AKRON, Ohio: Tiger Woods sent out an ominous warning to his rivals for this week’s PGA Championship in Chaska, Minnesota by winning his fifth PGA Tour title of the year at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.
The American world No. 1 overhauled Irishman Padraig Harrington to triumph by four strokes, claiming his 70th career victory on the circuit and his second in successive weeks.
“It feels good,” Woods told reporters after signing off with consecutive rounds of five-under-par 65 at Firestone Country Club. “I’ve always felt comfortable here.
“It’s going to be a quick turnaround,” he added, referring to the final major of the season at Hazeltine National Golf Club. “I’ll be out there tomorrow so I’ll celebrate (this) quickly.”
Asked if there was any particular aspect of his game that need refining before the PGA Championship, Woods replied: “I’m just going to keep working on things I’m working on.
“I think they’re doing all right,” he added with a smile.
For the fourth time this season, Woods will go into a major in winning form but he is yet to add to his grand slam tally of 14.
His last major victory came in the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines where he beat fellow American Rocco Mediate in a gripping 19-hole playoff before spending the next eight months on the sidelines recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
Should Woods fail to win his fifth PGA Championship title at Hazeltine next week, however, he would still regard his 2009 campaign as a huge success.
“Just being able to come back and play and be successful again has been a tremendous step in the right direction,” he said.
“If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year before I even played whether I’d have five wins by now, I couldn’t see it, because walking 18 holes was going to be a task.
“No, it’s been a success to come back and play again.”
Hazeltine last staged the PGA Championship in 2002 when American Rich Beem held off a charging Woods by one shot to win his only major title. The par-72 course has been lengthened by more than 300 years since then and defending champion Harrington expects a tough but straightforward challenge.
“It’s a solid golf course and they’ll be asking for a lot of good, solid play that week,” said the Irishman who clinched last year’s title by two shots at Oakland Hills.
“I don’t think it’s in any way, shape or form tricky. It would be a golf course to hit it well on off the tee, I think. It’s going to be a big hitter’s course.”
American world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, the 2005 winner at Baltusrol, visited the course two weeks ago.
“It’s a tough test,” the three-times major champion said. “It’s a tough test even with soft conditions, because the golf course is so long.
“But I thought it’s going to be a great PGA that looked to be set up very fairly for a difficult major championship.”
Of all the majors in recent times, the PGA attracts the strongest field and yet has been the most likely to throw up a surprise winner.
The championship was won in consecutive years by unheralded Americans Beem and Shaun Micheel, underlining that any player is capable of victory if his game is on song.
Whoever ends up lifting the prized Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday will have coped best with one of golf’s toughest challenges.
