And of course Tiger wants to play courses like Medinah. The course was built for him. He will win again...this time by more than 2.
Oh, I don't know if he'll win it or not, but he'll be a prohibitive favorite, that's for sure. It's sometimes hard to determine, from my perspective of an average golfer (10 handicap at my best), what type of golfer is best suited for what type of golf course, but I do think that, despite its length, Medinah is a shotmaker's golf course for the pros. For us mortals, you have to be a bomber. For the pros, length will indeed be a factor, but if the fairways and greens are reasonably firm, a shotmaker like Jim Furyk will still have a good chance. I don't know if a bunter like Sluman or Pavin would break par, but I think there are a lot of good shotmakers out there who can hit it long enough to give themselves a good look at placing the ball on the green in the proper position.
The other factor is that the putting surfaces at Medinah, since the regrassing, do not seem as severe as before. The old bent grass had a more wicked tendency to break sharply at the hole. The new grass is much more vertical and for the pros, I think it will be much more speed rather than line that will provide the major challenge on the greens. With that in mind, Vijay will be a good bet, despite his major gagging at Hoylake. Chad Campbell is a threat. Allenby and Oberholser are likely to do well.
Bottom line, I really don't think Tiger is going to pound the field. There, I said it.
Now, he'll probably win by five!