By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent

The last major of the year. The last chance - not only for Tiger Woods to avoid his first blank season since 1998, but also for Europe's golfers to prevent a fourth successive season without winning any of the sport's four biggest crowns.

At least Oak Hill in Rochester, scene of the United States PGA championship starting on Thursday, brings back happy memories for three of the 27-strong contingent from this side of the Atlantic.

Ian Woosnam, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer were all members of the Ryder Cup team which won at the course in 1995 - and Woosnam was also joint runner-up to Curtis Strange in the 1989 US Open there.

The three are now all in their 40s but who is to say they won't enjoy a magical return?

Who, in fact, is to rule anything out for anybody any more after the stunning victory of world number 396 Ben Curtis in the Open at Sandwich last month?

Curtis will play only the second major of his career in the company of Masters champion Mike Weir and US Open champion Jim Furyk the first two days, still hardly able to believe what happened those four days in Kent.

Not since Foinavon won the 1967 Grand National has a rank outsider capitalised so sensationally on so many others crashing all around him.

Thomas Bjorn was the most memorable faller, of course, having led from three ahead with four to play.

But Woods led as well after recovering from losing a ball with his very first shot and then allowed the title to get away from him again.

Joint fourth was still better than he managed in his defences of the Masters and US Open - 15th and 20th respectively - but the world number one will not settle for anything less than victory to make this a season to remember by his own high standards.

The last four majors now, starting with Rich Beem's thrilling one-stroke win over Woods last August, have been taken by players who had never previously lifted one.

Twelve of the last 15 PGA champions were tasting major success for the first time too - and there are plenty of candidates to continue that trend, led as ever it seems by Phil Mickelson and European quartet Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke.

Bjorn is among them as well, of course, his heart-breaking near-miss at Royal St George's leaving the Dane with nowhere to go but first if he is to bury the memory.

Montgomerie, Clarke and Garcia have all had second place finishes in majors as well and have yet to go one better.