Golf World's Tim Rosaforte offers an in-depth look concerning Tiger Woods' 63 that he shot in the second round at Southern Hills. Rosaforte spoke to several other players who shot 63 in a major -- and got their take on why they failed to shoot 62, a number that has yet to be carded in a major.

As a bonus to that story, here's the actual scorecard of the most famous 63 shot in a major. Click on the photo to see an enlarged, complete version of the scorecard.

TULSA, Okla. -- Phil Mickelson was a model of consistency Sunday, closing with a 1-under-par 69 at Southern Hills in the PGA Championship. He opened with 16-straight pars before breaking through with a birdie at the par-4 17th, then made a scrambling par at 18 to finish at 6-over for the tournament.

"I'll certainly take a bogey-free round on Sunday," said Mickelson. "I played very well, had a chance to get the round going. I think I only missed one green the first 13 holes and had a lot of chances for birdies."

Mickelson said his left hand felt fine all week.

"It should be past me now," he said.

How would Mickelson assess his season so far?

"I've probably had a three-month suspension," he said, referring to his injury. "But I feel like I'm able to resume. I wish this was just a couple weeks later because I was finally able to start practicing. I just didn't get all parts of my game going. But I'll spend next week working hard, and hopefully I should be ready to the final four events of the year."

For a change, Mickelson is looking forward to competing in the fall.

"Usually this time of the year after the PGA, I'm ready to pack it in," said Mickelson. "But because I haven't been able to play or practice for three months, my excitement level to get back out and compete is still very high right now."

Mickelson wouldn't be surprised if someone made a run at Tiger Woods today.

"It's out there," he said. "A really low number is out there, but the problem is, or the challenge is, that one swing can kind if put a halt to the round. You can make a quick double-bogey based on where you hit it. The wind is calm and the greens are still very receptive."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- Trevor Immelman made the most of his early tee time Saturday by shooting a 4-under-par 66.

"What I noticed is that they were pretty much syringing the greens right up until the first group got up there, and I was the second group," he said. "I was able to fire at the flags. Obviously, it's extremely hot out there, they're protecting against losing the greens."

Immelman said it was a big advantage starting before the heat climbed and expected scores to rise in the afternoon. He's now at 1-over for the tournament and could enter the final round in the top 20.

"It's seriously hot and last couple of days there hasn't been much of a breeze to kind of ease the tension here," Immelman said. "But I would say it's about a three-shot difference the way the greens are going to firm up. Obviously they're nice and smooth when you first start in the morning."

Immelman was impressed by the 63 shot by Tiger Woods on Friday.

"It was inspiring," he said. "Obviously he's been in some incredible form. And to do it right after you've had a child, too, is something quite special. Because you know there's no doubt that once the first kid comes along, that's a really important time in your life.

"And he would be able to be excused to maybe let his focus wander a little bit. But for him to come out and play like he has in the last two weeks is incredible. And I guess it just proves to us again what a champion he is."

As for his own game, Immelman said it is coming around and hopes to play in the Presidents Cup.

"I had a nice start to the year and tailed off the last couple of months, played some awful golf," he said. "But the last couple of weeks I felt my game come around. For our level it's all about confidence. When you have confidence in your game, you can go out there and play the golf course the way it's supposed to be played and shoot some good scores."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- Boo Weekley is playing with tennis elbow, but still shot a 5-under-par 65 Saturday to move to even-par for the tournament. He had a shot at equaling the 63 shot by Tiger Woods on Friday but three-putted the final hole for a bogey.

"I was just trying to make par," said Weekley. "You try to make par, look where I ended up, trying to be safe."

After leaving his first putt short, playing partner Sergio Garcia asked him a question.

"Sergio asked me what I was fixing to do, and he said do you want to trade?" Weekley said. "And I said no, I think I like what I got right here. And then I hit the putt and I said, well, maybe I should have traded. After I hit my second putt as I was marking it, I looked over at him and I said, Maybe I should have traded you, you know."

Weekley is learning what it takes to play well in big tournaments.

"What I'd like to say is par isn't a bad score," he said. "It's not a birdie fest at every golf course. I've learned in the majors that's how it's starting to pan out. You have to keep it around par, you're keeping yourself in the game. And here and there you make a couple birdies, you shoot 2- or 3-under one day and get yourself in contention.

