USA Ryder Cup watch

The Americans in contention for Valhalla Stewart Cink

Ryder Cup Standing: 2

Best PGA Championship finish: T3 (1999)

Last five PGA Championships: T32, T24, T28, T17, MC

One of the best current golfers to have not won a Major, Cink comes to Oakland Hills on the back of a solid season. A win at the Travellers Championship and six other top-10s, including a tie for 3rd at the Masters, would suggest that he s ready to break his Major duck. If he gets his putter going, he can hole pretty much everything he looks at.

*Championship odds: 33/1

Phil Mickelson

Ryder Cup Standing: 3

Best PGA Championship finish: 1 (2005)

Last five PGA Championships: T32, T16, 1, T6, T23

The world number two will be looking to take full advantage of another Major without Tiger Woods. Two wins this year could suggest Lefty is on track to repeat his 2005 success, but he is without a Major since his dramatic implosion on the 72nd hole of the 2006 US Open. Mickelson has been showing signs of developing a more consistent long game since he began working with Butch Harmon last April but his late collapse at the WGC at Bridgestone will have done him no good.

Championship odds: 10/1

Kenny Perry

Ryder Cup Standing: 4

Best PGA Championship finish: 2 (1996)

Last five PGA Championships: T23, T49, T23, MC, T10

The Kentucky native has enjoyed possibly his best season on route to qualifying for the Ryder Cup in his home city. But he has not played in any Majors this year, after famously deciding not to travel to the Open or the US Open in favour of smaller tournaments in which he felkt he had a better chance and could cement his Ryder Cup place. Perry has the ability to make a lot of birdies, but doubts remain over his ability to perform on the big stage with just five top-10s in Majors throughout his career.

Championship odds: 25/1

Jim Furyk

Ryder Cup Standing: 5

Best PGA Championship finish: T6 (1997)

Last five PGA Championships: MC, T29, T34, MC, T18

No wins this year, but a second at the WGC CA Championship and tied 5th at the Open shows that Furyk is a man for the bigger stage. Finished in a tie for 6th in the 1996 US Open at Oakland Hills, and it s surely only a matter of time before he adds to his single Major win. But no top-fives at the PGA suggests this might not be the time.

Championship odds: 16/1

Anthony Kim

Ryder Cup Standing: 6

Best PGA Championship finish: T50 (2007)

Last five PGA Championships: T50, DNP, DNP, DNP, DNP

Kim has burst on to the scene this year, with two wins virtually guaranteeing his Ryder Cup spot. A tie for 7th at the Open shows that he can perform when conditions get difficult, and he will be brimming with confidence here. The 23-year-old has already been touted as a future Major winner, and he will have a good chance of adding to that long list of first-time Major winners at the PGA.

Championship odds: 25/1

Justin Leonard

Ryder Cup Standing: 7

Best PGA Championship finish: 2 (1997, 2004)

Last five PGA Championships: MC, MC, MC, T2, MC

Leonard has a strange record at the PGA, with five top-10s and six missed cuts. Winner of the Open in 1997, he is enjoying a resurgence of form and has a win to his name this season after a play-off victory at the Stanford St Jude Championship. He will be looking to cement a place in his first Ryder Cup team since his heroics at Brookline in 1999.

Championship odds: 50/1

Boo Weekley

Ryder Cup Standing: 8

Best PGA Championship finish: T9 (2007)

Last five PGA Championships: T9, DNP, DNP, DNP, DNP

Won the Verizon Heritage Championship for the second year running this April, and is a dangerous player who possesses superb ball striking. A tie for 9th in last year s PGA is his only top-10 in a Major to date, but if his putter gets working he is capable of winning big tournaments. However, there are doubts as to whether he has the mental fortitude or perhaps even desire, to win a Major.

