The 2009 PGA Championship: Glory's Last Snooze?

The last time the PGA Championship was played at Hazeltine in 2002, Rich Beem stared down Tiger Woods and Justin Leonard, and shocked the world.

While the event was as memorable as anything I've ever seen in my living room, Beem's dance on 18 was so horrible that the golf gods haven't allowed him to win since.

The next year, Shaun Micheel gave glory his last shot (as good a last shot as any I can remember) for his only tour title.

There have been 5 PGA Championships since. The winners: Singh, Mickelson, Woods, Woods, Harrington. The rich get richer.

Well, the spotlight will be back on Beem for a couple of days as his playing partners are Tiger (going for major #15) and Harrington (defending his title). They tee off Thursday at 8:45 AM.

Beem's breakthough at Hazeltine was his second straight win. He took the now-defunct "International" just two weeks earlier. So he was hot. But now he's been cold for 7 years, making the cut in just 8 of the 25 Majors he's played since.

Beem's only other win in his career was as a rookie in 1999, a season documented in the book Bud, Sweat, and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck.

It chronicles the lurid tales of Beem and his somewhat legendary caddy Steve Duplantis through that 1999 season, including the improbable win at the Kemper.

Duplantis, who lived recklessly, was killed in January 2008, when struck by a car.

Anyway, I'm still not going with Tiger. I have a hard time pulling for the prohibitive favorite (not counting the Yankees or Obama). I saw in one publication with Woods at 6-5, followed not-so-closely by Mickelson and Harrington at 20-1 each.

I got Kenny Perry. Good enough for 5 wins in the last 2 seasons, including one after he gagged away the Masters. But chances are it will be a big name with no drama. Just in case, I'm leaving Saturday and Sunday open for potential live-blogs.

Backtime Sunday Masters LiveBlog: "Green Jacket" Edition

I know it's Easter Sunday and you're not supposed to put all your eggs in one basket, but I will assert that the Masters Champion will absolutely come from the final pairing. The Tiger/Phil show kicks off an hour ahead of the leaders at 1:35, and the opening act may well be more entertaining than the headliners. But if you think Woods or Mickelson can actually win, you'd better curb your enthusiasm.

Angel Cabrera has 17 wins worldwide. Kenny Perry has 13 wins on the PGA tour. Both know how to close. Cabrera may be a little hotter, coming off a 69 yesterday. But don't underestimate the southern crowd cheering on Western Kentucky's good ol' boy Kenny Perry.

Besides, the green jacket would fit a Hilltopper nicely. Pretty, pretty, pretty...good.

When TV coverage begins at 2 PM today, Tiger and Phil should be putting for eagle or birdie on the 2nd hole.

Check in later for frequent updates.

7:22 ET Final thoughts are sad ones. Hate to see someone lose a tournament rather than win it. But what a day of drama. Cabrera's par save on the first playoff hole was both lucky and incredible. At 48, this was Perry's best and possibly last shot at a Major.

7:10 ET Oh my, Campbell's putter again. And after being all over the course, Perry and Cabrera survive with pars and head to 10.

6:50 ET Playoff preview. Campbell hasn't made a putt in forever. It was Perry's tournament to lose, and he might have with that finish. Cabrera is the Major champion in the group and I think he has the edge.

6:46 ET Holy cow. 3-Man Playoff. In 2005, Tiger finished bogey-bogey to let Chris DiMarco into the playoff, then Tiger birdied 18 for the win.

6:35 ET Campbell missed his birdie putt. Perry drove it in the trap. Cabrera could conceivably win this outright with a birdie on the last.

6:31 ET Kenny Perry picked a terrible time for his first bogey of the round. He heads to the 72nd hole, up just one on Campbell and Cabrera. Campbell has a chance to tie before KP tees off.

6:13 ET Now THAT is the shot of the tournament. A tap-in, near hole-in-one on 16 will give KP a 2-shot lead on Campbell, whose putter deserted him on the same hole.

6:05 ET Perry cleans up his birdie on 15. Campbell's great tee shot on 16 may make him a co-favorite right now. New round of fireworks coming home.

