Tiger won two majors in 2005; he wants all four next year. Robert Beck/SI

Is Tiger Woods poised to win the Grand Slam in 2006? With the majors behind us for this year, and Tiger's resurgence to winning form, it's not too early to focus on the elite championship venues for the year that lies ahead.

The big story for 2006 and the majors -- just like the past few years -- will be Tiger, who struggled the previous two years in major competition before winning at twice this year.

It used to be that when we talked about the record of 18 majors set by Jack Nicklaus, there was no doubt the young champion would eclipse the mark. With his continual pursuit of perfection, however, Tiger decided to change his already perfect swing and we witnessed 10 majors pass without a win. The talk changed. Tiger will never be able to catch Jack, not with the new changes. But at Augusta in April, at St. Andrews in July (by five shots) and two other top-four finishes, Tiger quieted those comments.

So what are the courses in the major championship rotation in 2006 and how is Tiger likely to fair?

We start with the Masters in April -- and this year holds some new changes to the course with increased length. Those changes -- as well as previous ones at Augusta -- were made in hopes of Tiger-proofing the historical course and bringing it back close to the same type of shots played by Bobby Jones in his day. In reality, all it has done is given an advantage to a limited number of the long hitters on Tour. Tiger already owns four green jackets. Expect him to get a fifth next year.

The U.S. Open will be contested at the fabled Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Past champions here have included Jones, Hale Irwin, Fuzzy Zoeller and my dad, Billy Casper, who won the Open there in '59. Winged Foot is known as a classic A.W. Tillinghast design, with majestic tree-lined fairways and undulating tricky greens. Length has been added to the layout, along with a new irrigation system.

I had the opportunity to play the championship East course prior to last year's U.S. Amateur. The rough was extremely thick and difficult; the greens lightning fast. Let's not forget that in 1974, Irwin's winning total was 7-over. Technicians in course management and ball striking win here, and Tiger does both extremely well. But the rough is the final factor, so for Tiger to win his third national championship, he's going to have to keep it in the fairway. He'll contend, for sure, but does he win? It's a strong possibility, but certainly no given.

The 135th British Open will be going to Hoylake and the Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the next stop in the championship rota. Jones won here in 1930 as an amateur during his historic year in which he captured his version of the Grand Slam. A traditional British Isles links course, Royal Liverpool has hosted the British Open 10 previous times. But the last time was in 1967, so this is a new venue for the world's best players.

Some of the routing has been changed, with the R&A thinking the 558-yard par- 5 16th will produce a more dramatic finish, thus it's now the 18th. One thing Tiger does have is knowledge of golf history and the burning desire to win on historic courses at historic times. Being the site of Jones' slam, the prediction here is that Tiger will defend his Open title.

And finally, the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago. The PGA of America continually boasts the strongest field of all the majors. At Baltusrol, 97 of the top 100 in the world teed off. The last time Medinah hosted a major was 1999 when Tiger won his first PGA Championship in a duel with Sergio Garcia. This sparked Tiger's run in the majors that set the bar so high that even he has had trouble living up to the accomplishment. But Tiger has a knack of winning majors on courses where he has won before and Medinah will be no different. He'll win his third major of the year.

Each year during the Masters, I've had the opportunity to go in the champions' locker room. A few years back, Tiger was having lunch preparing for his third round and was the only player present. After a little small talk and a few questions, he gave us this insight into his inner drive against his competition. With that piercing stare we have all come to know, Tiger said, "You can't let them have any advantage, the hell with them!"

That attitude, along with his work ethic and pure skill, is what separates Tiger from his competitors, especially at the majors. Most golf observers say that the modern-day Grand Slam cannot or will never be won in a single calendar year. I say stay tuned to 2006, because it may be a year in golf we will never forget.

Former pro golfer Bob Casper, the son of Hall of Fame golfer Billy Casper, is the co-host of the weekly show, Real Golf Radio.