Field is open for playoffs

This week sees the final major championship of the year take place at the legendary Oakland Hills Golf Club - the 90th US PGA Championship kicks off tomorrow minus its defending champion, Tiger Woods.

Woods is still recovering from the knee injury that has plagued his year, giving the field of champion golfers from around the globe possibly a little more belief that they can take home the Wannamaker Trophy on Sunday evening.

This is the championship of The Professional Golfers' Association of America, the largest working sports organisation with over 28,000 members worldwide. Over the past nine decades the PGA Championship has developed into one of the premier sporting events in the world, but as with most events, it came from humble beginnings.

In January 1916, 34 other golf professionals joined the legendary Walter Hagen in an exploratory meeting at the Taplow Club in New York to lay the building blocks for the foundation of the organisation we see today.

It was there that the idea for a national championship was conceived. Department store magnate Lewis Rodman Wannamaker, who hosted the meeting, would provide a trophy for the competition, as well as an initial purse of $2,580 for the match-play event.

On April 10 that year they formed the PGA and six months later the inaugural PGA Championship was held at Siwanoy Country Club, NY.

James Barnes was the first man to lift the Wannamaker Trophy and went on to defend his title three years later after the tournament was cancelled in 1917 and 1918 due to the First World War. Following the break for the war, the organisation and the tournament continued to grow.

The most famous and illustrious names in the history of golf are engraved on the trophy, and in recent years, Tiger Woods has seen his name added to the list on no less than four occasions - all the more reason why his fellow pros will be glad that he isn't taking part this year!

The most recent of his victories was last year at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, where, on the hottest ever recorded day in championship history, Woods held off Woody Austin and a charging Ernie Els to record a two stroke victory and seal his 13th major championship.

In Woods' absence, there will be no shortage of contenders looking to add their name to the illustrious list such as former champions Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh as well as Ernie Els who will be looking to improve on last year's third place.

Young pretenders Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia will be looking to take their first major championships and, from Europe, the likes of Westwood, Harrington and Montgomerie will all be there. Oakland Hills is a suitable setting for such an event. Host to the PGA in the past, the US Open has been held there six times and the Michigan venue was the site of the 2004 Ryder Cup Matches.

More than 100,000 people will line the fairways of one of the USA's finest golf facilities during the week to view the strongest, all-professional field in major championship golf. As it was more than 80 years ago, the Wannamaker Trophy is still prized as one of the golf world's greatest treasures.

Enjoy the weekend's viewing.