PGA Championship 2011: The 10 Most Important Questions Heading into Day 1

"You can't win a tournament on Sunday, but you can lose it." We've heard expressions like that before.

It's true, the overall outlook of the tournament won't rest on what happens in the first round.

Still, that doesn't mean that important questions won't be answered after the opening 18 holes.

Everyone has their own favorite (or least favorite) golfers, so what's significant to some may not be as significant to others.

Still, these are some of the things that we should look for on Thursday.

What Kind of Tournament Will This Be?

The last time the PGA Championship was held at the Atlanta Athletic Club, the winning score was 15-under par.

That week, David Toms, Phil Mickelson, and Steve Lowery all posted four rounds in the 60's. The PGA is generally one of the lower scoring majors, but can we expect numbers like that again?

Weather is always a big factor at majors. Obviously, the players have no control over that. But if the course is wet and the wind doesn't blow, we might see another low scoring tournament like we saw at Congressional for the US Open.

The first day will go a long way in answering that question. If a lot of players have scores in the mid-60's or better, we can probably expect a low scoring PGA Championship.

How Will Rory McIlroy Do?

Rory McIlroy is the clear favorite this week. His best major success has been as a frontrunner. That's what he was at the US Open, and it's what he was at his other best majors.

The first round seems to be more important to McIlroy than it does to other players. He's still young, so that may not mean anything.

Still McIlroy's been a factor at enough majors to ignore something like that.

I'm not saying he needs to be the opening round leader if he's going to win, but he does need to be within a few shots.

How Will Dustin Johnson Do?

Dustin Johnson was in contention at the 2011 British Open until the 14th hole on Sunday.

There, from the middle of the fairway, he hit his second shot out of bounds. With that, any chance that Johnson had of catching and beating Darren Clarke was gone.

But Johnson's start to that tournament was terrible. He finished the opening round at an alarmingly good rate, but for most of the opening round, it appeared as though Johnson would be in danger of missing the cut.

A better open to that tournament and he would have won it. Like McIlroy, Johnson has the firepower to come back, but he would be best advised to not leave shots on the course in the early stages.

How Will Phil Mickelson Do?

At this point of his career, Mickelson is probably not a sharp enough golfer to make a comeback from too far behind.

Historically, Mickelson's best majors have been when he was at or near the lead for most of the tournament.

That may apply to a lot of people, but Tiger Woods would frequently come back from the middle of the pack on Thursday, do his damage on Friday and Saturday, and then win on Sunday.

Mickelson, McIlroy, and Johnson don't seem that have that gear in majors. Of course is still without a major win.

How Will Tiger Woods Progress?

I'm a fan of Tiger's, but I don't expect much from him this week. I also don't think this is too important for him in the long term.

Two things are important.

One: Is he making progress for the remainder of the year and then 2012? He doesn't need to have a particularly impressive showing for the answer to be yes.

Two: Is his knee okay? That's by far the most important thing. It also directly relates to the first question. Another knee injury could spell the end for Tiger.

We won't have the full answer to those questions after 18 holes, but we're likely to have some clues.

Will Lee Westwood Bounce Back?

Lee Westwood, the No. 2 player in the world, missed the cut at the British Open.

He doesn't need to win this week, but if he's going to be seen as a golfer whose caliber is anywhere near his world ranking, he does need to do better in majors.

That starts with having a good opening round and eventually making the cut. Westwood has the ability to win a major, but he needs to make the cut first.

Will Luke Donald Bounce Back?

A lot of what was said about Lee Westwood applies to Luke Donald.

Does he have a high world ranking? Yes, he's officially the best player in the world.

Did he make the cut at the British Open? No.

Does he have the ability to win a major? Yes, although he needs to overcome the dreadful combination of poor driving distance and accuracy.

Donald doesn't have the track record of Westwood in the majors. Westwood's had a lot of close losses, Donald hasn't.

Still, if he's to be respected as the No. 1 player in the world, he can't miss the cut at two majors in a row.

Will Steve Williams Comments Hurt Adam Scott?

Think what you want about Steve Williams' comments after Adam Scott won the Bridgestone. But one way or another, they are making Scott answer a lot of comments about a situation that he has nothing to do with.

If that's a distraction, we'll know it early. If he's distracted now, he isn't going to come out strong early and fade at the end. If anything, it would be the exact opposite.

It will be really interesting to see how Scott responds. It's always hard to win the week before a major and then win the actual major. That hasn't been done in more than five years.

Scott doesn't need to have a great first round, but if it's a bad one, it's possible that the distraction will have hurt him.

Will Darren Clarke's Post British Open Hangover Come to an End?

Darren Clarke hasn't enjoyed a lot of down time since winning the British Open in July. As a result, he hasn't played especially well.

Will he break that? I wouldn't bet on it. That's not saying he'll miss the cut, but don't for anything close to back-to-back majors from Clarke.

That's not realistic anyway, but Clarke seems in desperate need of some relaxation time.

We'll know how badly he needs some relaxation time after his opening round.

Will Martin Kaymer Take the First Step to Defending His Title?

The defending champion has to get some recognition here.

I don't think Kaymer will need to be a frontrunner to have a good week. But Kaymer might be the kind of guy who has the presence to impact tournaments.

A solid first round makes him a real contender.

It's hard to win back-to-back at a major. That's why it's only been done a handful of times.

Most of it is because you have to deal with the distraction of being the defending champion during the days before the start of the tournament.

But once the tournament gets underway, that becomes less of a factor. If Kaymer starts well, he's a threat to repeat.