SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. — Five of the last six major professional golf championships have been won by virtual unknowns.

Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open this year. Louis Oosethuizen claimed the British Open a month ago. Yang Yong-eun won the PGA Championship last season.

Butler Country Club pro Rob McClellan is about as unknown as they come.

Golf fans are more likely to know what psoriatic arthritis is — the ailment Phil Mickelson revealed he had this week — than who Rob McClellan is.

Vegas odds makers don't even have McClellan on their betting boards for the 92nd PGA Championship, which begins today at Whisting Straits.

But as he tees off at 2:15 p.m. Central time, McClellan will have as good a chance as anyone in a wide-open field.

Even if he is shooting for more modest goals.

"I've always said my goal has been to make the cut," McClellan said.

Making it through the first two rounds and into the weekend would be a major coup for McClellan.

It would also pad his wallet nicely.

Last year, the last place finisher at the PGA Championship earned $14,000.

Yong-eun earned $1.35 million for winning the event last year.

McClellan said he is as prepared as he can be for this first round.

He's played seven practice rounds on the course since he arrived Sunday. Most of those rounds were played in front of a lot of people, he said.

Still, it won't be as pressure-packed as it will be today.

"There were a lot of people around (Wednesday), but I'm sure there will be more (today)," McClellan said. "I'm hitting the ball well. It's just the nerves, I think, I'm going to have to deal with."

McClellan played another practice round with Ben Curtis on Wednesday and spent some time on the putting green with Pittsburgh native Jim Fuyrk.

The conversation was nothing about golf, however.

"We talked about the Steelers," McClellan said. "Being from Pittsburgh, he's a big Steelers' fan."

McClellan said he and his brother and caddy, Rich, will sit down and briefly go over how to approach the round.

Once McClellan is out on the course, though, Rich's role will be all about support.

"The biggest thing he can do is keep me calm," McClellan said. "And have a good time."

McClellan will have plenty of support from other sources.

His wife, children and in-laws have arrived. About "a half-dozen to a dozen" Butler Country Club members have also made the trip to Wisconsin, McClellan said.

He has also received numerous text messages from friends and club members.

"The support by the club members has been terrific," McClellan said. "They're letting me take a week off."