And that's what I'm trying to do as I'm playing. I'm learning more about how to accept just making pars. Pars ain't bad for you, even making a bogey ain't bad for you sometimes."

How does he feel about the upcoming FedEx Cup?

"I don't know nothing about the FedEx Cup and I just know I'm playing golf and that's all that matters to me," he said.

On his popularity?

"I reckon as long as you're being yourself, you can't go wrong there," said Weekley.

-- Mark Soltau

(Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

TULSA, Okla. -- Geoff Ogilvy (right) was admittedly miffed after bogeying 17 and 18 to lose a firm grasp on second place and a Saturday pairing with Tiger Woods. He wasn't too crazy about the implied inevitability of another Woods' victory either.

"Not that ominous,'' was his response when asked about     Woods' two-shot lead heading into the weekend. "I mean he's just a good player. He does pretty well when he leads off for two rounds and even better when he leads after three rounds. So I guess that is kind of ominous. But at some point he's not going to win.''

Tiger Woods' 35-foot bomb for par on the dangerous 12th hole wasn't the only momentum saver among the leaders Friday. Stephen Ames holed a chip for par at 16 to remain two-under. Even though he bogeyed 18 for a 69, he's still within shouting distance of Woods at 137 -- three shots back.

"Putting is the difference this week for me,'' he said. "We've changed a couple things this     week, and it's worked nicely.''

Ames had 28 putts on Thursday and Friday.

Home turf favorite Scott Verplank couldn't help but needle one of the more pedestrian questioners during his post-round session with the media Friday.

Question -- "I wouldn't think that you are commuting back and forth from Edmond  (Verplank lives in Edmond, Okla.) this week-or maybe you are."

Answer -- "No, I'm not commuting. I lost a rotor on my helicopter. So I was going to do  that, but one of the blades broke. Sorry, it's in the shop.''

--Pete McDaniel

(Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

TULSA, Okla. -- I noticed three things in the past 24 hours that I don't understand:

1) How women can wear high heels at a golf tournament

2) How anyone can smoke in the heat, basically creating a fire three inches from your face in 100-degree temperatures

3) How anyone would think it's a good idea to have 5-year-old kids play football in full pads when it's scorching hot

I noticed the first two at the same time at Southern Hills this afternoon when a woman with three-inch heels struggled up the hill toward the hospitality areas from the 18th green while trying to light a cigarette. I noticed the latter Thursday afternoon on a field not far from the entrance to Oral Roberts University and its 60-foot tall sculpture of giant praying hands.

John Daly (in photo) says he spent the first few days of the week at the Cherokee Nation casino, but he must have been mistaken. He must have spent his time praying under those giant hands. How else do you explain his first two rounds? After shooting 67 on Thursday, he missed every fairway in his first nine holes Friday but made a birdie to go with his three bogeys and is still in the mix at one under par halfway through his round.

Daly is a big story here, but so is Scott Verplank, the Oklahoma State star who has all the locals riled up. After shooting 66 on Friday morning, Scotty V. took the lead to the cries of "Go Cowboys" or "Go Pokes." Hey, I’m from Connecticut and I don't know what a poke is but if Verplank is one, he's certainly one of the best. He said he's not commuting from his home in Edmond, Okla. — "I was going to, but one of the blades [on my helicopter] broke," he laughed -- but it looks like he knows where he's going. Perhaps all the way to the top. And he won't even need those giant praying hands.

-- John Antonini

TULSA, Okla -- Phil Mickelson bounced back from Thursday's opening-round 73 with a 69. He made nine pars and five birdies, and managed to break par despite hitting only 3 of 14 fairways in regulation.

"I just feel like I'm leaving four, five shots out there," he said. "Missed a four-foot eagle putt and didn't get any momentum. On the back side, I made some putts. I'm not disappointed."

Mickelson made a good save for bogey on his final hole -- the par-4 ninth, after his third shot rolled off the front of the green.

"I'll definitely take that," said Mickelson. "I didn't want to finish with a double bogey".

For Mickelson, the big news is that he is playing without pain in his left hand.

"This is the first week that I just feel terrific," he said. "I haven't had any problems, haven't even thought about it. Last week was the first time I hadn't had to numb it up. It feels great. I'm excited about playing golf, I just want to get the ball in the hole a little quicker."