5:45 ET Tiger and Phil thrilled us all, but ran out of gas with a pair of bogeys on 18. Neither player ever led or tied for the lead today. Perry failed to take advantage on 13 & 14, so Campbell has an opening.

5:29 ET Looks to be a fairly pedestrian end to a surreal day for Tiger and Phil. Both hit terrible drives on 18. Campbell's back-to-back birds have him within one. Perry will likely make birdie on 13 though. Waiting for Tiger and Phil's warm embrace when they finish up.

5:18 ET The fire was a good thing. Perry birdied 12 to go to -12. Campbell will have an eagle putt on 13 to tie him there. Phil and Tiger have put on one of the greatest spectacles of all-time, but are running out of holes.

5:08 ET Tiger birdied 16 to get within one of Perry. He and Mickelson are now tied for 2nd place. Perry made his best putt of the day on 11, but just missed and threw his club. First sign of emotion/frustration/fire from KP. Good thing or bad thing for him?

4:55 ET Fireworks indeed. Mickelson's got an eagle putt to tie for the lead on 15. Tiger has a less-favorable eagle putt to get within one. But at the beginning of the day, they needed both Perry & Cabrera to falter, and thus far only Cabrera has. The last group still have both par 5s left on the back. Still Perry's tournament to lose.

4:38 ET Kenny Perry with a gutsy sand save & putt on 9 for a bogey-free (and birdie-free) front. He still leads by himself. Mickelson's got a chance at birdie on 14 to get back within one shot.

4:16 ET Wow. Mickelson put it in the water on the famed 12th. Campbell birdied 8 to tie for the lead for the umteenth time this week. Perry is still spinning his wheels. Cabrera's wheels are coming off.

4:07 ET Kenny Perry missed his best birdie opportunity. That makes 7 straight pars. Cabrera and Campbell haven't made any moves either. Mickelson has cooled off a little and it's still Perry's to lose.

3:55 ET Kenny Perry's 6th straight par still has him leading by himself. At the start of the day, I would have said 18 pars from the lead group may have done it. No longer. Lefty still may give a couple back, but is likely to pick up more than he drops.

3:38 ET A great scramble par by Lefty on 9, and he finishes the front side with a final round record-tying 30, just one shot back of the lead. Cabrera seems to be unraveling a bit on 5. Perry's still in very good position.

3:26 ET Phil is going from uncanny to unprecedented. Until his drive on 9 anyway. Gonna have some tree trouble. Sixth birdie on 8. Tiger eagled it, but also drove the woods on his tee shot on 9. Cabrera found the beach on 4 and Perry plods along, likely looking at another par.

3:17 ET First salvo from the lead group as Cabrera birdies 3rd to go to -12. He leads Perry by one, Campbell by two, and Lefty by three.

3:05 ET Now this is just uncanny. Mickelson's 5th birdie on the front nine has him just 2 shots back. Our solid veteran co-leaders both failed to take advantage of the par-5.

2:55 ET Mickelson is 4-under on the day thru 6. Can he keep it up? Golfers ahead of him haven't built any momentum yet. Both Perry and Cabrera hit poor drives on the par-5 2nd.

2:40 ET Looks like the fireworks are on, long before the back nine. Lefty's got 3 birdies in the first 5 holes, a pair of shots ahead of Tiger.

2:28 ET Steve Stricker, 4 shots back, just missed a gimme birdie putt on 1 - must be the dubious New York Stock Exchange logo on his shirt.

2:14 ET Mickelson gets the first skin on Tiger with his second straight birdie on 3. Lefty's at -6, now 5 back of the leaders.

1:43 ET If there's a 64 or 65 out there to be had, the early scores show no indication of that. There are 36 of the top players in the world out on the course, and the best score going is -2.

Backtime Thursday Masters LiveBlog: "Yes Masters" Edition

Ever since Jeannie popped out of the bottle, she was all about her master's wishes. She always dialed it up for the Majors (Major Nelson, Major Healy).

This morning I feel like the master of my domain, like I just found a genie in a bottle.



