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 PGA picks
Posted: Wednesday August 11, 1999 01:53 PM
Here's a look at my favorites to win the PGA Championship. 1. Tiger Woods. A fixture on the leaderboards in the last two majors, no one is more likely to be in contention on Sunday. Woods' challenge is to put aside the burden of expectation and make the big putts required for a breakout round on the weekend. Woods has more pressure to perform than any other player, but by now, no one is more used to it. 2. David Duval. The positive is that Medinah is a near-perfect match for Duval's unmatched ability to play a controlled power game. The negatives are that he seems less than comfortable with being the No. 1 player in the World Ranking, he's been at the center of the Ryder Cup play-for-pay controversy, and he's coming off a poor performance at the British Open. Still, if he's right, that one big positive outweighs the negatives. 3. V.J. Singh. Chances are no one will be able to make a lot of putts on Medinah's burned-out greens, which helps negate Singh's biggest weakness. The defending champion can nearly stay with Woods in the power department and is every bit as consistent with his irons as Duval. He also loves to play in hot, humid weather. Darkhorse: Tom Lehman. Played inspired golf last week at the Buick in his bid to get on the Ryder Cup team. While he's a good bet to be a captain's pick, Lehman is focused on a peak performance, and he's got the length and control to handle Medinah.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jaime Diaz covers the golf beat and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's Pro Golf Weekly.
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