Most improved: U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera rebounded from an opening-round 11-over-par 81 to shoot 70 on Friday. It wasn't hard to figure out why: On Thursday, he made a 10 at the 200-yard par-3 sixth hole, finding water and out of bounds. On Friday, he parred the hole.

-- Mark Soltau

(Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

TULSA, Okla. -- First-round leader Graeme Storm of England came back to earth Friday morning in the second round of the 89th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. After posting a pacesetting 5-under-par 65 Thursday, he slipped to a 6-over 76 Friday and has a 36-hole total of 1-over 141.

What was it like going to bed last night with a two-stroke lead?

"Sleepless," said the 29-year-old Storm. "I didn't get much sleep. I went to sleep at 10 p.m. and woke up about 2 a.m. and it was on and off after that. I think I was worried about missing my alarm call, which I don't normally think about but when you're leading a major it's slightly different."

Storm had five pars, four birdies and eight bogeys on his card. He also hit only 7 of 18 greens in regulation.

"I didn't get the run of the ball I did yesterday," Storm said. "I just missed the fairway at 18 and ended in someone else's divot. I am still in contention but disappointed. I didn't play that badly but I was punished when I made a mistake. I have to take the positives out of it. It's not often that you are leading going into the second round of a major."

Storm is looking forward to the third round on Saturday.

"I did feel differently today," he said. "It's a great experience and one I will learn from. I hope to have a good weekend because I am not far away from the leaders. I will just have to take it on the chin and come back fighting tomorrow."

-- Mark Soltau

(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

TULSA, Okla -- Quick take from Scott Verplank, who shot 66 and is the early clubhouse leader on Friday. He attended Oklahoma State and wore an orange shirt in honor of the school colors. Needless to say, he was a crowd favorite.

"There's a lot of Cowboys fans running around here," he said.

What would winning the PGA Championship mean to Verplank?

"It would be more than a dream come true, particularly here, so close to my home," he said

(Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

TULSA, Okla. -- Three views on the mid-90 temperatures ...

Camilo Villegas: "It's beautiful out here. It is hot. It is pretty warm. But you know what, everybody has the same thing. It wasn't too bad the first day, maybe six or seven holes in the morning, but it will be pretty warm tomorrow. So there's no complaining. You've got to have a good attitude to win it."
 
Sergio Garcia: "You're constantly sweating so you have to dry yourself, dry your arms, your hands and the grip and everything and 15 seconds later you're sweating again. So it's not easy. It takes a lot of time to get ready. But it was a little bit breezy, so it made it a little bit tougher but overall it was OK."

John Daly: "I did not play a practice round this week because it's too hot. I've been playing slots over at Cherokee Casino. Did good the first day; didn't do too good the other day. But I played their golf course yesterday. I went out in a cart. They gave me the golf course from 10:00 to 1:00. I got a lot of practicing in."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- Arron Oberholser is playing with a broken bone in his left hand and still shot 68 Thursday.

"I want to rest, man," he said. "I feel good right now. But I never know when this fractured hamate bone is going to creep up and start bugging me again. It's behaved itself for the most part this week. But I haven't really prepared or practiced like I normally would going into this week. That's a good thing for me.

"When I fractured it, I didn't know how I fractured it. So I played for about three months without knowing that I actually had a fractured bone in my hand. And when I found out, it would ache at times. Obviously I've developed tendonitis in both elbows because of it, compensation in one arm because of the lack of strength in the other.

I just need to rest it. And as soon as I get -- as soon as the year is over or as soon as my FedExCup run is over, then I'll be able to sit down for three weeks, which is what the doctor says and not do a thing and rest it. But I just never know when it's going to creep up and start aching again. That's the thing. The more golf I play, the more it tends to ache."

He also described a 50-foot birdie putt that he made at No. 2 as a "seagoer." Apparently, that threw some writers for a loop. In his post-round news conference, Oberholser was asked to explain.

"Seagoer? You never heard of that? You have to hang around a golf club," Oberhosler said.

Asked if it was a West Coast term -- which it surely isn't -- he replied, "I don’t know if it's West Coast. Hang around the Munis, hear people talk about seagoers."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- I know, I know. John Daly shot a 67 to take the morning lead at the PGA Championship here at Southern Hills in Tulsa. But it won't last. It can't last. He played a morning round when the temperatures had yet to reach triple digits and there was a breeze that kept the heat index from getting too high. Wait until Friday when he plays in the afternoon.

