The PGA Championship Preview II: contenders

The season’s final major gets underway Thursday, and following is a look at the likely contenders for the week, with their most recent PGA Championship record in brackets.

• Tiger Woods (T-29th): After the third round of 81 in the Open Championship erased his chances for the Grand Slam, Woods has had to answer questions about a possible letdown. He managed to silence some critics by winning the Buick Open last week, but unless he performs up to his standards this week at the PGA, there will be lingering doubts that the disappointing Open performance affected him more than he admitted. Despite his lofty status as the world’s No. 1, Woods has a lot to prove this week. And that’s bad news for the rest of the field.

• Ernie Els (T-13th): The reigning Open champion said after his third major victory that he battled through low self-esteem and other negative thoughts. The win gave him some timely confidence boost, and now The Big Easy has set his sight at the career Grand Slam. He is halfway there now, but the PGA hasn’t been friendly to him. He has just one career top-10 at the season’s final major, and that came seven years ago. Nonetheless, Els’ confidence is at an all-time high and look for him to keep up the momentum this week.

• Padraig Harrington (missed cut): This Irish star has three top-10s in all three majors so far in 2002, and there’s no reason to think that he won’t continue or improve that trend. A mental mistake at the Open’s final hole—electing a driver when a safer play was warranted—might have costed Harrington his first major, but he is a resilient player and possesses a solid all-around game. If he avoids any mental mistakes that may be the result of his relative inexperience, Harrington could be near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.

• Sergio Garcia (missed cut): Other than Harrington, Garcia is the only player who finished in the top-10 in the season’s first three majors. This 22-year-old phenom seems tantalizingly close to his first major, and having cut down on his waggles, he is also working on his mental aspects. It’s his 72.7 final round scoring average in 2002 majors upon which he needs to improve. He certainly has the talent to do better, and since Hazeltine is very similar to Medinah, where he was second to Woods at 1999 PGA, Garcia may just be at the right place this week.
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