USA: GOLF: Three of this year's major golf winners will tee off together in Thursday's opening round of the PGA Championship

Tiger Woods launches his bid for a 12th major title in the company of Masters champion Phil Mickelson and U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy of Australia in Thursday's (August 17) opening round. Woods is prepared for a raucous atmosphere but says it should not affect the golfers. "The fans that Phil has and the fans that I have it will make for a loud atmosphere but in either case you still have to place the ball correctly and and you still have to make the putts. Granted it will be loud but you still have to go out there and place the golf ball where you need to place it." U.S. Open champion Ogilvy, a 29-year-old Australian who won his first major title by a stroke at Winged Foot in June after benefiting from late collapses by Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie, tees off with his talent heavy group at 0830 local (1330 GMT) and accepts he will have to maintain greater focus than usual on his own game. "Tiger's crowds and Phil's crowds, more than anyone else, bring out non-golf fans. Most of us, if we've got fans, they're generally golf fans and know how to watch a golf tournament," he said. "Most of us out there we've pretty much seen everybody play golf and its ho hum, a bit of a yawn, but when you play with Tiger its enjoyable to watch." Mickelson, with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice, pretended to play down the prospect of huge crowds turning out to see the three players tee off. "I would think that 8:30 on a Thursday morning is very early and the 10th tee is out on the middle of the course. I don't think there will be many people out there," he said. Having played with both Woods and Mickelson on previous occasions, Ogilvy is confident he will not be distracted by the frenzy surrounding their high-profile grouping. Along with many of the fans at Medinah, Ogilvy is intrigued to see how British Open champion Woods and Masters winner Mickelson gel in each other's company this week. The pair, not known for the warmth of their friendship, last played together at a major in the final round of the 2001 Masters won by Woods. Woods and Mickelson lost twice on the opening day of the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills after being paired together in a high-risk strategy by U.S. captain Hal Sutton.

ITN Source | August 17, 2006

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