Winning a major is never an easy task, no matter how great you are. They are tournaments that bring out the absolute best in the absolute best. So maybe the talk of Tiger Woods running away with the 2009 PGA Championship with 36 holes left to play was a little premature. Maybe it was a case of the awestruck media (me included) looking for any reason at all to crown Woods king. The odds of Woods reigning on Sunday night are still high, but maybe not quite as high as they were when the day started on Saturday.

It wasn’t a case of Tiger playing poorly on Saturday, but rather, playing unspectacularly. He finished the day at one under par for the round and eight under par for the tournament. As if to keep himself amused on Sunday, Tiger pared the course for most of the day. He bogeyed only one hole and birdied two.

Sure, there was a bit of the usual drama from Woods. He made birdie at the 14th by chipping the ball in from the very edge of the green. A signature Tiger fist pump accentuated the moment, as if to say “come catch me”. His rounds ended with four straight pars.

Like any long and tedious hunt, the group pursuing Tiger has thinned out. But they were rewarded for their perseverance by an admittedly conservative leader. Surprise Y.E Yang and familiar foe Padraig Harrington both sit two shots back of the lead going into the final major’s final day.

Yang, who will play with Woods on Sunday, had the biggest move of the day. Not even thought of as a serious contender after 36 holes, he shot an impressive 5 under, 67 to bypass the falling contenders. After a bogey on 13, Yang birdied three of his final five holes. Six total birdies and only the one bogey made him one of the most unlikely contenders of the year.

But the unlikely nature of his contention comes from where he put himself after two days of golf, not because of a lack of success. Yang has had a surprisingly consistent year. The winner of this year’s Honda Classic, has three top ten finishes on his resume and has only missed four cuts in 19 starts.

Yang will be charged with trying to catch Tiger while playing right beside him and match an incredible Saturday round. It’s worth noting that Yang missed the cut in the two most important tournaments of his season, The Masters and The Players. This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. I wouldn’t expect Yang to cause any sort of threat to Woods.

Tiger’s main competitor on Sunday will be Padraig Harrington.

What a surprise.

Harrington rebounded from a even par 72 on Friday with an impressive -3,69 on Saturday. Until a bogey on 18, Padraig was playing with a bogey-free round. Four birdies allowed him to creep into the second place tie with Yang.

After Tiger bested him last weekend, Harrington told Tiger that the two would meet again. While they may not be playing together tomorrow, it will still be a battle. Once Y.E Yang gets out of the way, it’ll be all Tiger V. Paddy. They tee off nine minutes apart, providing for what should be great major championship theater.

Of the group of Tiger hunters on Satuday, Vijay Singh had the biggest fall. Singh shot an unwatchable +3, 75 to drop all the way into an 18th place tie. Any trouble for Vijay looked to be avoidable after a fantastic chip in for eagle on seven erased a bogey on six.

But the back nine was unrelenting for Singh. He bogeyed three holes, double bogeyed another, and birdied only one of the disastrous back stretch. His problems were almost exclusively confined to the green. His putter completely gave out on him. By the end of the round, it looked to be mental more than anything else. Now, Singh’s first top three finish of the year and fourth top ten looks to be in major jeopardy.

Lucas Glover and Henrick Stenson are theoretically still in striking the distance. Glover and Stenson sit four shots off Woods’ lead entering Sunday. Stenson started the day off with a bogey and never looked back. He birdied his next two and ended the round with five total birds. The PLAYERS championship winner will have to have an even better round on Sunday if he wants to think about competing.

Like Singh, Glover’s putter was his biggest foe on Saturday. But he put himself in good position off the tee that his putting didn’t need to be great. Despite the occasional putting trouble, Glover birdied three holes and boggyed only two. While he missed a few opportunities, the U.S Open champ didn’t let it kill him like Vijay did. While he’ll probably need a miracle to contend on Sunday, a more confident putting stroke could inch him up towards the top.

But don’t kid yourself; Sunday will be about Padraig V Tiger. Woods V Harrington. Forget about Mickelson V Woods, this has quickly become the most exciting rivalry in golf. Last week, Harrington made too many pars and let Tiger pass him on the board. Then, he climbed back in it before collapsing late.

Now it’s Harrington’s turn to creep up on Tiger. If Woods doesn’t make a significant move early in the round, Harrington will catch up. I think Woods wins, but it comes down to the final three holes.

Sure, the fact that Woods has never lost a lead going into the final round has to be a daunting one for Harrington. But he can’t think like that. Knowing him, he won’t. After all, there’s always a first time.

And we thought the PGA was over…..