PGA Championship tees off Thursday

Winner will have to be long off the tee, master Southern Hills' diabolical greens

The 104th edition of the PGA Championship tees it up Thursday at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. Southern Hills is an old-style traditional golf course that will be hosting the PGA for the fourth time. When the PGA was last contested at Southern Hills in August of 2007, it was won by Tiger Woods. Woods was pretty much in his prime in 2007 prior to back surgeries, divorces and untimely car accidents. Woody Austin had the week of his life on the PGA Tour and finished two strokes behind Woods.

There is little to compare between the golf games of Woods and Austin, so it is possible that all types of golfers can perform well at Southern Hills as long as they are bombing it off the tee, hitting irons close to the flagsticks, and figuring out the creatively difficult greens with their putter.

The PGA Championship is one of golf’s four major championships. The British Open and the United States Open are just that … they are open to a set number of qualifiers as well as top-notch professionals and amateurs who are exempt. The Masters is an invitational with a set criteria for those who get that prized invite. The PGA Championship has a qualifying tournament for the 20 PGA of America club professionals who finished atop the standings at their national tournament in April. The other 136 contestants in the PGA are based on world rankings, winning a tournament within the past year, and those who have won major titles within the last five years. Past champions of the PGA receive a lifetime exemption into the tournament. The PGA Championship is the only grand slam tournament that does not include amateur golfers of note.