PGA back at Southern Hills as Mickelson debates a return

The anticipation has been building the last few weeks for the PGA Championship, just like it was for the Masters. And just like the last major, it's more about who plays than who has a chance to win.

There are differences, of course.

Social media tracked the private jet of Tiger Woods heading up to Augusta National a week before the Masters, raising hopes he could play just 14 months after a car crash in Los Angeles mangled his right leg and ankle. Sure enough, Woods walked and played well enough to make it to the weekend.

Phil Mickelson hasn't been heard from in nearly three months.

The defending champion of historic proportions, Mickelson signed up for the PGA Championship on April 25, a matter of procedure. His manager said in a brief statement it was about Lefty keeping his options open.

Will he show up at Southern Hills next week to defend the title he won last year at age 50?

“If he's there, great. You're defending. I think of that historic win,” said six-time major champion and CBS analyst Nick Faldo. “I personally think it's an unbelievable mental challenge to come back and play after what he’s put himself through. I don’t think it’s as easy as just getting back on the bike and arriving at a golf tournament and playing.

"The attention is going to be monumental."

Woods hasn't declared for certain that he will play another major, though he was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week to play — and walk — a practice round, and it would be a surprise if he didn't play. Woods won the PGA Championship at Southern Hills the last time it was there in 2007.

For Mickelson, it's not just about the golf.

His public image took a beating like never before in February when Alan Shipnuck, whose unauthorized biography of Mickelson is to