US PGA Championship: If he had his way, Tiger Woods wouldn't play the week before a major. He'd rather stay at home in Isleworth, his idyllic Florida abode, to prepare.

But you can't always do as you want - even if you are the world's number one, and golf's iconic figure. And, if you have to play, is there a better place than Akron?

In notching up his sixth win in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron on Sunday, Woods turned up the heat on those eyeing this US PGA Championship, which starts at Southern Hills on Thursday.

The 58th win of his career on the US Tour in Akron was indeed timely, offering a reminder of Woods's potency in case anyone thought that fatherhood had made him lose his edge. As if!

Yesterday, Woods became the 17th player to register for the PGA. More pertinently, he was the first to do so yesterday morning, confirming that his latest win less than 24 hours earlier had been parked, and he was ready to move on in his quest for a 13th major.

That has eluded him in this year of first-time winners, which has seen Zach Johnson (US Masters), Angel Cabrera (US Open) and Padraig Harrington (British Open) join the elite set.

So far this year, Woods's appearances in the majors have seen him finish 2nd-2nd-12th. Each time, he has had the previous week free.

In fact, during his career, Woods has played only five times in the week before a major, the last time being back in 2002. And he has only once won a major when he has warmed-up with tournament play, the 2000 US PGA when he beat Bob May in a play-off.

In the British Open at Carnoustie, Woods struggled with some facets of his game, including hooking an iron into the burn off the first tee in his final round. "I didn't really hit it all that well with my irons (at Carnoustie). I hit it a little bit better (at Akron), which was nice. I've gotten everything kind of more organised. I feel like I am in better shape heading into this one than I (was) going into the last major," said Woods.

He secured his fourth win of the season in the Bridgestone, adding the title to those he won in the Buick Invitational, the CA Championship and the Wachovia.

Although his custom has been to leave the week before a major free by choice, the rescheduling of the Bridgestone to the week ahead of the season's last major has generally gone down well with players.

"When it was played the week after, you kind of felt like you had put everything into the PGA. It kind of was a bit of a downer," said Harrington, one of three Irish players - along with Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke - competing in the PGA.

Woods took a similar outlook. "You knew starting out that it was going to be a two-week stretch and that you're probably going to be playing golf every day.

"That's one of the reasons I train as hard as I do, so you can go all out every day . . . the whole idea was to win (in Akron) but keep playing well going into the PGA. I feel I've made some nice strides and I feel very good going into the PGA, getting a few days to prepare and getting adjusted . . . and (then) off we go."

Certainly, Woods - the only player to finish under par in Akron and who ended up eight shots clear of runners-up Justin Rose and Rory Sabbatini - felt the set-up in Akron was more like you'd expect to find in a major.

Of the set-up at Akron, he remarked: "We've never seen it this fast, the greens this hard and this fast. The rough was up high enough where, you hit the ball in the rough - one, you couldn't get to the green, but if you did get a good enough lie to get to the green, there's no chance of stopping it. You just had to grind it out.

"You just had that feeling that it was set up more like a major championship, where just having a lot of pars - pars were probably basically going to win the tournament. I just got in my own little world, like I tend to do every now and then."

Harrington, who remains in sixth position in the world rankings, was also one of those players to check in at Southern Hills yesterday, following on from his first tournament outing at Akron since his win in the British Open.

The Dubliner "wasn't quite happy" with how he was swinging the club last week.

"I obviously have a few things to work on. I have some focus issues, but I know what I need to do," said Harrington, whose best finish in the PGA was tied-17th in 2002. Of all the majors, this is the one he has struggled with most, making the cut on four out of eight attempts.

His compatriots in the field haven't fared much better: Clarke has missed the cut on six occasions in eight appearances (his best finish being tied-ninth in 2000), while McGinley, who will be playing in his seventh PGA, has a best finish of tied-sixth (at Whistling Straits in 2004).