Championship odds: 100/1

Steve Stricker

Ryder Cup Standing: 9

Best PGA Championship finish: 2 (1998)

Last five PGA Championships: T23, T7, DNP, DNP, DNP

After a few years in the doldrums, Stricker has enjoyed two great seasons and has returned to the top-10 in the world. His play-off defeat in the season opening Mercedes Benz Championship is his only top-5 this year, but a tie for 7th at the Open will have him coming to he PGA with some confidence. He has a solid all-round game that could be well suited to Oakland Hills and he is a great putter

Championship odds: 50/1

Woody Austin

Ryder Cup Standing: 10

Best PGA Championship finish: 2 (2007)

Last five PGA Championships: 2, T16, T66, T62, T27

Austin is an eccentric player enjoying somewhat of an Indian Summer at the age of 44. He only has three PGA Tour victories to his name, but he will be desperate to make his first Ryder Cup team after his successful debut in the President s Cup last year. A magnificent 67 on the final day of last year s PGA saw him finish second behind Tiger Woods.

Championship odds: 150/1

Rocco Mediate

Ryder Cup Standing: 11

Best PGA Championship finish: 6 (2002)

Last five PGA Championships: WD, DNP, DNP, DNP, T18

The back problems that saw him have to withdraw from last year s PGA Championship are seemingly at an end and Mediate is enjoying one of his best seasons on Tour. Lost in a playoff to the one-legged Tiger Woods at the US Open and followed that with his first top-20 at the Open since 1996. Mediate is a firm crowd favourite who will have plenty of support in Kentucky and is desperate to play in his first Ryder Cup.

Championship odds: 80/1

Hunter Mahan

Ryder Cup Standing: 12

Best PGA Championship finish: T18 (2007)

Last five PGA Championships: T18, MC, DNP, DNP, DNP

One of a large crop of talented young American golfers, Mahan may well be the first to make a breakthrough in a Major Championship. He is showing signs of playing himself into form with a second place finish in the Travellers Championship at the end of June. He hits a lot of greens, and if he starts to convert some of his birdie chances he could be dangerous. He has made himself infamous in Ryder Cup circles after a recent outburst in which he allegedly called the players slaves during the Ryder Cup week.

Championship odds: 66/1

Zach Johnson

Ryder Cup Standing: 14

Best PGA Championship finish: T17 (2005)

Last five PGA Championships: MC, MC, T17, T37, DNP

Johnson will be keen to prove that last year s Masters win was no fluke, but so far he has no other top-10s in any other Major Championship. No wins and only one top-10 this year doesn t suggest that he s brimming with confidence coming in to the PGA, but he has proven himself capable of closing out a Major. He will be looking to improve on a disappointing PGA Championship record.

Championship odds: 125/1

Brandt Snedeker

Ryder Cup Standing: 16

Best PGA Championship finish: T18 (2007)

Last five PGA Championships: T18, DNP, DNP, DNP, DNP

Came into the public eye with his exciting play in finishing 3rd at the Masters in April, and followed that up with a tie for 9th at the US Open. He has no wins to his name this year, but has shown signs that he enjoys the big occasion and could feature at Oakland Hills. He will be hoping to cap off a magnificent second season on Tour with a Major victory.

Championship odds: 125/1

JB Holmes

Ryder Cup Standing: 18

Best PGA Championship finish: T37 (2006)

Last five PGA Championships: DNP, T37, DNP, DNP, DNP

With Oakland Hills lengthened by 400 yards since the 2004 Ryder Cup, Holmes massive hitting from the tee will be an undoubted advantage. Proved his mettle by defeating Mickelson in a playoff to win the FBR Open this year, but is without a single top-20 finish in a Major. If he can reign in his brute strength and find the fairways, he could do well.

Championship odds: 125/1

David Toms

Ryder Cup Standing: 50

Best PGA Championship finish: 1 (2001)

Last five PGA Championships: T42, T16, T10, T17, T29

Toms is without a PGA Tour win since 2006 and has no top-10s this year. But the 2001 PGA Championship winner will be desperate to make the Ryder Cup team for a fourth consecutive time but he will only force his way into the side with a win at Oakland Hills. He is not a long hitter, but he does have bags of experience and knows how to win.

Championship odds: 100/1

*Odds may vary, correct as of going to press, from Sky Bet.