PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The curls no longer spilled from under his cap, a big change for Rory McIlroy. Prompted to reveal the rest of his free haircut, he removed his hat and wild brown locks sprang to life. "Still a little bit on the top," he said Wednesday with an easy smile. Only then did McIlroy resemble the Boy Wonder who dominated golf last summer, starting with his win at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by a record margin. He didnt walk down the fairways that week, he bounced. He was No. 1 in the world, and looked every bit the part. McIlroy would love to rediscover that kid at Oak Hill this week. In its place is a 24-year-old from Northern Ireland who has reason to feel much older. He hasnt won a tournament, and only once did he even come close. He has finished over par in all three majors, with only two rounds at the British Open. He has failed to make the cut five times this year, which includes walking off the course in the Honda Classic with sore wisdom teeth that still havent been removed. Among betting favourites, he was second only to Tiger Woods at the Masters at 5-to-1. For the PGA Championship, the odds are 30-to-1, higher than two players (Henrik Stenson and Brandt Snedeker) who have never won a major. And he cant wait to get to the first tee Thursday afternoon. Inspiration comes from videos he has been watching of his eight-shot win at Kiawah Island, along with his back-to-back FedEx Cup playoff wins against some of the strongest fields of the year. Some of what he noticed was technical, such as the position of his club in the swing. What really stood out was the body language. "Its how you carry yourself. Its all that sort of stuff, your little mannerisms," McIlroy said. "I guess its just trying to remember those feelings and remember how I felt that week and trying to carry some of that into this week and just get those good, positive thoughts going. "I think everyone sees when I walk and Im playing well, I have that little bounce in my step." What would go a lot longer at Oak Hill is keeping the ball in play on a traditional, tree-lined course -- so many trees that even being in the fairway doesnt mean a clear shot at the green if the ball is slightly out of position. The greens are small and slope toward the front. Oak Hill is a hard golf course, and the evidence comes from the previous five majors held on this Donald Ross design -- only 10 players in those five majors have finished under par. "This may be the toughest golf course, but the fairest golf course that we play," said Tom Watson, playing this major for the 32nd time. "Somebody is going to win this thing, and that person is going to play awfully well, awfully good golf this week. Wish I could say thats me." Watson was joking. Not so funny is that the way McIlroys year has gone, there isnt much reason to believe it could be him, either. Most of the attention is on Woods, even though he has gone five years and 17 majors without winning one. Woods won the Bridgestone Invitational last week by seven shots, sparked by a 61 in the second round that tied his personal best. That gave Woods five wins this year, which is five more than McIlroy. Phil Mickelson opened with a 65 in 2003 the last time the PGA Championship was played at Oak Hill until fading badly in one of his worst seasons as a pro. He is coming off an astounding win at the British Open, where his 66 in the final round is regarded as one of the best closing rounds in a major. If he could pick off another PGA Championship, Mickelson would be a shoo-in as PGA Tour player of the year, an award he has never won. McIlroy, meanwhile, has been largely forgotten through ordinary play and endless questions about a season gone wrong from his opening tournament when he missed the cut in Abu Dhabi. Some of his troubles have been attributed to a wholesale equipment change, others to his decision to change management companies. McIlroy said his switch to Nike is no longer an excuse, not with 15 tournaments under his belt. He says it has taken longer than usual to work his way out of bad habits. "I guess every time you play and you dont play well, it sort of chips away at your confidence a little bit," he said. McIlroy has gone through this before. Only a year ago, he had gone five months without a win and missed the cut in four out of five tournaments. With a spark at Firestone, he showed up at Kiawah Island and overwhelmed the strongest field in golf in ways only Woods used to do. "I love proving people wrong," McIlroy said. Ian Poulters advice was everyone to "give him a break." Poulter tied for third -- by nine shots -- last year at Kiawah Island and has watched the fall of a kid who looked one year ago that he would be on top of golf for a long time. Now its back to Woods and Mickelson at Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, with the kid trying to claw his way back. "I think sometimes we forget how young he is and what hes been able to achieve at a very early age," Poulter said. "So the second he feels comfortable again, whether thats with his swing or equipment or whatever it is, then Rory will be winning golf tournaments. That natural swing of his doesnt just disappear overnight." Despite all the scrutiny -- on everything from his new equipment to new management, to girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki and moving from Northern Ireland to south Florida -- McIlroy hasnt dodged the questions for which he has no tangible answers. "Id definitely rather be up here talking about more positive things, but I guess thats the way it is," McIlroy said. "Should you lay off