The 2013 PGA Tour season is about to begin in earnest and Golf Channel will of course be there to bring you all of the action. The 2012 season, of course, featured one of the most thrilling final quarters in recent memory and golf fans will be hoping for more of the same in the new year.

After a nearly year-long slump, Rory McIlroy surged in the second half, winning the PGA Championship to reclaim his world No. 1 status and win his second world title by a comfortable eight shots. By year's end, McIlroy had been named the PGA and European Player of the Year and signed a massive endorsement deal with Nike.

Much like his longtime rival Tiger Woods, McIlroy will have a slew of golfers gunning for him at just 23 years of age. Woods himself is now 37 and is attempting to continue his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' all-time records of PGA Tour and major event wins, although he has yet to win a major since June 2008. Although Woods had some forgettable
performances in majors last season, he did win three Tour events and is currently No. 3 in the world.

Also in the hunt is Phil Mickelson, who shone at Pebble Beach and in the Ryder Cup with partner Keegan Bradley, but fell to depths that even Tiger would have flinched at for several months and also came away without a major win in 2012. Mickelson, however, has been working with short-game coach Dave Pelz, who feels that the left-hander is
poised for big things in 2013.

The season kicks off with a West Coast Swing and should feature Woods making a return to Torrey Pines. Beginning at the end of February, there will be two World Golf Championships events over the span of three weeks. Accenture Match Play will take place on Feb. 20-24, followed by the Cadillac Championship at Doral on March 7-10. These two events should set the stage quite admirably for the remainder of the year.

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