Compared to the three previous majors of the season, the PGA Championship has drawn considerably less attention from the golf media. The build-up has not been as intense, and the PGA-related articles have been few and far between up to now, less than a week away from the season's final major championship.
And it's quite a shame some may have forgotten the fact that Woods still has an opportunity to win his third major title of the year. Tiger's grand achievements at such an early age seem to have distorted people's perspective on how difficult it is to win even one major championship a year. Woods has already won two-the feat which, according to his own words, makes his season a success. Winning three out of four will be simply incredible, as he will then be the first golfer to win three majors in one year twice.
In addition, the Open Champ Ernie Els re-emerged as someone who could give Woods run for his money in majors. That thrilling victory was Els' third career major, and first in five years, and the consensus is that this Open title will be an enormous confidence boost for The Big Easy. Finally, there seems to be at least one golfer who will take on Woods at majors without backing down.
Accordingly, this year's PGA Championship deserves more spotlight than it has been given so far. Maybe it doesn't help that this major begins only four weeks after the Open, but the PGA Championship has never really been that popular as a major.
What's ironic about the PGA's lack of popularity is that it's often the major that draws the strongest field of the year. 2002 is no exception, as all 100 of the world's top-100 ranked players will participate in the championship.
Hazeltine National Golf Club will host the 84th PGA Championship. The course's last major was the 1991 U.S. Open, which the late Payne Stewart won as his first of two U.S. Open titles. The par-72 course is listed at 7,360 yards, making it the longest major championship venue of the year and the fourth longest ever.
