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Sweet success

Tiger odds-on to capture first major of 2009 in 'Sugar City'

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All eyes will be focussed across the water this weekend, with the USPGA Championship taking place at the Hazeltine National Golf Club.

The Minnesota course, located in Chaska city, is less than 50 years old but has hosted more than a dozen major events, and at 7,678 yards off the back tees, the narrow fairways will provide a stiff challenge to the competing players.

Tiger Woods goes into the tournament as the strong favourite, and will be determined not to finish the year without a major for the first time since 2003. However, he faces a stern challenge with some of the world's best players on show, including Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and reigning champion Padraig Harrington.

The action kicks off on Thursday but who will emerge triumphant on Sunday evening? Will Tiger romp to victory? Could we see an outsider sneak in and snatch the trophy? Do we have any hope of a British success story?

Those are the questions skysports.com posed two of Golf Night's top pundits on the eve of the big tournament.

We asked John Hawksworth and Richard Boxall and you can see what they had to say below...

So lads, the obvious frontrunner heading into this weekend at Hazeltine is Tiger Woods, who looks in fine fettle after winning his seventh Bridgestone Invitational. Nick Faldo commented that the only person who can beat Tiger is Tiger himself: would you go along with that?

John Hawksworth: Yes I think he's hit the nail on the head there. His putting was superb at Firestone and after missing the cut at the Open he will be determined to get back on track in the majors.

He landed himself in a spot of bother this week for speaking out against tournament referee John Paramor after he and Padraig Harrington were put on the clock, but that won't bother him in the slightest in the build-up for Hazeltine.

Richard Boxall: I'm going to have to go with Tiger Woods again, especially after winning back-to-back tournaments at the Buick Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. It's very difficult for a player to come through and win successive tournaments, never mind three-in-a-row, but then Tiger does tend to break that rule.

Tiger has been paired with last year's champion, Padraig Harrington for the first two days, something the Irishman isn't overjoyed about as he feels the added attention will wear him down and prove a hindrance. Does he have a point?

John: It could well affect Harrington, due to the hype and excitement that surrounds Woods, not that Woods will be overly affected. It was disappointing for Harrington to lose it like he did at Bridgestone but he needs to get on with it. If you want to be the best you're going to have to play with the best.

Richard: I don't think it'll help Padraig, who has not had the best of years but has shown signs of improvement. I think his triple-bogey on the 16th at Bridgestone has taken the wind out of his sails though.

What about the Brits? Lee Westwood is currently in good form, while you can never write off Ian Poulter. Who do you think has the best chance of glory at Hazeltine?

Richard: I think Lee Westwood could get quite close again. He shot a five-under par 65 on his final round at Bridgestone to take ninth place, which was his fourth successive top-10 finish, and he played very well in the Open at Turnberry.

John: I'm going for Ross Fisher. He didn't play that well last week but this is a long course and that suits him. I think he could do very well here. Lee Westwood has been in good form but he doesn't seem capable of finishing it off.

Looking down through the list of competitors, who would you pick out as an outside bet?

John: I'd plump for Stuart Cink. He picked up his first major in the Open, and after having two weeks off he came back and played nicely last week. I think he'll perform nicely here and is in with a shout.

Richard: I'd love to see a European win it and I would back Rory McIlroy as an outside contender. You can get him at 80/1 in some bookies and that's well worth an each-way bet. It's about time Sergio Garcia won a major, but then it's also about time an Englishman or European won the US Open!

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