In 2001, David Toms decided to lay up on the par 4, 507-yard 18th on his approach. He had hit his drive to the right and had a long 235-240 yard shot to the green. The announcers thought it was a mistake, but Toms proved his doubters wrong by knocking it 12 feet and sinking the putt for par to capture the title.
In 1976, Jerry Pate hit what was called “the shot heard round the world” as he knocked his second shot on 18 two feet from the hole on the 18th to birdie and win the 1976 U.S. Open.

The course has been lengthened 270 yards and now plays 7,467 yards. It is a par 70. The greens are bermuda and flourish in the heat of the summer as opposed to bent greens that get stressed out and banged up in the hot summer months. They are perfect for this major. The course is perfect with some postcard holes. The last four holes should determine who wins this championship.

Number 15 is a bear. A 260-yard par 3 that is considered the start of “Amen Corner” for the Atlanta Athletic Club Highlands Course. Very intimidating hole. Toms aced it in 2001; a key shot in his victory over Phil in the PGA that year. Pate hit a two iron to eight feet for birdie in 1976. But Charl Schwartzel said earlier this week that four wouldn’t be a bad score at 15. It’s bunkered well and the green is very fast. A pond runs down the right side of the green and in front mostly. A highly difficult hole. Luke Donald said he doesn’t like par 3’s to be that long because it takes away from the skill of players playing par 3s. This hole is just survival for these guys. Make par and move on, hopefully.

No.16 is a par 4, 476 yards. Narrow uphill driving hole. Green slopes back to front and like many Rees Jones holes on any of his golf course, well bunkered. Another par is a good score.

Number 17 is the signature hole on the course. A par 3, 207 yards. It’s a downhill shot over water with bunkers in the back. Takes an amazing amount of precision. Par on this hole is considered a great score.

Number 18 is called one of the toughest finishing holes in the game. A par 4, 507 yards. It was the hardest hole in 2001. You need to hit your drive pretty much down the center. Leaving it right leaves a long second shot. Left you have to deal with some trees. The green is guarded by water. It’s a terrific finishing hole and could provide for some great drama over the weekend; particularly on Sunday.

My favorite to win is Adam Scott. This course is all about driving and Adam is hitting the ball so flush off the tee. His whole game is fantastic right now and Stevie on his bag certainly helps. I don’t care what people are saying about Stevie’s comments about Woods. He was put through the ringer by Woods and deserved better. I was happy for him. He probably should have given Adam more credit for the victory last week at the Bridgestone, but I’m sure in a personal moment he did. Adam didn’t seem to worried about it this week. Adam seems to have the long putter working. I like his chances.

Another guy in the hunt is Donald. Luke has had a great year. Number one in the world. He’s a little shorter than a lot of the guys so that could hurt him a little bit, but he’s such a precise player and a tremendous putter that that could make up for his lack of major league distance. Like Luke to have a shot.

Of course, Rory is in there. McIlroy is the most talented player on the tour right now without a doubt and when he gets it going, he’s almost unstoppable. He drives the ball so long and he’s very accurate off the tee. Very good putter, too. Rory’s in the hunt.

Rickie Fowler played well last week at the Bridgestone and has the game to win it. Has all the talent in the world; just needs to break through. This could be Rickie’s week.

Ryo Ishikawa is playing well. Finished third last week at Bridgeston and, like Fowler, is loaded with talent. Ryo playing for the people in Japan who suffered from the tsunami back in March. He’s donating all his wins to his home country. Ryo playing with a purpose.

A couple of veterans like K.J. Choi and David Toms should be in the hunt. Toms, of course, won in 2001. Doesn’t have the great length, but is another precision player like Donald, though not as long as Luke. If his putter is on, David has the game.

K.J. is always in the mix in my opinion. Just a hard worker and is a consistently solid player. Winning the Players really boosted his confidence I’m sure. So I give K.J. a shot.

Another guy who could make some noise is Anthony Kim. AK has a ton of talent. Long and a great putter when he’s on. I just think he’s going to break through soon. He seems to have the mental toughness to win to me.

I give Tiger Woods a one percent chance of winning and that’s probably too high. Just don’t see his game there. I don’t believe he’ll ever get back to Tiger of the early 2000s. He just doesn’t drive the ball accurately enough to win here and his putting is not good right now. Seeing him miss two footers for par at the Bridgestone tells me he’s not going to win here. Main thing is his driver though. He’s just too wild off the tee right now. He’s been struggling for a while with his driver. His game is very puzzling right now. Very rusty and out of synch.

My top three are Adam, Luke and Rory. I’ll go with Adam.

Like Adam Scott to capture his first major at Atlanta Athletic Club