updated 11:12 a.m. ET Aug. 16, 2006

MEDINAH, Ill. - The 10th tee is tucked away in a far corner of Medinah Country Club, where green mesh on a chain-linked fence separates the world’s best golfers from a steady stream of cars on Lake Street.

It’s not much of an arena for the main event at the PGA Championship.

Considering how rarely Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson go head-to-head in a major, it should be quite a stage.

“Obviously, the fans that Phil has and the fans I have, it’ll make for a very loud atmosphere,” Woods said.

“I think that the PGA has everything under control safety-wise,” Mickelson said. “That would be the only concern. But I think it should be fine and a lot of fun.”

The PGA Championship traditionally puts together the three major champions of the year for the first two rounds, and this year it has a doozy at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

In one corner is Woods, the British Open champion, fresh off consecutive victories that brought him his 11th major at Royal Liverpool and his 50th career PGA Tour title at the Buick Open.

In the other corner is Mickelson, the Masters champion, defending PGA champion and the greatest threat to Woods’ throne.

Joining them in the role of Switzerland is U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.

“I’m sure it will be a zoo,” Ogilvy said Tuesday. “It’ll be interesting to see how they get along with each other. I’ve never played with both of them at the same time. I know them both well enough, and I’ve played with them a few times, so it’ll be interesting. It’ll be quite funny, and the crowd will be quite vocal.”

They have been rivals for the better part of the last decade — Woods the ruthless champion, Mickelson the people’s choice. Strangely enough, this will be only the 14th time they have played together, and the third time in a major.

Mickelson chatted his way around Augusta National with Fred Couples during his Masters victory in April. He was asked how it might be different Thursday at Medinah.

“Amount of conversation,” he replied.

SPECIAL FEATURE Who are players to beat at Medinah?

Their last meeting at a major was a classic. It was the final round of the 2001 Masters, where Woods was going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive major and Mickelson, who had stopped two of Woods’ streaks, was one shot behind. Woods pulled away with mistake-free golf on the back nine for a two-shot victory.

“That was fun,” Woods recalled. “I was lucky enough to win, but to be able to go down the stretch in a major championship is always fun. With a talent like Phil, you always know you have to play your best in order to come out on top.”

According to Mickelson’s coach, Woods’ best might not be enough this time.

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Dave Pelz, the short-game guru who has helped shape Mickelson’s revival over the last three years, told the Chicago Tribune in a story Tuesday that when Mickelson is at his best, “I’m thinking nobody can beat him.”

Nobody?

Does that include a certain No. 1 player with 11 majors to Mickelson’s three?

“You bet it does,” Pelz said. “If Phil’s long swing is good, his short game, I believe, is the best in the world. “I’m not saying Tiger’s short game is bad; he has a great short game. But I think Phil putts more consistently than Tiger does. He has more imagination and a few more shots around the green.”

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