FanHouse Christina Kim

Each Wednesday during the golf season, FanHouse will list the top five names in golf and why they're important. Did Barack play 18 with Tiger? Did a certain player do something controversial off the course? Or was just playing golf enough to get the pot stirring? Join us for a weekly feature we call Making the Cut.

5. Ryo Ishikawa -- The 17-year-old (who will turn 18 on September 17) was named to the Presidents Cup, making the potential for some Tiger vs. Ryo matches all the more possible. Tiger lives for stuff like this, and even though the two were paired together at the British Open, it wasn't the same as match play. Two things will happen with Greg Norman's teenage pick -- either he comes out, shows signs of brilliance and earns a point or two for the International side, or he crashes and burns, and the Japanese media will be all over him.

No matter the outcome, it will be a bonus to see if Ryo comes out with a matching headcover of himself again.

It was a big weekend for women's golf. The United States defeated Europe in the Solheim Cup, but more than that, Michelle Wie finally played up to her potential. She was 3-0-1, the best among her teammates, and was loose, smiling and having fun while doing it.

Maybe a break from her overprotective parents had something to do with it. Or perhaps it was her Saturday fourball partner, Christina Kim, who helped keep things light. Whatever, the LPGA will be forever grateful if Wie emerges as the face of the tour.

That story has yet to write itself. In the meantime, the news out of Europe in the aftermath of the Solheim Cup has to do with Kim's on-course antics. Depending on your perspective, her actions were somewhere between slightly distracting to Happy Gilmore-tastic. I watched parts of the telecast over the weekend and I tend to think it was more the latter.

I heard Michael Jackson died at approximately 5:30 PM ET. Hours later, I still don't think it's fully hit me. This was the man I idolized growing up as a kid ... I watched Moonwalker about 80 times on VHS (Joe Pesci was the villain). I once furiously outbid someone $159 for a replica Beat It jacket with 13 zippers. I actually have an 8x10 glossy of Billie Jean Michael taped next to my bedroom door.

Everyone -- from celebrities to sports stars to ordinary people -- had their way of trying to feel connected to the King of Pop. In his mere presence, fans have fainted and needed medical attention. So when news broke that Jackson had passed away, the reverberations on social media sites like Twitter were immense. Outspoken wide receiver Chad Ochocinco even went on to tweet "this is just as sad as 9/11" and then tried to play damage control after his offensive comment.

After the jump, read the emotional reactions from current and former athletes.

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LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens made news last year for the tour's peculiar language requirement. The policy was short-lived, but it's one of those things you can easily point to as an example of why the LPGA struggles to remain both relevant and solvent.

Bivens understands as much (although misguided, her attempt to get international tour players to learn English was to help broaden the sport's appeal). Which is why she'd support LPGA players using their Twitter machines during their round.

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- You know what happens when you let a golf blogger lose on the grounds of an LPGA event with a camera and the always entertaining Christina Kim? Magic. Pure, Incredible, magic. [Wei Under Par]