to defend and is showing the same form that helped him win three out of six majors in 2007 to 2008.

Remember the finish last year with Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis on his heels? He made a 20-footer for par on No. 16 while Sergio dunked his ball for a bogey.

Then he made a 10-footer for deuce on No. 17 where Curtis bogeyed and Sergio missed his birdie from half that distance.

Two more crowning strokes came at No. 18 with a seven iron from the right rough and another 20-footer for par and the victory.

A light rain came down over the last two holes as Harrington was finishing up his Monday practice session. Never a thought for an umbrella as Padraig is all Irish and Irish golfers love a little rain and a little wind in their face.

As Harrington walked up the 18th fairway a glorious rainbow with bold red, yellow, green, and purple stripes appeared to the west out over Lake Hazeltine. And then another rainbow right beside the first—two rainbows at one time!

Is that a sign for the reemerging Davis Love III whose rainbow appeared as he triumphed at the PGA Championship at Winged Foot in 1997?

Or is the sign intended for the luck of the Irishman Harrington going for his fourth Major Championship in a little over a two-year time span.

Maybe the pot of gold at the end of those rainbows will come to the Irishman come Sunday afternoon at Hazeltine?

Whichever way this one goes…my eyes have seen the beauty of Hazeltine and the 91st PGA Championship will get underwayThursday morning at 7:15 a.m. local time.

Hallelujah, glory's last stand!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]