I hope I'm wrong because a Daly in contention would do wonders for the tournament, but he has just as good a chance of missing the cut as he does finishing in the top 10. A win? Boy that would be like the Milwaukee Brewers winning the World Series. (I don't see that happening either, but they'll make the playoffs. The National League Central is not exactly a major field.)

Anyway, the weather in Tulsa is having an effect on the participants. Brian Bateman is from Louisiana and said even he isn't comfortable playing in this kind of heat. "Not in long pants anyway," said the Buick Open champ. "In this kind of weather I'm usually in a cart and shorts." When Arron Oberholser went to meet the media after his first-round 68, caddie Dave Woosley suggested that "if the questions are outside, keep the answers short. Take care of your body."

Naturally, the frozen lemonade concessions are doing brisk business, but when one spectator said "It’s freezing," I had to do a double-take to make sure I heard what I heard. She was talking about her ice cream, not the weather and certainly not about Daly, although having him on the top few lines of the leaderboard certainly is cool.

-- John Antonini

TULSA, Okla. -- The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Tulsa on Tuesday for this week's PGA Championship was the heat. It was also the second thing. And the third.

Oklahoma is celebrating its centennial in 2007 and in honor of the milestone, Southern Hills is offering one degree of temperature for every year of Oklahoma's statehood. No extra charge.

So just how hot is it? It's hotter than Charlize Theron. It's hotter than Cheryl Tiegs when she wore that see-through outfit in the 1978 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Heck, it's even hotter than the New York Yankees.

The thermometer in my rental car read 98 degrees at 3 p.m. and I heard the heat index was 106. I'm not sure if there is much of a difference between 98 and 106 but tomorrow's numbers are going to be hotter. Try 102 and 110. It is reported that Tulsa is in the middle of a ring of fire, which USA Today defines as "a belt of storms whose heart is a sinkhole of heat." It' not supposed to get cool (re: less than triple digits) until the PGA leaves town, so there's nothing to do put persevere. And go heavy on the sunscreen. Alas, that SPF 15 I brought from Connecticut is not going to cut it.

One thing is certain: Don't bet on the heavyweights this week. Tim Herron, Colin Montgomerie (in photo), John Daly. Forget about them. A roly-poly body shape and sweltering sun don't mix. Phil Mickelson is another one with lots of subcutaneous fat, but he's actually looking forward to playing in the heat. "It loosens your muscles," Mickelson said. "You're able to swing a lot more rhythmic and the ball flies a lot straighter when it's hot because you don't have the resistance. The wind doesn't affect it as much, and the game plays a lot easier. There's a lot more benefits than there are detractions."

Whatever you say Phil. Just remember to drink plenty of fluids.

-- John Antonini

Southern Hills' reputation for providing the hottest environment for the players is well-earned. Of the 10 courses that have hosted multiple PGA Championships, the track in Tulsa has the highest daily high temperature in August at 93. It's already looking like the weather this week will make 93 look pleasant.

The early forecast is for sunny skies, and just a 10 percent chance of rain all four tournament days, with a high of 100 on Thursday, but a nice cooldown to 92 by Sunday. It could be worse: the average daily high in Tulsa in July is a degree higher at 94.

The average highs for August for those 10 courses:

Course ... Average high temperature
Southern Hills ... 93
Shoal Creek ... 90
Atlanta Athletic Club ... 88
Valhalla ... 86
Riviera ... 85
Inverness ... 84
Medinah ... 83
Oakland Hills ... 82
Firestone ... 80
Oak Hill ... 79

-- Cliff Schrock

Southern Hills will crown a PGA champion for the fourth time since the format was changed to stroke play n 1958. That's the most of the 10 courses that have held the PGA Championship two times or more since '58. Southern Hills also has the third-lowest average winning total of those 10 courses:

