FanHouse Andres Romero

Just like we did with Augusta and Bethpage Black we present your Sleepers for the British Open. Turnberry is hosting its first Open Championship since 1994, and most players have never played a competitive round at the beautiful course on the west coast of Scotland. So who are the sleepers you should bank on when the big boys tee it up on Thursday? Here's a list of five.

Andres Romero -- Best Finish: 3 -- No, he isn't playing his best golf heading into Turnberry, but he wasn't playing his best golf last year when he broke through at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for his first win on the PGA Tour. Romero, 28, always seems to be in the hunt at the Open Championship, and a venue like the Ailsa Course shouldn't change that at all.

In 1994, Nick Price was at the top of the golf world. A victory at the British Open at Turnberry followed by a PGA Championship in the same year had Price ranked as the top golfer in the world. Fifteen years later, Price was invited to play in the first British Open at Turnberry since his historic victory, but has said he might decline the offer to give a younger player a chance to start his own record book, like Price did by finishing second at the British in 1982.

It was a tale of two Phil Mickelsons this week at Riviera Country Club. Two days, Thursday and Saturday, he had the game that won him three majors and 34 PGA Tour tournaments over his illustrious career. The other two days it seemed like anything could happen on any given hole.

The real Phil showed up at the end of Sunday's final round, with a stealth 9-iron on the 16th hole, a two-putt birdie on the 17th hole and a sneaky par putt that found the center of the cup for a par on the 18th and gave him his first win of 2009 at the Northern Trust Open.

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Golf season starts tomorrow, which means it is time to actually start thinking of the best game with dimples. While the giants take a nap, others will play at the Mercedes Championship, and golf will be around the rest of the year. FanHouse spent a couple of minutes thinking what is to come in 2009. Here is what transpired.

It all starts tomorrow, people. The 2009 PGA season gets underway at the Mercedes Championship. Except that four of last year's champs -- who also happen to be the four best players in the world -- won't be there. Tiger, Sergio, Phil and Paddy are skipping out on the free trip to Hawaii, although I suspect the other 33 players in the field aren't complaining.

Last season, Anthony Kim and, to a lesser extent (because we've known about him for a while ... and because Brinson has some worries), Camilo Villegas emerged as "the latest young golfer who will supposedly challenge Tiger Woods." And to be fair, both had a lot success. While they continue the seemingly impossible task of supplanting Woods atop the rankings, there are other young players hoping to do the same. The difference: we haven't heard much about them. Until now, anyway. Here's a look at five guys to watch as '09 unfolds.

The PGA of America just announced that play will be suspended for the day at Oakland Hills because supposedly, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's hard to play golf when the greens look like an above ground swimming pool.

Tomorrow at 7:15 AM Eastern sharp, the golfers will be at their balls and ready to go.

At first glance, Andres Romero, who shot the best round of the week by two shots with his five-under 65 and vaulted up the leaderboard 40 spots to a tie for eighth looked to be the happiest person in the world. That might not be the case, however, as the course will now have soaked fairways and saturated greens, lowering the scores for Sunday.

A tournament that looked like it might hover around even par to win has just changed outfits and a 65 might be out there for some of the leaders.

Eight golfers have yet to even hit their first tee shot, with guys like Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson still a ton of golf to finish up tomorrow. This tournament will not conclude until Monday as long as the weather stays away for the next two days, so the marathon day tomorrow should be exciting to watch.

With a golf course playing as tough as Oakland Hills this week, red figures are few and far between.

Camilo Villegas and company are trying to change that. The flashy Florida Gator is five-under on his round today through 13 holes, taking the "just hit it close all day" approach to championship golf.

Villegas is joined by Graeme McDowell and Andres Romero as a couple of foriegn-born golfers using birdies as acceleration to pass a number of people on their way up the leaderboard. Camilo is having the best round of the tournament today, making five birdies and no bogeys, including a putt on the par-3 13th that was heading for the left lip but got rejected like Dikembe Mutombo had taken up this crazy game.

The Colombian known more for his looks and phsique than his golf game had never played up to his standards in majors until this year's U.S. Open, where he finished a career-high ninth at Torrey Pines. A man that can always make a load of birdies (ninth of tour this sesaon with 3.68 a round), Villegas is still searching for his first win on tour.

Posting one or two over in the clubhouse today before the leaders head out sure would look good coming 9 PM tonight. With the wind picking up and the weather appearing to worsen as the day progresses, Villegas could make tons of waves if he could get through Oakland Hill's personal Amen Corner, 16, 17 and 18.

UPDATE: Of course, right when I post this, Villegas makes a bogey on 14. We bloggers should get a real job.

The 2008 British Open is the only major championship since 1996 that we can say with certainty, "Tiger Woods will not be winning." With the best player in the world out for the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see what type of golfer steps up to claim the Claret Jug.

Will it be a top tier golfer, pouncing on the major without the best around? Will it be an up-and-comer that could use the British breakthrough? Could we see another stealth golfer steal the jug away from the field, unknown to everyone except the guy that puts the media guides together?

Here are a few to watch this week at Royal Birkdale, their best finish and something about them.

With golf's four major championships, it's a rule that the Masters has the beauty, the U.S. Open the grind, the PGA Championship the other and the British Open has both the history and the it factor.

No other major championship can a ball land in the middle of the fairway and roll into the rough, make pros play bunkers shots backwards or even have people hitting golf balls off roads. It's a test of golf that covers every shot you've ever hit, and might make you use any of them at some point during the 72 holes.

Today, at 1 PM Eastern, we'll be chatting about everything British Open.

Will Sergio Garcia toss that monkey off his back? Can Phil Mickelson really win a major he's only had one top-10 in ever? Is there any chance a young gun, like Andres Romero or Anthony Kim, rise to the occasion and steal a major while Tiger Woods watches from Florida?

Sign in, chat about anything golf related and don't forget your knickers and rain gear.

Since learning that 2008 will continue on without golf's daddy, one thing has become extremely apparent -- someone could really become someone over these next few months.

Since Tiger Woods broke on the scene in 1997, winning the Masters by more strokes than Blue in Old School, we have had exactly one young guy attempt to make a name for himself in major championships. That, sadly, was Sergio Garcia at the 1999 PGA Championship, battling Woods to the end at only 19-years-young.

At that point, golf was buzzing. We had a young, brash European (!) who not only could challenge our best golfer, but someone who would be on the posters facing Tiger at the Ryder Cup. Exciting, meet interesting.

Sadly, Garcia forgot how to putt about seven years ago and has never really found it, flashing in the pan every now again, like the '07 British Open, but always getting to the end of the puzzle and finding out your dog ate the last piece.

Now, Garcia is a 28-year-old veteran, with a grizzled beard, some negative incidents and is not the face of youth on the PGA Tour anymore.