Nicklaus Likes Woods’ Chances

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. —  Jack Nicklaus, who won the U.S. Open twice at Baltusrol, said he wouldn’t be stunned if Tiger Woods does it this time in the PGA Championship. Nicklaus said he had a long chat with Woods on Tuesday night.

“Tiger’s playing very well. I told him, I said I thought his swing plane at the British Open was the best I’d ever seen it,” Nicklaus said. “I mean, I’ve seen Tiger’s swing a lot in the last few years and I didn’t think [it] was where he probably wanted it.

“So if it’s something similar to what he was using there, he’s going to be very difficult again this week.”

Woods is a two-time PGA Championship winner, in 1999-2000 and came close again at Hazeltine in 2002, where he was second to Rich Beem. Nicklaus remains impressed with Woods.

“How do you compare what he’s doing, because nobody has ever done what he’s doing,” he said. “Certainly I didn’t. He’s dominated way beyond how anybody’s ever dominated.”

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For years, Phil Mickelson never wore a hat when he golfed.

He then transitioned to a visor.

For this week’s PGA Championship, Mickelson said he may pull out all the stops. “You may see something this week that I haven’t ever done really,” he said. “And that’s play with a hat.”

Mickelson said he wouldn’t make the move to change his luck in majors. “My head got a little sunburned last week, and to keep some of the sun off, I may wear a hat,” he said.

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Colin Montgomerie’s hand injury isn’t going to keep him from playing, but to prevent anything worse happening, he hasn’t practiced shots out of the rough. “I’ll take it on when it comes and not before then,” he said.

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Defending champion Vijay Singh on what it’s going to take to win this week:

“I would say 15, 14 under is going to win the golf tournament, unless the wind blows or the speed of the greens are going to get much faster,” Singh said.

Singh, for the record, likes his chances.

“I feel right now I’m playing the best golf I’ve ever played,” he said.

Singh went out of his way to praise the way the PGA of America has set up Baltusrol.

“They do not trick the golf course up,” he said. “The roughs are long, even the pin placements are not going to be to the extreme. They will be tough, but it’s always been very playable. I think the USGA takes it to the limit or sometimes beyond it, most of the time beyond it.”

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The winner’s share of the $6.5-million purse is $1.17 million, a slight increase over Singh’s winning check of a year ago ($1.12 million). The runner-up gets $702,000 and everyone in the top 16 gets at least $100,000.

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Cellphones will not be permitted this week, and spectators trying to bring one in will not be allowed to enter.

The PGA of America took the measure after thousands of spectators arrived at the entrance gates for practice rounds carrying portable phones.

Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman understands the move.

“If there’s a way to control everyone to have their phone or Blackberry on just a vibrate mode and having a place where they could go to make a phone call, that would be the best of all worlds,” Lehman said.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This week

PGA TOUR

PGA Championship

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course (7,392 yards, par 70); Springfield, N.J.

* Purse: $6.5 million. Winner’s share: TBA ($1.170 million in 2004).

* TV: TNT (today-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8-10:30 a.m.) and Channel 2 (Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.).

* 2004 winner: Vijay Singh.

* Next week: The World Golf Championships NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio, and the Reno-Tahoe Open.