Course (years hosted) ... Average winning score
Atlanta Athletic Club, Duluth, Ga. (1981, 2001) ... 269.0
Riviera C.C., Pacific Palisades, Calif. (1983, 1995) ... 270.5
Southern Hills C.C., Tulsa, Okla. (1970, 1982, 1994) ... 273.3
Valhalla G.C., Louisville, Ky. (1996, 2000) ... 273.5
Medinah (Ill.) C.C. (1999, 2006) ... 273.5
Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio (1986, 1993) ... 274.0
Oak Hill C.C., Rochester, N.Y. (1980, 2003) ... 275.0
Oakland Hills C.C., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (1972, 1979) ... 276.5
Shoal Creek C.C., Birmingham, Ala. (1984, 1990) ... 277.5
Firestone C.C., Akron, Ohio (1960, 1966, 1975) ... 279.0

-- Cliff Schrock

TULSA, Okla. -- Phil Mickelson knows what it is like to be called "the best player never to win a major." He possesses three major titles now but can relate to what Sergio Garcia is going through.

"Well, I believed as Sergio believes, it's just a matter of time," Mickelson said. "He's too good a player for it not to happen. So I certainly felt that way. It was just a matter of time. It took more time than I hoped.

"But honestly the hardest thing about it was coming in here (media center), I think. Because I felt, or always believed and never really wondered if I would ever win one. I knew I would; I just didn't know when. I think he feels the same way. But answering questions about it can be difficult."

Why was meeting with the press so difficult?

"It's just that I felt that no matter how well thought out or nice the questions were, there was no good answer," Mickelson said. "No matter which way you went with it, it was always going to come back and bite you. The toughest part was trying to answer them honestly and I always felt they were kind of loaded even though they were not meant to be."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- If you think K.J. Choi's success on the PGA Tour is a fluke, think again. When he first joined the tour, he curtailed his practice time to watch the game's best players hit balls at the 2000 Bay Hill Invitational.

"Back then, being the first player from Korea to come to the PGA Tour, I think I just thought that I had to survive out here on tour; there was no turning back for me, going back to Asia," he said.

"I felt that I had a lot of responsibility, not only on myself, but just being the first Korean over here, I wanted to succeed here. And I felt very strong about that," he said. "So what I did was studied other players to see what they did different than me. There were days I would not even practice. I'd be on the driving range or on the putting green, just watching -- watching other players how they prepare, how they practice, and just studying them, I guess I realized what they did different. And I felt like I had to compete and just try to emulate what they did in order for me to survive out here."

Who did he watch?

"I would just stand there for about 40 minutes watching Tiger, Ernie, Phil, Retief, just watching them hit practice balls, and I learned a lot," he recalled. "I remember thinking, wow, wow, they're good. They're really good. And I realized I had to step it up to another level for me to survive here on the tour."

Several players went out of their way to help Choi, and obviously he absorbed the information. Choi owns six PGA Tour titles, including this year's Memorial Tournament and AT&T National.

"Tiger helped me a lot," he said. "Fred Funk, Tom Pernice Jr. and Vijay and Jim Furyk, they all gave me good advice. I appreciate their help."

-- Mark Soltau

TULSA, Okla. -- Quick takes from the news conferences Tuesday of the three major winners this year:

British Open champ Padraig Harrington (in photo) on the possibility of more Europeans winning majors: "I would say, you know what, if the floodgates open up over the next couple of years, I'm going to take credit for it."

U.S. Open champ Angel Cabrera on the rough at Southern Hills: "You have a chance to go for the greens, sometimes. Last week (Firestone), you never had a chance to go for the green when you went in the rough."

Masters champ Zach Johnson on being one of the few players who still wears metal spikes: "I don't have a whole lot of foundation down on my lower part of my body so I feel like I need all the traction I can get when I'm swinging. And a lot of these guys out here, they have gears where they can just poof it out there 300 yards. For the most part, my driver, I'm not swinging full, but I'm trying to hit it pretty hard. And I need to stay balanced. I've used them since 2000 for the most part."

Harrington on the current location of the claret jug: "The trophy is at home, boxed up away. My son, I managed to rescue ladybirds from going into it, because they wouldn't survive too long inside the claret jug, I don't think. They would become intoxicated."

Johnson on whether winning the Masters has changed him: "I don't think it has. I don't know how it could off the golf course. The only thing that's changed a little bit is the fact that the recognition might be a little more frequent when I'm out. But I'm not changing. I'm still in jeans and T-shirts and shorts, whatever."

Cabrera on whether golf's new new-found popularity in Argentina can rival rugby or football in his native country? "No chance," he said.

-- Mark Soltau