PGA Championship 2011: Top 5 Dark-Horse Contenders to Win It All

Since 2009, previously unknown players like Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and YE Yang have captured their first majors while leaving the big names in the dust. Even veteran Darren Clarke's triumph at the The Open Championship last month left the marquee names scratching their heads.

Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy are dominating the headlines ahead of the 2011 PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. If the major championship results over the past few years have taught us anything, however, it is that the focus should be on the dark-horse contenders looking to shock the world.

Picking the winner of a golf tournament, especially a major when nearly every elite player is in the field, is five percent statistics, five percent course knowledge and 90 percent luck. Golf is such a mental game that is all comes down to who can hold it together the best for 72 holes in a four-day span.

With that in mind, here are five golfers with odds of at least 80-to-1 who have a chance to win the 2011 PGA Championship.

Webb Simpson (80-to-1)

Webb Simpson might be the most undervalued golfer on the board heading into the PGA Championship this weekend. Simpson ranks 12th on the money list and fourth in scoring average, less than a half-stroke behind Luke Donald for the PGA Tour lead.

Ranked seventh in putting, there is no doubt that Simpson is one of the tour's elite performers on the green, a big key to holding onto a Sunday lead. He has 141 more birdies than bogeys, which is the main reason he can maintain a sub-70 scoring average.

The best part about Simpson is that he doesn't have one glaring flaw in his game. Simpson is ranked 87th or better in all of the basic statistical measures, making him one of the strongest all-around threats right now.

He has finished inside the top-25 in 13 of his last 15 events, including 16th place at The Open Championship and a 14th place at the U.S. Open.

After opening with a 66 at Royal St. George's Golf Club, Simpson wasn't able to withstand the conditions over the next three days and fell out of contention.

The key for Simpson will be to find the fairway on a consistent basis. If he can accomplish that, he should be in contention on Sunday.

Ian Poulter (100-to-1)

Ian Poulter has just one PGA Tour victory to his name despite much better success during his time on the European Tour. Poulter is perhaps better known for his crazy outfits than his golf game among the casual fan, but he has had spurts of greatness.

Poulter has been able to assert himself in match play events, winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and Volvo World Match Play Championship in the past two years, but has been unable to duplicate that success in stroke play.

He has been messing around with a possible swing change in recent weeks, but scraped those plans following a poor performance at the Bridgestone Invitational last week. He has returned to his normal swing and said it feels good.

Poulter struggles to keep up with the big hitters, averaging just 282 yards per drive. He ranks 164th in distance and 140th in total driving and that aspect of his game has been a true Achilles heel.

He does have a strong short game and is seventh on the tour in sand saves, so he can make up for mistakes. Poulter will need to limit those errors, though, because he doesn't have the distance to make up ground quickly with a couple eagles like Dustin Johnson.

Poulter isn't going to be able to win the tournament with one great round. He's going to need to be consistent all four days and avoid any big mistakes, but he has a chance.

Brendon de Jonge (125-to-1)

Brendon de Jonge is an all-or-nothing type of player. When he's playing well, he's a serious threat to win any golf tournament, including majors. While that is true for almost every player on the PGA Tour, it's especially true for the erratic Zimbabwe native.

The reason that's important is because right now he's hot. During his three tournaments in July, de Jonge finished fourth, seventh and 13th with a cumulative score of minus-41. If he can carry that momentum into the Atlanta Athletic Club, he'll be a legitimate contender.

He is a strong putter, ranking 14th so far in 2011, and has been able to parlay that into nearly four birdies per round (23rd). His biggest issue this weekend will be hitting greens in regulation in order to take advantage of his strong green reads. He hits the green in regulation just 63 percent of the time.

Based purely on ability, de Jonge wouldn't even be in the conversation. However, he's a streaky golfer that is on a good run right now and is worth keeping an eye on.

Alvaro Quiros (150-to-1)

The first time most golf fans probably heard the name Alvaro Quiros was when he shot a first round 65 at The Masters in April. He wasn't able to break 73 over the next three days, but it is flashes of brilliance like that which give him a chance.

One of the biggest hitters in the world, Quiros has no problem putting himself in great positions. His short game is the biggest issue, and his putting isn't much better, but like all professional golfers, those strokes do hit strong patches.

At just 28 years old, there is still time for Quiros to put it all together and become a top-notch golfer. The physical tools are there, but he just needs to get the mental side of the game in check before he takes his game to the next level.

Quiros is the No. 11 player on the European Tour, so there is a track record of success; he just needs to bring it with him to this side of the pond.

If he could put together two rounds like his first at The Masters and not lose it all back the other two days, he'll be right there on Sunday.

Heath Slocum (200-to-1)

After missing the cut in nine of his first 15 tournaments this season, Heath Slocum has made the cut in seven straight tournaments and seems to be trending in the right direction. His best finish in 2011 was 11th place at the U.S. Open.

Slocum is the second most accurate driver on tour and hits the third most greens in regulation, making him a huge threat if he can find the range with his putter. That's a big if, however, as he ranks 177th in putting at more than 1.8 putts per hole.

A golfer that hits the green 70 percent of time in regulation shouldn't be ranked 156th in birdies, but that's the case for Slocum. When you see a large disparity like that, it is almost always a mental hurdle that the player just can't get past.

Slocum is a long shot for a reason; he can't solve those putting woes. If he could ever figure it out, even for just three of the four days (including Sunday), he could shock the world just like Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and YE Yang.