Medinah to Present Glory's Last Shot

The PGA Championship is known as "Glory's Last Shot," a reminder to the strongest field of all Grand Slam events that this is the last chance of the year to capture a major championship.
 
For Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, it takes on a slightly different meaning.
 
Medinah is where they can make their last statement.
 
They have been the dominant players on the PGA Tour this year, reducing any notion of a Big Five to the definitive Big Two.
 
Mickelson won his second green jacket at the Masters, using two drivers as he dissected Augusta National and won comfortably by two shots. Woods collected his third claret jug at the British Open, his one driver more of a hood ornament than a weapon. He used it only once in 72 holes on the baked links of Royal Liverpool, winning by two shots.
 
In between, Geoff Ogilvy captured the U.S. Open, although Woods and Mickelson still managed to grab headlines - Woods by missing the cut for the first time in a major, Mickelson by throwing away a chance at his third straight major by making double bogey on the 18th hole at Winged Foot to lose by one.
 
In some respects, Medinah is for all the marbles.
 
A victory by either one likely would lock up player of the year. Mark O'Meara showed the value of two majors in 1998 when his Masters and British Open titles trumped David Duval winning four times and the money title.
 
The award would mean more to Mickelson because he never has won it in his 15 years on the PGA Tour, and it's been 10 years since he has had a chance as good as this one.
 
Woods, however, comes to Chicago with more confidence.
 
After taking two months off when his father died, then missing the cut at Winged Foot, Woods was nearly flawless at Hoylake in winning his 11th major championship. Two weeks later, he collected his 50th career title on the PGA Tour with a two-shot victory in the Buick Open, his fourth win this year.
 
But his work is not done.
 
"Having two World Golf Championships, the Tour Championship and a major championship ahead of us - four big events - anything can happen," Woods said. "Hopefully, I can get it done in those four events, especially in a couple of weeks."
 
That was a reference to Medinah, a course that brings back good memories.
 
Seven years ago, Woods ended his longest drought in the majors with a one-shot victory in the PGA Championship. That set off an explosive romp that lasted three years, including a stretch when he won 18 of 36 tournaments and went seven of 11 in majors.
 
It's too early to tell whether this latest round of swing changes has prepared him for another big run, but considering how his last two starts have gone, Woods is on a high.
 
"Playing the way I played the last two tournaments is a lot more satisfying than hitting it all over the lot and contending, and if you're lucky enough, to win the tournament," he said. "Playing this way is a lot more fun. A lot less stress, too."
 
Mickelson's best two years were not good enough to be player of the year.
 
He won four times in 1996 - remember, no majors until 2004 - and was leading the money list until British Open champion Tom Lehman won the season-ending Tour Championship to claim the money title, and the vote for player of the year. In 2004, when Lefty broke through with his first major and went 1-2-3-6 in the majors, he was trumped by Vijay Singh and his nine victories.