me? Thats not for me to decide. Im here and Im answering your questions and thats all I can do. As I said, it would be nicer just to sit up here, talk about some more positive things. But the way the years gone, its understandable why Im not." Once again, TSN.ca will feature live streaming of the PGA Championship, beginning with Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and Keegan Bradley on Thursday at 8:30am et/5:30am pt. TSNs live coverage of the PGA Championship begins with first-round action on Thursday at 1pm et/10am pt. Rory McIlroy, Vijay Singh and Martin Kaymer tee off at 1:25pm et/10:45am pt . "Weve reached a framework for a new transfer agreement," Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told TSN during Canadas 3-0 win over Sweden at the World Championship. [url=http://www.officialmexicosoccershop.com/World-Cup-Hector-Herrera-Soccer-Jer... Herrera World Cup Jersey . Nishikori beat Roger Federer in the Sony Open quarterfinals last week, but he had to withdraw from the semifinal against Novak Djokovic because of pain in his left groin. . When a few shots broke through that defensive front, Jonathan Quick was there. The Kings won the Stanley Cup two years ago with that basic formula, and they can see it clicking again as they close in on another playoff run. [url=http://www.officialmexicosoccershop.com/World-Cup-Jose-Corona-Soccer-Jersey... Corona Jersey . After struggling with her serve in the first set, Radwanska won 10 out of 10 points on her first serve in the second set to close out that match in 1 hour, 5 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Borussia Dortmund took a big step toward the Champions League quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory at Zenit St. Petersburg on Tuesday. Losing finalists last year, Dortmund made a blistering start with Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring in the fourth minute and Marco Reus doubling the visitors lead a minute later. Zenit, which hadnt played a competitive game since Dec. 11 due to the Russian winter break, looked rusty, but pulled one back through Oleg Shatov in the 57th. Lewandowski replied four minutes later, after playing a one-two with Poland teammate Lukasz Piszczek. Then Piszczek conceded a penalty and Hulk scored emphatically from the spot in the 69th. Lewandowski responded by scoring his sides fourth away goal two minutes later to leave Dortmund firmly in control before the second-leg of the round-of-16 tie on March 19. "We were close to optimal this evening," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "It was a great game, no question." After more than two months without competitive football, the home side buckled early on under the visitors pressure and struggled to keep up with their quick passing game. The tactics quickly paid off for Dortmund when Reus ran at the Zenit defence, staying on his feet when he might have been awarded a penalty, before Mkhitaryan swept the loose ball past Yuri Lodygin. The visiting fans were still celebrating when Kevin Grosskreutz knocked Mkhitaryans cross back for Reus to volley inside the right post. "We stayed compact. We wanted to pressure them to win back the ball. That was very important," Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl said. "We brought the game in the right direction and made Zenit uncertain." Zenits attacking midfielder Andrey Arshavin went off with what looked a hamstring injury in the 15th minute, and last-gasp defending from its captain Nicolas Lombaerts prevented Lewandowski from getting Dortmunds third shortly afterward. Zenit was let down by sloppy plaay and nervous defending, with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, who came on for the injured Arshavin, giving the ball away cheaply to highlight his sides travails.dddddddddddd Hulk was fired up but his shot failed to trouble Roman Weidenfeller and his only reward for taking on three Dortmund defenders was a corner, which came to nothing. Lodygin pulled off a good save to deny Lewandowski three minutes after the interval, before Zenit responded with a period of pressure. It finally paid off when Shatov scored in fortuitous fashion. Marcel Schmelzer cleared Hulks effort off the line and Jose Rondon struck the post from the rebound, before the loose ball fell kindly for Shatov to blast home. Dortmund soon replied, with Lewandowski playing a one-two with Poland teammate Lukasz Piszczek and firing beyond Lodygin, who got a touch to the ball. The home side was given a lifeline when Piszczek was adjudged to have fouled Viktor Fayzulin. Hulk duly obliged with his penalty. But Lewandowski provided another immediate response after Tymoshchuk lost possession. Reus sent the ball into the Poland strikers path and he fired inside the far corner for his sixth of the campaign. "I dont have the feeling that it was easy," Klopp said in response to a question from a Russian journalist. "I think we had to work very hard." The game was played with the section normally occupied by Zenits ultra fans closed due to racist behaviour, fireworks and crowd disturbances during a group stage loss at Austria Vienna on Dec. 11. There was also tight security in place around the Petrovsky Stadium to prevent any further trouble. Zenits Italian coach Luciano Spalletti said the tie was not yet decided and that his side still has a chance of going through. "In football theres always a chance of coming back," Spalletti said. "Everything depends on what kind of performance you deliver. It all depends on what you put into it, how much youre prepared to run. It depends on your effort." 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