Balls are in the air at Atlanta Athletic Club, so before the guys get out to too much of a lead or dig themselves into too big a hole, I better make my picks and a few predictions about the final major of the year.

The first wave is now out on the course including big names like Adam Scott, Matteo Manassero, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson and some guy named Tiger.

On to the predictions for the week.

The course is in perfect condition. Paul Goydos said that the AAC is in perfect major championship form and should set up for a great week. The course is tough enough that the best players in the world will emerge from the pack and create a great finish on Sunday.

The last four holes have already wreaked some havoc on the field. The PGA Championship website has some live streaming coverage of a marquee group. Guess who’s on this morning?

The man in red is in red on Thursday, which is different. After getting off to a good start, 3-under par through five, Woods went 5-over on the last four holes to finish at +2 on his first nine. So, those holes are playing tough. With that kind of stroke disparity out there, any guys within three or four strokes on Sunday could have a chance at winning.

As for a winning score, I like it around 10- or 11-under par. Why? The guys playing the best this week will be able to make the birdies where they should and will be able to weather the storm coming down the stretch. Give me someone who hits it long and straight and won’t be discouraged by a bogey or two.

My darkhorse this week is Gary Woodland. Why? He hits the ball a mile and he has proven he can win this year. The only thing that worries me about Woodland is that he appears to run hot every now and again. If he’s striping it and holing some putts, I think he could make some noise this weekend.

As for a contender this week, I like Rory McIlroy for the same reason as everybody else, mostly. He hits it far and plays a right-to-left ball flight that helps on the numerous dogleg left holes at AAC. He’s proven he plays well on those courses (read: Augusta, Congressional), and he seems to be over his major hangover. A disappointing finish at the Open Championship turned into a top-10 last week in Akron, so look for Wee Mac to be in the hunt come Sunday.

And my winner is: Lee Westwood. Why? He’s due, no doubt about that. But if you watched his press conference this week, he seems more at ease than in recent memory. He’s met with the putting guru (and two-time PGA Champion) Dave Stockton as well as famous mental coach Bob Rotella.

Another reason I like Westwood is that he is one of Chubby’s boys. One of Chubby Chandler’s stable of players has won every major this year and four of the last five. Any one of Chub’s could win this week to finish off the Chubby Slam, something Chandler says he has a funny feeling that it will happen.

Why not Westwood? It’s a ball-strikers course. Hit fairways and greens and a few putts and he could be raising the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday.

*****

For your viewing pleasure this week, tune into the PGA Championship’s website early to watch the marquee group before network coverage.

Thursday and Friday will be shown on TNT from 1 – 7 p.m. with Golf Channel analysis surrounding it. Come the weekend, TNT will have early coverage from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

CBS Sports will be carrying the primetime coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 2 – 7 p.m.

Find the golf however you can and enjoy Glory’s Last Shot.