PGA Championship wide open

Johns Creek - Professional golf's shifting landscape is sharply illustrated at this week's PGA Championship where four-time winner Tiger Woods is ranked among the 'others' behind three European favourites.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland has been installed as the pre-tournament favourite at Atlanta Athletic Club, at 11/1 by British bookmaker William Hill, with Britons Luke Donald and Lee Westwood each at 15/1.

Emerging Australian talent Jason Day, a runner-up in the last two majors, is fourth best at 23/1 while Woods is at 26/1, along with fellow Americans Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, and Australian Adam Scott.

As recently as a year ago, the prospect of 14-time major champion Woods not being at least a joint bookies favourite would have been unthinkable.

In the build-up to last year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Woods was still the world number one, despite struggling with his form after becoming embroiled in a sex scandal at the end of 2009.

He has since tumbled to an almost unbelievable 30th in the rankings, having battled leg injuries this season while trying to rebuild his golf swing and his private life following the breakup of his marriage.

The aura of dominance Woods once enjoyed has totally disappeared and even the trademark red shirt he always wears in the final rounds of tournaments has lost its significance to everyone except himself.

"What it means to him is obviously a different thing," 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland told reporters at last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

"What it means to the rest of us ... it's not really something to be intimidated by any more."

Ninety-eight of the world's top 100 players have assembled at Atlanta Athletic Club for Thursday's opening round and at least 40 of them can claim to be genuine contenders for the title.

"There's a lot of guys capable of winning," said world number four McIlroy, who won his first major title by eight shots at the US Open in June at Congressional Country Club.

"You've seen that over the past few majors, but these things go in cycles. For 10 or 12 years, one player (Woods) was very dominant in the majors and a couple of the other players maybe got three or four.

"At this point in time, it seems that (other) people are breaking through and winning majors. I think it's great for the game of golf, I really do."

Asked whether he felt the Tiger era was now over with so many young guns emerging at the game's highest level, the 22-year-old McIlroy replied: "He's still the biggest attraction in the game of golf, so I don't think that has changed at all.

"The only thing that's changed is that he just isn't winning as much as he did back then, but that's not to say that he won't do it again.

"I don't think it's quite a new era yet until other guys start to win majors regularly like he did. It's very hard to do that anyway ... and he's only 35 years old. He's got another good 10 years in him if he wants it."

Woods, who has not won a major since the 2008 US Open nor any tournament worldwide since 2009, has certainly not given up on acquiring more of golf's elite trophies.

"The goal is to win every tournament I play in, so that's not going to change," the 35-year-old American told reporters on Wednesday after playing the back nine at Atlanta Athletic Club in practice.

"But I think the first thing is I had to get healthy in order to get back to that level. I've been sidelined for a long time. It all started with being healthy first, and now I can start playing again."

Woods was sidelined for three months after hurting his left knee ligaments and Achilles tendon during the Masters in April and world number one Donald believes the American will probably need more time to get back to the top.

"It would surprise me if he went on and won in the next couple of weeks, just because coming off that injury, personally, for myself was very difficult," Englishman Donald said.

"I think everyone's going to feel the same way. It's going to take some time, I think."

Donald's 2008 PGA Tour season was cut short after he had surgery on his left wrist.

The 93rd PGA Championship starts on Thursday.