NOTEBOOK \ PGA Championship

Good feelings for Europeans: When the Ryder Cup was held at Oakland Hills in 2004, the Europeans left with an 181‚Ñ2-91‚Ñ2 victory, the second of their three straight over the United States. The top points producers on that team are back for the PGA Championship. Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood both had 41‚Ñ2 of a possible five points over those three days. “The look of the course is pretty much the same. It’s obviously a lot tougher than it was at the Ryder Cup,” said Garcia, who was 24 then. “Obviously the rough is thicker. They have added some good length. Bunkers are a little bit deeper.” Westwood, who is seven years older than Garcia, broke into a wide smile when asked about the 2004 Ryder Cup. “I had had a bit more to drink than I’ve had right now. Although I think we all were sort of pretty well on our way,” he said referring to huge bottles of champagne that were sprayed and imbibed with great gusto. “It’s just great memories, really.”

Practice? The image of golfers taking the opportunity to play practice round after practice round at a major championship venue was shattered by Rocco Mediate. One of the sport’s most popular players since his U.S. Open playoff loss to Tiger Woods in June, Mediate was ready for the opening round after nine practice holes on the course known as “The Monster.” “I’m tired,” Mediate said Wednesday after talking for a while about his hectic life since becoming such a celebrity following the 19-hole playoff loss to the world’s No. 1 golfer. “I played last July in the British Open qualifier here and the golf course is right in front of you. The greens are difficult, but they are still right in front of you. I remember them all. It’s not rocket science. It’s just you’ve got to be under these holes. You cannot play them from over the greens. ... There’s no tricks, obviously, just a lot of long clubs for me, and I enjoy hitting them.”

Centennial PGA: The 100th anniversary of the first PGA Championship will be celebrated by staging the last of the four majors near where the organization was formed: Baltusrol. The course in Springfield, N.J., just across the river from New York where The PGA of America was formed in April 1916. The first PGA Championship was held six months later at Siwanoy in nearby Bronxville. “It’s one of the classic clubs in this country, and if you walk up on a point on the Upper Course, you can see the Manhattan skyline,” Joe Steranka, the CEO of The PGA of America, said Wednesday. “So being in the New York metropolitan area for us was important, to be able to be near the birthplace. I know we’ll have a lot of activities in the year leading up to that centennial championship.” That PGA Championship will be not the 100th edition, however, since none was held in 1917, 1918 and 1943.

Associated Press