The taxes are done, I've run a couple of miles, and I just pulled a chorizo and egg stuffed pepper off the grill (is there any doubt now that my wife's out of town).

I checked in on Augusta, and if Stephen Ames wished for an eagle on his 2nd Hole, he got it and is off to a nice start. Check back mid-afternoon for real-time updates.

7:36 ET Final Thoughts: Campell's 65 was huge, but it isn't clear ofthe masses. Thirteen players are within 3 shots. And Padraig Harrington looms at -3 with Woods and Zach Johnson at -2. Coverage was geat. Light on interviews and flashbacks. Lots of action. See You Tomorrow!

7:21 ET Tiger Woods air-mailed the green on 18 to settle for bogey. After missing makeable birdie putts on 16 and 17, his -2 round could have been much better. He's T-20 and 5 shots back from 1st round leader Chad Campbell.

7:02 ET Again Tiger and Immelman fail to convert brilliant approaches on 17 & 18 respectively.

6:44 ET Tiger missed the putt, as did Trevor Immelman on 17 to stop his own string of 3 straight birdies.

6:34 ET Tiger's got 3 in a row. He's -3 and just stuck it on 16.

Here's a fun fact about Tiger: Barring a rain delay, you won't see a single shot of his live on TV tomorrow. Tiger tees off at 10:45 Friday and Augusta National is strict about the limits on the TV coverage. I'm sure you'll see the Tiger 2nd Round recaps frequently. To credit the CBS/ESPN coverage so far today, they haven't over-Tigered us at all. Let's see if he finishes strong today, 17 and 18 have been claiming victims.

6:05 ET Tiger Woods just made back-to-back birdies on 13 & 14. After Campbell finished bogey-bogey, and Hunter Mahan is making a total mess of 18, it's ON.

5:34 ET Nice to see Kenny Perry birdie at 13 to go to -4. In 2008, he didn't play the Masters (didn't qualify), US Open (didn't try to qualify), British Open (didn't choose to attend), then withdrew after first round of PGA. Even though he was a no-show in the Majors, he rocked the Minors, winning 3 times in '08 and he won in Scottsdale earlier this year.

5:03 ET A little bit about Chad Campbell who just went to -9. Earned a "battlefield promotion" after winning 3 times on the Nationwide Tour in 2001. Runner-up to Shaun Micheel in 2003 PGA before winning the Tour Championship later that season, his best year. Didn't qualify for last year's Masters, but was a captain's pick on the victorious 2008 Ryder Cup team, so somebody knows something.

4:49 ET Yankees 11, Orioles 2. First win of the season. AJ Burnett is 1-0. Nick Swisher had 5 RBI and Robinson Cano is rakin'. Just thought I'd throw that in.

4:37 ET Mike Tirico is actually interviewing Larry Mize, who had a first round 67. Other former champs: Mike Weir is in at -4 and Bernhard Langer at -2. Meanwhile, Chad Campbell just went to 8 under.

4:14 ET Obligatory first Augusta scenic montage with pink flowers and azaleas (are they the same thing? Beats me). Defending champ Trevor Immelman is +2. Robert Allenby just shouted "you bastard" at an insect on his tee shot at 12.

3:59 ET ESPN coverage begins in 1 minute. Here are Backtime's top stories:

1. Tiger struggling (+1 thru 7)
2. Mickelson struggling (+1, first round complete)
3. Surprising since the field is kicking it. Furyk is in at -6
4. Chad Campbell's 5 birdies in first 5 holes
5. Greg Norman with a 70 (-2) in his return to Augusta

3:06 ET Right now, 39 of 96 entrants are under par. So today the course can be had. Shingo Katayama is complete with -5. Chad Campbell is -5 at the turn. Tiger (even through 4) and Lefty (even thru 15) haven't yet taken advantage.

1:10 ET South African Tim Clark, listed (generously) at 5'7" is in the house with a 68 (-4). Clark won the Par 3 event on Wednesday, defeated Tiger in the matchplay event about a month ago, and was runner-up to Lefty at Augusta in 2006. So he's legit.