Dire Straits for Woods, Mickelson looming at PGA Championship
The 92nd PGA Championship takes place this week at Whistling Straits - and the markets aren't just whistling dixie in deciding that Phil Mickelson, rather than Tiger Woods, is favourite to win the major.
Woods is typically installed as favourite for practically any tournament he plays, but his slide down the pecking order will doubtless have come as no surprise to anyone who witnessed his showing at last week's Bridgestone Invitational, the 34-year-old finishing 78th in a field of 80. But even before that horror show, which marked the lowest point of a poor season, the 14-time major winner failed to excel at the tournament the last time it was hosted at the Kohler, Wisconsin course.
Back in 2004, when Woods could only finish in 24th place, one-over-par for the tournament, Vijay Singh was the victor here. A month later Singh would temporarily topple Woods from his ranking as No. 1 in the world.
A similar scenario can play out again at this week's tournament, although with one crucial difference; should Woods lose his No. 1 status, the golfer may not have what it takes to fight his way back to the top. Woods' position has been under serious threat for several months now, with both No. 2 Phil Mickelson and No. 3 Lee Westwood breathing down his neck.
With Westwood forced to miss this week's championship with a ruptured calf muscle, the time is ripe for Mickelson to step up and finally claim that much longed for title of top golfer on the planet. The sole speck of agreeable news for Woods is that Mickelson is having problems of his own closing tournaments right now; Mick shot eight over in his final round at Firestone last week to finish three-over for the tournament.
That result let Woods off the hook to some degree - certainly, the man's current play scarcely merits the tag of No. 1 golfer, though the same could be said of Mickelson - but there's some hope that at Whistling Straits, Mickelson can bring his A game.
At the Masters earlier this year, the Californian endured a so-so showing at the Houston Open the week prior to the year's first major, before going on to win in some style at Augusta. And this week, just like at the Masters, Mickelson's wife Amy, still fighting her own battle against breast cancer, will be making an appearance to cheer on her husband. Can Amy's presence spur on Mick to a fifth major - and a new era in golf, as he finally claims the No. 1 spot?
Whistling Straits is certainly one of the more demanding on the circuit, with around 1,000 bunkers burnishing the course - a large amount of which serve a decorative purpose, rather than any genuine threat, admittedly. Still, if Woods play is anywhere near as wayward as it was at Firestone last week, he may find himself wading through more sand than Lawrence of Arabia from Thursday.
Woods' record at the PGA Championship reads impressively, the golfer winning here four times, in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007. But even before the world No. 1's reputation took a hammering late last year when news of multiple infidelities emerged, a new c***k in the Woods armour appeared at last year's PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
Despite going into the last day leading the field, Woods saw Korea's YE Yang overtake that two-shot lead to win by three shots, becoming the first Asian to win a major. It was the first time Woods had ever led a major tournament on the final day, only to lose.
The man has not won a major since the US Open in 2008, and even before his personal problems emerged, there were subtle signs that his career was already entering a gentle decline. With Woods' current troubles, it's difficult to believe the player can ever recapture the brilliant form that saw him dominate golf over the last decade.
There had been talk earlier this week that Woods would follow Sergio Garcia's recent example - the Spaniard, whose ranking has plummeted to 50th in the world from No. 2 18 months ago, has announced he will be taking a two month break from the game. But yesterday Woods' revealed on his official website that he would be contesting the WGC HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November.
For now at least, the player intends to hang in there. But while there's no end in sight for Woods, there may just be an end to his status as No. 1 come Sunday.
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