PGA Championship: A to Z

The PGA Championship has arrived in Johns Creek and will end with Sunday’s final round.

Here is an alphabetized look at interesting aspects to the tournament, one of professional golf’s four major events:

A is for the Atlanta Athletic Club. The site will host the event for the third time. It also hosted in 1981 and 2001. Only Southern Hills (4) has hosted more PGA Championships.

B is for benefits. The winner of the PGA championship receives the following exemptions: lifetime into the PGA, five years into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open and five years on the PGA Tour. There are more, but those are the best.

C is for cellphones. Cellphones and other mobile devices will be allowed in designated areas at the tournament. This will be the first major to allow the devices. Grounds open at 7 a.m. Monday, here's a prediction that by 7:05 a.m. someone will be asked to hand over their device.

D is for dearth of U.S. results. An American golfer hasn't won a major since Phil Mickelson took the Masters in 2010, an unprecedented string of six shutouts. An American hasn't won the PGA since Tiger Woods took it in 2007. Since 1916, 13 international players have won 17 PGA Championships.

E is for Eldrick. It will be surprising if Woods is a contender after his long layoff. However, he will likely still be the talk of the tournament after recently parting with long-time caddy Steve Williams. Williams seemed none-too-pleased with the decision, saying he wasted the past two years of his life waiting on Woods' various personal problems to be sorted out.

F is family. Four PGA Champions have had fathers who were PGA of America professionals: Jack Burke Jr. (1956), son of Jack Burke Sr.; Dave Marr II (1965), son of Dave Marr; Davis Love III (1997), son of Davis Love II, and Rich Beem (2002), son of Larry Beem.

G is for the Golden Bear. Jack Nicklaus has won more stroke-play PGA Championships (five) than anyone. Walter Hagen won the most the most match-play PGA Championships (five).

H is for hole-in-one. David Toms aced the par 3 No. 15 during the third round of the 2001 PGA Championship. He hit a 5-wood 243 yards. It was the first time an eventual champion hit a hole-in-one during the tournament. A new tee box was added, and the hole will play 260 yards this year.

I is for inflation. The 2010 purse was $7.4 million. The winner's purse in the first PGA Championship was $2,580. That prize, given in 1916, would be worth $53,427.78 today. Golf has raised its debt ceiling.

J is for John's Creek. The PGA Championship is expected to bring 200,000 visitors and as much as $50 million to the 5-year-old city in north Fulton County, home of the Atlanta Athletic Club.

K is Kaymer. Martin Kaymer is the defending champion. The native of Germany defeated former Georgia player Bubba Watson in a three-hole playoff at Whistling Straits.

L is for Larry Nelson. The Marietta resident won the 1981 PGA Championship, the first of his three majors. He won by four strokes, shooting a 1-over 71 on Sunday to clinch the title.

M is for Match Play. The PGA Championship used to be a match-play event, in which two golfers went head-to-head to see who could win the most holes. The format changed to stroke play in 1958.

N is for Northern Ireland. Though the country is smaller in area than metro Atlanta, it has produced three of the past six winners in the majors: Darren Clarke (2011 British Open), Rory McIlroy (2011 U.S. Open) and Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open). McIlroy likely will be considered the golfer to beat this week.

O is for The Ocean Course. The Ocean Course Golf Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina is the site of next year's PGA Championship. It's a par 72 and is 7,606 yards long. This will be its first time hosting this major. It has hosted the Ryder Cup.

P is for prices. Ticket prices range from $25 for a practice-round ticket to $285 for a week-long ticket. Children 17 and younger are free with an accompanied ticketed adult. Each ticketed adult will be allowed up to four junior admissions.

Q is for Q Scores. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer command a great degree of likeability among all golfers, according to The Q Scores Company. Woods still is the most popular, but has dropped considerably. His Q Score this year is 22, according to a survey of sports fans taken during the spring. Last year, he had a score of 30, which means that 30 percent surveyed said he is one of their favorite personalities. On the flip side, he had a negative-42 percent Q Score this year. The average sports personality has a negative-28 score. Before his personal issues, Woods had a 44 Q Score in 2009, just below Michael Jordan's 50, which is the highest ever for a sports figure. Phil Mickelson has the second-highest positive score among golfers. Among golf fans, not sports fans, Nicklaus is still the most popular, followed by Palmer and Mickelson.

R is reporters. Last year, more than 850 credentials were issued to print and broadcast media from 14 countries covering the PGA Championship. The numbers are trending toward the same amount this year.

S is for style. It may be easy to confuse some of the golfers with some of us, based upon the outfits the pros wear. Forget the knickers with vests and ties worn by the men who made the game. Pants that look like the Union Jack? Ian Poulter has a pair. Monochrome yellow from head to toe? Raid Sergio Garcia's closet. Belt buckles bigger than dinner plates? Anthony Kim and Rory Sabbatini rock that look. So fans, wear whatever you like, no matter how ridiculous. Everyone else will.

T is for traffic. There are several parking lots near Atlanta Athletic Club to ease the congestion on Medlock Bridge Road. The most expensive is located across the street from the club. There are other lots, including a free one that is available to anyone with a ticket to the tournament, near the AAC, which will offer free shuttles to the course. Parking upgrades start at $20 a day.

U is for unbelievable. The word describes John Daly in so many ways. Twenty years ago, he made it into the PGA Championship as the ninth alternate and won. He followed it four years later with a win at the British Open. In a day of robotic swings and corporate-pleasing attitudes, Daly, with his long blond hair, cigarettes and wild swing, appealed to the average guy. Daly's various demons are well-documented and sometimes unbelievable. He now relies mostly on sponsor's exemptions to play in events, but can still show the old magic. He can play this week, by virtue of the lifetime exemption that comes with being a PGA champ.

V is for Titleist V1. That is one of the popular golf balls used on tour. McIlroy used the V1X to win the U.S. Open. As for drivers, McIlroy used the Titleist 910D2. The driver that seems to be catching the attention of fans is the TaylorMade R11 and Burner SuperFast, which feature a white head and a white shaft, depending upon the golfer's preferences. Clarke used the R11 to win the British Open. Charl Schwartzel used a Nike VR Tour driver to win the Masters.

W is for Wanamaker Trophy. It is named after Rodman Wanamaker, who donated $2,500 to go toward trophies for the first PGA Championship, held in 1916 at the Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, N.Y. The trophy now weighs 27 pounds.

X is for 'xcitement. Though sometimes overshadowed because it is the last of majors played each year, the PGA Championship has offered lots of great golf during the past few years. Y.E. Yang knocking off Woods the year before with a 210-yard hybrid that was one of the greatest shots in golf history preceded Kaymer's victory in a playoff last year. In 2008, Padraig Harrington snapped a European 0-fer at the event that stretched back to 1930 (Tommy Armour was a U.S. citizen born in Europe) or 1919 (England's Jim Barnes), depending upon your preference. Add in that 100 of the 102 best golfers in the field (as ranked by the Official World Golf Ranking) are scheduled to be competing. This will be the second-best field in all of golf, only beaten by the 2002 PGA Championship.

Y is for yardage. The AAC's Highlands Course was 7,070 yards when it held the 1981 PGA Championship. It stretched to 7,213 yards for the 2001 PGA. This year it will be 7,467 yards long. It has played to a par 70 each time.