By Iain Carter at Medinah BBC Five Live golf correspondent

Our man inside the ropes on the low, low scores at Medinah, the low, low prices in Chicago and reports of Tiger tenderness.

Medinah has been criticised for being too easy, but the local number crunchers have been hard at work to come up with a statistical defence of the course.

After the first round there were a record number of players under par and by the 54-hole stage there had been 149 sub-par rounds.

A 25-year-old Els took a big lead into the last round at Riviera in '95

But this is four fewer than the USPGA record set in 1995 at the Riviera Club near Los Angeles.

Luke Donald and Tiger Woods were 14 under going into the final round, while at Riviera Ernie Els was 16 under.

Even so, this USPGA has seen some of the lowest scoring in the championship's history.

Medinah head pro Mike Scully said: "We've been a little defenceless because we haven't had any wind and there have been optimal conditions (for low scores).

"I know this isn't the golf course I struggle with all of the time," he added.

No one can argue with the course's ability to identify the best players in the world. Eight of the world's top 13 were tied for 12th or better heading into the final round.

Since finishing runner-up at the Open, Chris DiMarco has been trying to work out what's been wrong with his putting.

Two days before the final major of the year came a Eureka moment.

"I was out there trying to figure everything out," he said. "I looked down at my putter and saw my grip aimed to the left and there you go.

"Once I got my putter fixed it all clicked in."

Tiger Woods isn't known for interaction with outside agencies while he's competing but scoreboard carrier Katie Kilrea has a revealing tale to tell.

The 18-year-old was on duty during Woods' third round and the world number one found time to ask her how she was holding up in the muggy heat.

Woods also gave her his ball at the conclusion of the round, and was spotted high-fiving with two five-year-olds when he came off the 16th tee.

The Wanamaker Trophy is one of the most impressive prizes in sport. Weighing 27lb, the double-handled silver cup is huge and a real effort to lift.

Phil Mickelson strains under the weight of the Wanamaker Trophy

Not that the eventual champion sees much of this sought-after prize. The PGA retains possession after the presentation ceremony and then gives the winner a replica to keep that is 10% smaller.

They also give the champion the option to buy an actual-size replica. The current price is around the $35,000 - a small dent in the winner's cheque of $1.224m.

Financial matters for the Five Live team are more mundane but our attempts to take advantage of the favourable exchange rate continue to be thwarted.

We're staying close to one of the biggest shopping malls in the US. Commentator Andrew Cotter and I were told it opens at 0900 on Saturdays. Perfect, we didn't need to be at the course til 1100.

So, armed with a fistful of dollars, we headed over only to find that while the mall opened at 0900, the shops don't open until 1000. Too late.