The 2013 PGA Championship emanates from Oak Hill G.C. in Rochester, N.Y. this week.
Despite Woods' praise for the East Course in a Tuesday pre-tournament news conference -- "it's all in front of you" -- the world No. 1 could probably have picked a better venue for his latest attempt at capturing at 15th major.
Or, at the very least, he could have picked a better par.
Oak Hill's par is 70, which has not been a friendly number to Woods in his major championship career. Of his 14 major victories, Woods has just two on par-70 layouts: the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black (his only major win in the state of New York) and his last PGA Championship win, in 2007 at Southern Hills outside of Tulsa, Okla.
Every other time -- all 19 of them -- Woods has struck out.
Perhaps that explains his affinity for the Masters. Augusta National is a par-72 track.
Two of Woods' three U.S. Open wins have come on non-par-70 courses. He won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach as a par-71 layout. The one-legged triumph at Torrey Pines in 2008 was also par 71.
Woods has won the Open Championship twice at the Old Course -- always a par-72 test -- and at Hoylake, also a par 72.
The '07 PGA win aside, Woods' three other Wanamaker trophies have come at par-72 courses: twice at Medinah No. 2 (1999, 2006) and at Valhalla in 2000.
Of course, as financial advisers say: Past performance is not an indicator of future results. But, if there was an ordering of the best indicators as to Woods' major-championship success (again, relative to himself), the par number on the scorecard would be at the top of the list.
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