FanHouse JackNicklaus

Sure, Augusta National and the Masters has always carried that Par Three Tournament jinx, where no player has ever gone on to win the big tournament after taking the little crown. The Memorial has no jinx, so Tiger Woods decided to compete today in a little Skins Game match with Jack Nicklaus, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink.

Tiger needed to make this lengthy birdie putt on the 18th hole to deny Perry four skins and the win, hitting the dead center of the cup. With five skins now on the line, all four players had a chip-off to see who would leave with the most cash to donate to charity. It wasn't an easy chip, from some rough just off the 18th green. Guess what Tiger did ...

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 new weekly ranking feature we call Making the Cut.

5. Michelle Wie -- Thinking back a year ago, it's almost like Michelle Wie has become a different person. In 2008, at the very tournament she will tee up at on Thursday, Wie forgot to sign her scorecard after rounds of 67-65, landing a disqualification that could be listed as her lowest of lows (which is saying a lot). Now, with a tour card and a fresh outlook, Wie is back at the LPGA State Farm Classic with two top-3 finishes this season and seemingly getting close to her first career victory. Even if she doesn't win, Wie has to be hoping that someone will remind her to put her autograph on the only piece of paper that matters.

Tiger Woods will make his seventh start of the season tomorrow when he tees it up at Memorial -- Jack Nicklaus' annual event in Dublin, Ohio. In his six previous tournaments this year, Woods has a win and four top-10 finishes to go along with his second-round loss at the WGC-Accenture Match Play.

For anybody else those are remarkable numbers, and the media would use it as proof that we had found someone -- anyone -- to challenge Tiger. Instead we get the typical sky-is-falling fare that prevails anytime Woods struggles.

But here's the thing: Tiger's game might not be where he wants it, but he's still managing to salvage rounds, stay in contention, and through it all, put up some pretty impressive numbers. I know, it doesn't seem possible. It is.

Here is something interesting you can ponder while browsing through this story -- Tiger Woods has never won a U.S. Open when arriving at the championship with less than two previous wins that year. Ever.

He has three U.S. Open titles, and his first, in 2000, came on the heels of four wins prior to the USGA event. In 2002 he already had two wins to his credit. Last year, during that gutsy victory at Torrey Pines, Tiger had already accumulated three wins before heading out to San Diego.

The argument has been tossed around since Tiger Woods fist-pumped his way to a 12-shot victory at Augusta National in 1997. Who is the best golfer to ever play the game, Tiger or Jack Nicklaus?

We aren't necessarily going to get the answer this Wednesday at Muirfield Village, but we will get to see Tiger and Jack compete against each other for just the second time ever in the same group. Woods agreed to compete in the Wednesday Skins Game at the Memorial Tournament with Jack, Stewart Cink and Kenny Perry. The other skins group will include Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Camilo Villegas and Padraig Harrington.

News on Tiger Woods has been fairly spotty since we last saw him "struggle" to an eighth place finish at The Players Championship. Since the Accenture Match Play, Tiger hasn't finished out of the top-10 in four straight tournaments, including a win at Bay Hill. After a three-week break, Tiger announced he will be playing The Memorial next week.

Right now, Nike is sporting an ad campaign based on the slogan "8 > 9." That is, the Nike Str8-Fit driver is better than the TaylorMade r9 driver. Going along with that, Jack Nicklaus thinks 14 > 18. Even the Golden Bear believes Tiger Woods will break his major championship record of 18 wins.

If you expected the two major championship-leaders to come out a bit timid in the third round of the Masters, you probably weren't alone. Many times in big golf tournaments, names sneak up on the leaderboard that slowly fade as the weekend progresses.

Kenny Perry is 48 and skipped major championships last year to focus on his goal of making the Ryder Cup. Angel Cabrera hasn't been heard of since that '07 U.S. Open victory. Chad Campbell hasn't won on tour since 2007.

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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.

It's been nearly ten years since Sergio Garcia hit that shot at the PGA Championship, the one that was supposed to define his career -- like Jack's 1-iron on the 17th at Pebble in '72, or Tom Watson's chip-in for birdie on that same hole a decade later. Instead it serves as a reminder of opportunity lost, at least when the conversation turns to the majors.

In 1999, Garcia was a novelty, a charismatic 19-year-old Spaniard whose game reminded us of Seve, but better, more polished. He was the first "next player to challenge Tiger Woods."

Then reality intervened.