FanHouse Gary Player

SAN FRANCISCO -- Anything with the name Presidents Cup sounds like it is ripe for a Golf Czar appointment.

Are you qualified to rule over this week's PGA Tour team matches between the United States and an International squad of non-Europeans that tees off Thursday at Harding Park Golf Club?

Take this test and decide for yourself.

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.

-- We knew Tiger Woods for so long as the guy that won in two ways -- he'd triumph or the other guy would fail. Joe Posnanski put together an incredible read on what happened at Hazeltine National, explaining the rising action of this year's PGA Championship like it was the perfect Freytag's Pyramid, only to have the climax be that Tiger couldn't pull it out. A must read on all accounts. [JoePosnanski.com]

The British Open will be at Turnberry next month, but it's Muirfield, which last hosted the tournament in 2002, that has drawn sharp criticism from Gary Player, who won there in 1959. At 23, he became the youngest Open Champion in history, but it's the club's antiquated men-only policy that has him speaking out now, a half-century later.

Round 1 of the Masters was interesting. We saw a hefty 38 players break par at Augusta National, and Chad Campbell (65) and Hunter Mahan (66) both finished within striking distance of the course record. Now comes Friday ... the day where people make or miss the cut, and the day where people can start to make a move before Saturday, which is traditionally called "Moving Day."

What should you be watching for in Friday's Round 2? And is Tiger Woods still the man to beat after firing an opening-round 70 (leaving him tied for 20th)? Check it out after the jump.

Sebastian Junger wrote a non-fiction book about a 1991 Halloween Nor'easter that was, as you probably know, known as "The Perfect Storm". Play just started at Augusta National in the 2009 Masters (the gentleman above starts his day at 1:52 PM ET), but the story lines are quickly adding up to what could quickly become a Perfect Storm at Augusta. In fact, could the story lines at this year's Masters make it the most memorable Masters ever? Let's dive in.

Golf is a game of superstitions. People mark their balls the same way every time (tails up for me), prepare the same, and, if things are going well, even eat the same meal all week. If golf had a Taj Mahal of superstitions, it would be winning the Par-3 Tournament at the Masters, a nine-hole event played every year since 1960 on the Wednesday before tournament day.

No player has won the Par-3 Tournament and gone on to win the Masters. Nobody. Ever.

How about a golf clap for Phil Mickelson? The three-time major winner sorta let himself go in recent years, but he's made a conscious effort to trim down in 2008, which means, well, that Gary Player will be able to sleep at night, I guess.

"Every time he walked you could see his breasts bouncing all over the place!"

Those are Player's comments from the recent issue of Men's Vogue, where Mickelson talks about the workout routine that helped him shed 20 pounds in three months.

In addition to conventional stuff like lifting weights and running on a treadmill, Philbert also now carries his own golf bag (how shabby chic!), and has completely cut out the gravy shakes from his diet.

And some 12 weeks later, Mickelson's dropped a few cup sizes, which should afford him more flexibility in his golf swing (no cumbersome boobs to restrict his takeaway!) but pretty much ruin his chances of becoming a FanHouse Fantasy Sports Girl.

Last year, in much tougher conditions, The Masters cut was 8-over par and included 60 players. This year, it's 3-over. and just 45 golfers qualified for the weekend. (Technically, at Augusta, it's the top 44 scores and ties, plus scores within 10 shots of the lead.)

As is the case every year, there are plenty of big names heading for home tonight. Interestingly, among the past champions, only Jose Maria Olazabal is more than seven years away from full-time Champions Tour status. Oh, and 72-year-old Gary Player improved on his first-round 83, carding a six-over-his-age 78 today. Maybe the most impressive thing to come of the first 36 holes.

Other notables looking for flights: Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Aaron Baddeley, all finished at 4-over. And perhaps the biggest shock: Rory Sabbatini (he finished at five-over). After winning the par-3 contest, Sabbatini gave some speech about not believing in curses, and that to win both tournaments you have to win the first. Forty-eight years of history disagree. Maybe next year, big guy.

There are 94 players in the field at this week's The Masters and one, Gary Player, is making his 51st appearance. Fifty-one. In case you're wondering, that's a record. Perhaps more impressive, the 72-year-old three-time Masters champion got around the course in 83 strokes.

That might seem like a lot, but that's just 11 shots off his age. Plus, as Player points out, "Well, par for me is 80, so I was three over par today," which, using his math, puts him in a tie for 53rd.

While I don't know if any player in their 70s has come closer to shooting their age during the Masters than Player, Ben Hogan fired a 66 at age 54 during the third round of the 1967 tournament (Gay Brewer eventually won; Hogan finished 10th; Player finished sixth).

Impressive, for sure, but I don't think it's even in the same conversation as what a 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus accomplished in 1998, when he finished tied for sixth after a final round 68.

Yep, the guy shot 10-over his age. At The Masters. Top that, Tiger.