FanHouse David Duval

Every sports fan has a little bit of a photographic memory. They remember images of their favorite players or incredible moments. The Joe Carter home run leap. The concluding seconds of the Miracle on Ice. Michael Jordan's final shot against the Jazz in 1997.

In golf, one year stands out for images that will forever be burned in our skull. That year was ten years ago, in 1999. You had the David Duval eagle putt for 59 drop as his yellow Tommy Hilfiger shirt came untucked and a rare first pump ensued. Sergio Garcia closing his eyes to hit a shot from behind a tree at Medinah, only to run down the fairway as it somehow found its way on the putting surface, scissor kick and all. Payne Stewart's statuesque image when the winning putt dropped at Pinehurst. Jean Van de Velde, hands on his hips, standing in the Barry Burn at Carnoustie, pants rolled up, making the most famous triple-bogey in the history of golf. Any and all images from that Sunday at Brookline, when the Americans stormed back to beat the Europeans at the Ryder Cup.

GolfChannel.com decided to put all these in writing in something they're calling "Project '99", and had some of their most talented voices jot down what they remembered from the event personally. Rich Lerner, who has been with The Golf Channel since 1997, chatted with FanHouse about the Van de Velde collapse, amongst other things. Click away for a little trip back in time.

M and C.

Those are two letters you could use to sum up Adam Scott's 2009 season. The player that people, at times, had called the next Tiger Woods missed 10 of 18 cuts this year (Tiger has only missed 15 cuts in his career), and has since ended his season by missing out on the top-100, which means he won't advance to this week's Deutsche Bank Championship, an event he won six years ago.

Scott's year has been far from expected. Last year, the 29-year-old Australian had a win on both the PGA and European Tours, making it 14 worldwide wins in his short career. He had the swing that made people, at moments, forget the beauty of Tiger's pass. He had the looks that made even the most Hollywood-minded females (hello Kate Hudson) interested in bogeys or birdies (well, maybe Burberry and biceps, but still) and he had the game that put him on a short list of players who would soon break though on the major championship scene.

Tiger Woods won five times in 2009, but for the fourth time in his 13-year career, he was shutout in the majors. That may not be cause for concern for Woods, but it gives fans and the media something to talk about. It also makes the "How would you rank the major championships?" question a lot more interesting.

With only one tournament left on the PGA Tour calender, now seems like as good a time as any to make my case. Obviously, this will be a scientifically rigorous endeavor, and I hope that you would treat the results accordingly. Or don't. Whatever, let's get to it.

In reverse order, the most exciting majors of 2009:

Just like we did with Augusta, Bethpage Black, and Turnberry, we present your Regular Joes who will have a good chance at the PGA Championship. Hazeltine National is hosting its first major since the 2002 PGA Championship, and has been extended to a ghastly 7,678 yards of pure major championship nastiness. Which players do we like to jump out of the bottom of the pack and contend over the weekend? Check back on your Sleepers as we present the Regular Joes.

It started with one golf shot. One eyes-closed, head pulled, inside-out 6-iron at the Medinah Country Club during the 1999 PGA Championship and the chatter began. Who is in line to be the next Tiger Woods?

The interesting part of that was that Woods was in the midst of claiming just his second major championship, beating out a leg-kicking Sergio Garcia, but people wanted to know right then who we should anoint as the next Tiger. Since baby-faced Sergio, the names have come and gone. We've toyed with David Duval. We've jived with Retief Goosen. We've watched Adam Scott and Anthony Kim and, now, Ryo Ishikawa join the ranks as "next in line." The problem is, it just isn't happening. So what is wrong with our list of "Next Tigers"?

There is one thing in golf that is miles bigger than a major championship or the rare double-eagle. It has only been done three times in the history of golf, with the last time coming in 1999. It's the sub-60 round.

On Thursday, at the Travelers Championship, 48-year-old Kenny Perry had the rare opportunity to match that feat, and shoot a sub-60 round for only the fourth time on the PGA Tour, and the first time on a par-70 golf course. Standing over a 24-foot eagle putt on the par-4 15th hole, Perry was 8-under and looking to move to 10-under, just a shot off the mark with three holes to play.

Ricky Barnes finished in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list last season, and for the first time in his then-five-year professional golf career, he had earned his PGA Tour card.

Success has been fleeting for the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, who was also the low amateur at the 2003 Masters. From 2005-2008, Barnes competed in just five PGA Tour events as a professional, making two cuts. This year, he's played 13 tournaments, played on the weekend seven times, including a second-place finish at Bethpage Black last week (although prior to the U.S. Open, his best finish was a T47 at the St. Jude).

Lucas Glover was born in Greenville, SC, played golf at Clemson, just won his first major -- the 109th U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, NY -- and more surprising than that, perhaps, he's a Yankees fan.

So even though Glover grew up 750 miles south of the Big Apple, he loves the city and its Bronx-based baseball team. Alex Rodriguez appreciates the support.

On Tuesday, after outlasting the field -- and the weather -- over five days, Lucas was in New York City, making the rounds, and that included a stop at the Ed Sullivan Theatre to rattle off the Top Ten List. Hilarity ensued.

Moving pictures after the jump.

Here is an idea to ponder as the USGA is now working on tearing down all the grandstands at another successful U.S. Open at Bethpage Black -- why not get a Ryder Cup out at the course?

If you think about it, and Phil Mickelson did, it makes perfect sense. It's an amazing golf course that can be played from all sorts of different tees and made to play easy or hard (as we saw, comparably, from 2002 to '09). If the wind blows it's a brute, but if it stays fairly calm and the rough isn't played knee deep, it could yield just about any score.

Mickelson made his case after he tied for second for a record fifth time at the U.S. Open, telling reporters it is the perfect spot for a Ryder Cup in the future.