To the surprise of very few, Tiger Woods is favored to win this year’s PGA Championship, which starts today and runs through the weekend. The PGA Championship is the fourth and final major of the year.

Woods is currently a 3/2 favorite to win and although he’s coming off a victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger has yet to win a major in 2009. In fact, the best he’s done so far was a sixth place finish at the Masters and a sixth place finish at the U.S. Open. (He missed the cut entirely at the British Open.)

Tiger missed last year’s PGA Championship, but did win the event in 2006 and 2007. He also has some momentum heading into Hazeltine National, winning the two last consecutive tournaments (Bridgestone and the Buick Open) that he has played in, which give him a total of five wins on the year.

Tiger’s main competition this weekend, at least based on the odds, appears to be Padraig Harrington (20/1), Phil Mickelson (22/1), Lee Westwood (28/1) and Hunter Mahan (30/1).

Here’s a TV schedule for this year’s PGA Championship:

Thursday, August 13: 2PM – 8PM on TNT
Friday, August 14: 2PM – 8PM on TNT
Saturday, August 15: 11AM – 2PM on TNT
Sunday, August 16: 11AM – 2PM ET on TNT
Sunday, August 16: 2PM – 7PM on CBS

To check the 2009 PGA Championship leaderboard, click here.

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PGA hall-of-famer Lee Trevino believes he holds the secret to Tiger Woods regaining his dominance on the golf course. The Merry Mex has sent word through a mutual friend, Mark O’Meara, for Woods to contact him.

Here is Trevino’s solution to Tiger’s problems:

“Tiger needs to learn how to hit a power fade,” said Lee Trevino, a five-time major champion. “If he learns how to drive the ball, he won’t lose a tournament. He’s got nothing to lose, just call me. Heck, I’d go see him; he wouldn’t have to do nothing. Hank Haney knows what he’s doing.”

Trevino went on to add, “Haney helped Tiger a lot, but I’d like to sit down and have a session with Haney ’cause it looks like Tiger doesn’t want me to help him. I’d teach him a power fade, a go-to shot. Everyone has to have a go-to shot. He used to win majors with his stinger go-to shot. Last week he didn’t even look comfortable with a 3-wood on the tee; he was scared, trying to guide the ball.”

According to his doctors, Tiger is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery. Having played very little competitive golf in the last eight months, Woods is having difficulty in regaining confidence in his swing. By playing at the Player’s Championship this weekend, it will mark the first time he has played in consecutive events since returning to the PGA tour.

Film and TV have become the new radio for debuting music, and now the major labels are using big events as a vehicle to showcase some of their top talent. Tomorrow night to kick off CBS’ broadcast of the NCAA men’s basketball championship, Warner Bros. will debut the new single, “Know Your Enemy,” from powerhouse rock band Green Day’s forthcoming album, 21st Century Breakdown.

90 seconds of the lead single, in its television world premiere, will serve as the backing music to the show’s intro featuring video of contestants Michigan State and North Carolina, who will then square off in the title game in Detroit. 21st Century Breakdown is due out May 15, and Green Day is planning a world tour immediately following in support of it.

For CBS, this is their 28th straight season broadcasting the Final Four. After that, the network will turn its attention to golf next weekend, when The Masters kicks off Thursday in Augusta, Georgia.

There is less than three weeks left in the NBA season, and teams are fighting to secure home-court advantage for the gauntlet playoff run. And both conferences have highly contested races for the #2 seed. The Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic are in a virtual tie in the Eastern Conference, while three teams (San Antonio, Houston and Denver) are battling it out in the Western Conference. At stake is the opportunity to play a seventh game in front your raucous fans, and this prize is well worth the grind of the regular season.

All times ET…

NBA
Friday, 7:30 PM: Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks (NBA TV)
Saturday, 10 PM: Memphis Grizzlies @ Portland Trail Blazers (NBA TV)
Sunday, 1 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Cleveland Cavaliers (ABC)
Sunday, 8 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)

NHL
Saturday, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday, 7 PM: Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs (CBC)
Saturday, 10 PM: Minnesota Wild @ Calgary Flames (CBC)

NCAA Tournament
Friday, 7:07 PM: (12) Arizona vs. (1) Louisville (CBS)
Friday, 7:27 PM: (3) Syracuse vs. (2) Oklahoma (CBS)
Friday, 9:37 PM: (3) Kansas vs. (2) Michigan State (CBS)
Friday, 9:57 PM: (4) Gonzaga vs. (1) North Carolina (CBS)
Saturday, 4:40 PM: (3) Missouri vs. (1) Connecticut (CBS)
Saturday, 7:05 PM: (3) Villanova vs. (1) Pittsburgh (CBS)
Sunday, TBA: Midwest and West Finals (CBS)

PGA
March 27-29, see your local listings for times: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, FL. (NBC/TGC)

Welcome Back, Eldrick!

That should be on the marquee outside the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Tucson this weekend, as Tiger Woods makes his return to the PGA tour at the Accenture Match Play Championship. He has completed his rehabilitation from knee surgery and the next step for him is competing inside the ropes of a tournament. It has only been 253 days since Tiger’s tournament victory at the U.S. Open last June, but who’s counting?

The PGA executives were, that’s who. Their sport is back on the front page of websites and newspapers all throughout the world as everyone anticipates Woods’ return. The turnstiles will be ringing in Tucson this weekend, as golf’s main attraction will be on display once again. And the tour’s corporate sponsors will be smiling; television ratings should go through the roof. The tour has struggled to keep its sponsors, but Tiger’s return should give it a much-needed shot in the arm.