Rumblings about Ryder Cup compensation can finally fade from view when the PGA Championship, the final major of the 20th century, begins Thursday at Medinah Country Club.

NO BEEPER THIS TIME

The beeper has been replaced by a baby. If Phil Mickelson gets into contention in the PGA Championship this week, he won't have to worry about his beeper going off to alert him to the impending birth of his daughter. That's been replaced by a bigger concern -- like whether little Amanda Brynn Mickelson will begin crying at just the wrong time as her mother totes her along the tree-lined fairways of Medinah Country Club. "That may be a problem," Mickelson said Wednesday. "It's experimental for us. This is the first time we've gone through this and it will be an experiment." Amanda, who was born the day after Mickelson lost the U.S. Open by one shot to Payne Stewart, is at her first tournament, though she'll likely sleep much of the time as her father tries to win his first major. Mickelson's wife, Amy, plans to carry their daughter in a baby backpack as she follows Mickelson around. Mickelson has played only once, missing the cut in the British Open, since Amanda was born June 22. Since her birth, he's discovered what life as a new father is like. "The past few months I've been getting up in the middle of the night. Primarily, my wife has, though," Mickelson said. "And it's been tough on her as it's been tough on me." While his family life flourished, the golf game that peaked at the Open has suffered. Mickelson pretty much put the sticks away to concentrate on his newly expanded family. "I've spent a lot of time with my family, and it's been a very enjoyable couple of months," he said. "This last week I've tried to play and practice quite a bit, and I feel like I've been playing well but I won't really know how I'm playing until I get in competition." Mickelson readily admits he may have made a mistake by not playing more often since his daughter was born. He's not about to apologize for it, though, or the fact he was ready to walk off the course at the U.S. Open had his wife gone into labor. "What really surprises me is that there are some people that would have considered staying and that disappoints me," Mickelson said. "As a father, I think there's nothing more important in life to do than to raise that child and I'm disappointed that some guys would even consider leaving or not leaving and staying."

But David Duval would pay to be holding the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday afternoon. So would Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie or any other player who has yet to win his first major championship.

"Players are going to be willing to play in these tournaments because of what history the event brings, what the trophy brings to the player -- and I'm not talking financial," Mickelson said Wednesday. "There's no price tag you can put on that."

No need to tell that to Duval, who has done everything but win a major this year.

He won four times in his first eight tournaments. He already has earned more than $3 million. He has twice risen to No. 1 in the World Rankings. And he has been making headlines -- too bad they have come from his complaints of Ryder Cup revenue and not his play in the majors.

"I don't think you could rate my performance much above mediocre," Duval said. "All in all, it's probably been not quite what I would have hoped for. But I have another good opportunity here."

He certainly is at the right major for that.

Ten of the last 11 champions won their first major in the PGA Championship, starting with Jeff Sluman in 1988 through Vijay Singh last year at Sahalee. The lone exception was Nick Price, who won his third major and second PGA at Southern Hills in 1994.

No one is quite sure what to expect of Medinah.

At 7,401 yards, it is the longest course at sea level in the history of major championships, and yet only one of the par-4s measures longer than 452 yards. And while Medinah has been the site of three U.S. Opens, it has never held a major this late in the summer, and it shows. Record heat has burned brown patches into some of the greens, affecting not only the look but the speed.

A greater mystery may be Tiger Woods, whose game has improved dramatically since his record-breaking Masters victory in 1997, but who hasn't won a major since then.

That could change this week. Since returning from this year's post-Masters break, Woods has won three of six tournaments, and has finished no worse than seventh in the other three.

"Eventually, either someone else is going to make a mistake and I'm going to sneak into a victory, or I'm going to outplay somebody," Woods said. "You can't win every time you're in the hunt. The key is to keep giving yourself chances."

That holds true for those who haven't yet won a major. Singh was one of those players last year until he held off Steve Stricker in the final round at Sahalee. Singh will try to become the first player since Denny Shute in 1937 to successfully defend his PGA title, and the first player since the PGA switched to stroke play in 1958.

"There are only four majors out there, and they're the hardest golf tournaments to win," Singh said. "And you may not be able to play to the best of your ability that particular week. You may play the best golf that week, but somebody else may beat you."

Montgomerie has tasted that. Among his close calls in the majors is the 1995 PGA at Riviera, where he birdied the last three holes to get into a playoff, only to lose on the first extra hole when Steve Elkington made a 20-foot birdie putt.

Montgomerie can't complain about his form. For the third straight major, he arrives full of confidence from a win in Europe. Now if he can only keep it going through four rounds of a major. The last European-born player to win the PGA was Tommy Armour in 1930.

"If I win a major, it happens," Montgomerie said. "If I don't, I won't lose any sleep over it."

That's not the attitude from Mickelson, playing in only his second tournament since the U.S. Open because of the birth of his daughter.

As a 20-year-old, Mickelson tied for 29th in the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah. He won on the PGA Tour as an amateur the next year, and has won 12 times since turning pro in 1992. But this is his 30th major, and he's still looking to be part of history.

"I'm just disappointed in myself for being out here seven, eight years and not having won one," Mickelson said. "I certainly had higher expectations than that."

So did Duval, who also played the '90 U.S. Open and acquitted himself well for an 18-year-old. He was 3-under on Sunday, just five strokes out of the lead until he blew up on the back nine and tied for 56th.

When he wasn't defending his position on Ryder Cup money, Duval was trying to recover some of the memories of Medinah.

"I have some great history and great memories here," he said. "It's pretty neat to come back now and play a major on a course that I played my first major on."