Confident Tiger ready to roll

CHICAGO – World number one Tiger Woods is the clear favourite but there will be a posse of top talent hot on his trail when the 88th PGA championship opens today.

Woods is seeking his sixth win of the season at the Medinah Country Club’s par-72, 7 561-yard course, the longest in majors history. He is coming off back-to-back victories in the Buick Open and last month’s British Open.”I think I am back in the flow of playing again and back into the rhythm of competing,” said Woods, who could lock up player of the year with a win in Chicago.”When I am playing well I am pretty tough to beat.”Woods will have his hands full with a strong field that includes international stars Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen.But the biggest challenge could be holding off world number two and his first two rounds playing partner Phil Mickelson, who is the defending champion.”I love playing against him head-to-head,” Mickelson said.”My record against him is less than stellar, but I love having a chance to compete against the best players in the world and certainly he is the best.”The world’s top two golfers have squared off in the last group in a major just once before, at the 2001 Masters.Woods captured the first of two PGA Championships in 1999 at Medinah.They will be joined in the threesome by reigning US Open champ Geoff Ogilvy, who is one of 14 Australians in the 156-player field.Woods and Mickelson do not enjoy a close relationship and failed to hit it off when paired together for the United States in the Ryder Cup two years ago.Asked on Tuesday about having to play with Mickelson, Woods chose his words carefully, “The only person that is difficult for me to play with is someone who is slow.I get along with some players better than others but for the most part I am just trying to handle my business out there.”Mickelson said he doesn’t expect a lot of banter between the two, as Woods typically doesn’t like to engage in conversation with his playing partners.”What I would love to see happen is both of us have a chance to be paired in the later groups,” Mickelson said.”But we have a lot of work to get to that point.”I’ve got to get some good practice sessions in and get my game sharp.His game looks pretty sharp as he has won his last two tournaments.Now I have to do my job and get there as well.”Woods doesn’t dispute suggestions that he is playing like the Tiger of old who dominated the tour from 1999-2002.”I have had some great stretches in my career and certainly this is one of them,” Woods said.”Hopefully I can keep it going for awhile.”The 29-year-old Ogilvy was impressive in winning the US Open although some put more emphasis on Colin Montgomerie and Mickelson each posting a double bogey on the 18th hole.Ogilvy said he has sharpened his game since the British Open.”I had four weeks off before the British Open and usually when that happens your scoring ability goes away,” Ogilvy said.”I played the Buick a few weeks ago and didn’t hit it great but I didn’t hit it bad.Last week at home I worked pretty hard so I am feeling pretty decent.”Another player that is quietly lurking is Singh.The Fijian enjoyed a season for the ages in 2004 with nine wins and more than 10 million dollars in earnings.He has only one win this year at the Barclays Classic and could be poised to break out of his slump.Nampa-AFPHe is coming off back-to-back victories in the Buick Open and last month’s British Open.”I think I am back in the flow of playing again and back into the rhythm of competing,” said Woods, who could lock up player of the year with a win in Chicago.”When I am playing well I am pretty tough to beat.”Woods will have his hands full with a strong field that includes international stars Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen.But the biggest challenge could be holding off world number two and his first two rounds playing partner Phil Mickelson, who is the defending champion.”I love playing against him head-to-head,” Mickelson said.”My record against him is less than stellar, but I love having a chance to compete against the best players in the world and certainly he is the best.”The world’s top two golfers have squared off in the last group in a major just once before, at the 2001 Masters.Woods captured the first of two PGA Championships in 1999 at Medinah.They will be joined in the threesome by reigning US Open champ Geoff Ogilvy, who is one of 14 Australians in the 156-player field.Woods and Mickelson do not enjoy a close relationship and failed to hit it off when paired together for the United States in the Ryder Cup two years ago.Asked on Tuesday about having to play with Mickelson, Woods chose his words carefully, “The only person that is difficult for me to play with is someone who is slow.I get along with some players better than others but for the most part I am just trying to handle my business out there.”Mickelson said he doesn’t expect a lot of banter between the two, as Woods typically doesn’t like to engage in conversation with his playing partners.”What I would love to see happen is both of us have a chance to be paired in the later groups,” Mickelson said.”But we have a lot of work to get to that point.”I’ve got to get some good practice sessions in and get my game sharp.His game looks pretty sharp as he has won his last two tournaments.Now I have to do my job and get there as well.”Woods doesn’t dispute suggestions that he is playing like the Tiger of old who dominated the tour from 1999-2002.”I have had some great stretches in my career and certainly this is one of them,” Woods said.”Hopefully I can keep it going for awhile.”The 29-year-old Ogilvy was impressive in winning the US Open although some put more emphasis on Colin Montgomerie and Mickelson each posting a double bogey on the 18th hole.Ogilvy said he has sharpened his game since the British Open.”I had four weeks off before the British Open and usually when that happens your scoring ability goes away,” Ogilvy said.”I played the Buick a few weeks ago and didn’t hit it great but I didn’t hit it bad.Last week at home I worked pretty hard so I am feeling pretty decent.”Another player that is quietly lurking is Singh.The Fijian enjoyed a season for the ages in 2004 with nine wins and more than 10 million dollars in earnings.He has only one win this year at the Barclays Classic and could be poised to break out of his slump.Nampa-AFP