Establishment (Tiger Woods) vs. Youth (Dustin Johnson)

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PGA Championship: Matchups | Inside the field | Inside the course | Tee times

One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the younger players and the established ones. How will the veteran players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigree -- fare against the hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?

Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running team tally throughout the year.

For this week's PGA Championship we've selected Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson.

Woods has won the season's final major four times but he's looking for his first victory in a season abbreviated by injury. Johnson held the lead entering the 72nd hole in last year's PGA at Whistling Straits only to finish one stroke out of the playoff when he was penalized two strokes for grounding his club in an ill-defined fairway bunker.

Woods tees off Thursday at 8:35 a.m. on No. 10 with Davis Love III and Padraig Harrington. Johnson tees off at 1:25 p.m. on No. 1 with Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia.

ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 35 YEARS ON TOUR: Woods is in his 15th season on the PGA TOUR. He has won 71 PGA TOUR titles, including 14 majors -- a number that puts him second only to Jack Nicklaus for his career. OVERVIEW: Woods will be playing in just his second event since taking three months off to let the strained medial collateral ligament and Achilles tendon in his left leg head. He returned to competition last week at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational where he tied for 37th in an event he'd won seven times previously. Woods broke par just once in four rounds at Firestone and is still struggling to control his driver after reconstructing his swing under the guidance of Sean Foley. Woods said he was hitting the ball more flush and farther than he had in the past, though, and he was generally encouraged by the performance overall. Woods has not won a major in the last nine times he's teed it up in golf's crown jewels. Woods, who tied for fourth at the Masters, also is looking for his first PGA TOUR victory in 23 months. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Woods has played in 13 PGA Championships and won four. Interestingly, he's successfully defended two of those titles and he also has a pair of runner-up finishes. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: It's hard to know what to think about Woods' chances. Although he said he felt "back" the minute he teed it up, Woods was clearly rusty and he is still adjusting to his new swing. He needs to play well, though, to get into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Woods currently stands 129th -- and only the top 125 make the Playoffs -- so he can't afford to miss the cut.   YOUTH AGE: 27 YEARS ON TOUR: This is Johnson's fourth full season on the PGA TOUR. He sets the gold standard for the twentysomethings with four wins, including two last season. OVERVIEW: Johnson has major game. We know because he's contended in three of the last six majors. He fired a 66 in the third round of the 2010 U.S. Open and grabbed a three-stroke lead only to see it more than evaporate with a par-triple bogey-double bogey-bogey start on Sunday. After that learning experience, Johnson went to the PGA Championship and siezed the lead with consecutive birdies at the 16th and 17th on Sunday but missed the playoff after being penalized for inadvertantly grounding his club in a fairway bunker ringed by fans. Johnson has continued his solid play in 2012. He found himself in the final group on Sunday with Darren Clarke at the British Open. He trailed by one at the start of the final round, shot 72 and ended up tying for second, three strokes off the pace. It was his best finish in 12 majors and fourth top-10. Johnson also finished second at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship earlier this year and he has a total of five top-10s this season. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Johnson has played in two previous PGA Championships and finished in the top-10 each time. He shot a final-round 70 at Hazeltine National in 2009 to earn his first top-10 at a major before tying for fifth after the penalty a year ago in Minnesota. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Johnson didn't play particularly well last week at Firestone, only breaking par once. But his length should be an asset at the Atlantic Athletic Club and although Johnson ranks 151st in driving accuracy, he has the power to prosper out of the rough. Johnson ranks 16th in greens in regulation and second in birdies once he gets there.

Here are the results of the previous matchups this year

Score/Finish Tournament   Score/Finish   Steve Stricker 20 under (T-4th) Hyundai TOC Dustin Johnson 14 under (T-9th)   Ernie Els 4 under (T-42nd) Sony Open Jason Day 8 under (T-20th) Stewart Cink 5 under (MC) Bob Hope Classic Bubba Watson 7 under (MC) Davis Love III 5 over (MC) Farmers Insurance Open Rickie Fowler 5 under (T20) Angel Cabrera 7 under (T-49th) Waste Management Phoenix Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (MC)     Padraig Harrington 2 over (T63) AT&T Pebble Beach National Dustin Johnson Even (T55) Jim Furyk 1 under (T35) Northern Trust Open Louis Oosthuizen 3 over (T62)     Vijay Singh 9 over (MC) The Honda Classic Anthony Kim 7 over (MC) Luke Donald 11 under (T6) WGC-Cadillac Championship Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (T31)   Sergio Garcia 7 under (T15) Transitions Championship Matteo Manassero 6 under (T20)   Phil Mickelson 1 under (T24) Arnold Palmer Invitational Graeme McDowell 9 over (MC)     Fred Couples Even (T60) Shell Houston Open Gary Woodland 10 under (T13) Tiger Woods 10 under (T4) The Masters Martin Kaymer 6 over (MC)   Justin Leonard 2 under (T30) Valero Texas Open Anthony Kim 7 over (MC)     Jim Furyk 5 under (T21) The Heritage Jason Day 7 under (T9) David Toms 7 under (T18) Zurich Classic of New Orleans Brandt Snedeker 2 over (MC)   Phil Mickelson 10 under (T9) Wells Fargo Championship Bubba Watson 3 under (T48)     Tiger Woods Withdrew THE PLAYERS Championship Charl Schwartzel 6 under (T26) Paul Goydos 5 under (T10) Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Jason Day 3 under (T31)     Vijay Singh 5 over (T27) HP Byron Nelson Championship Nick Watney 1 over (T8)   Jim Furyk 8 over (MC) the Memorial Tournament Bubba Watson 1 under (T42)   David Toms 5 over (MC) FedEx St. Jude Classic Camilo Villegas 8 under (3)   Ernie Els 6 over (MC) U.S. Open Graeme McDowell 2 under (T14)   Padraig Harrington 4 under (T63) Travelers Championship Aaron Baddeley 11 under (T24) K.J. Choi 11 under (2nd) AT&T National Adam Scott 9 under (T3)   Stewart Cink 3 under (MC) John Deere Classic Louis Oosthuizen 3 under (MC)   Tom Watson 6 over (T22) British Open Bubba Watson 9 over (T30)     Mike Weir (WD) RBC Canadian Open Matt McQuillan 5 over (T31)   Davis Love III 2 over (MC) The Greenbrier Classic Jeff Overton Even (T49) Steve Stricker 7 under (14) WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Nick Watney 2 under (T23)