FanHouse Justin Rose

It seems almost like clockwork, that at some point during your week you'll find out that Colin Montgomerie is not happy about something. Maybe it's Sandy Lyle, saying he cheated. It could be a trigger-happy photographer that didn't know of Mrs. Doubtfire's wrath. Or it simply could be a painter that refuses to brush Monty on a canvas because of his man boobs.

What is certain is he does tend to toss shoes around a lot, and his recent Nike discharge flew directly at England's own Ian Poulter, who after missing out on the Tour Championship, decided that he wouldn't be accepting an invitation to the Vivendi Trophy match in Paris (previously called the Seve Cup), and that rubbed the 2010 Ryder Cup captain the wrong way.

It was "glory's last shot" at Hazeltine National, and a first for modern day golf fans. Our best golfer failed to win a tournament he was leading, leaving the door open for a basic unknown. So who left Minnesota with smiles on their faces, and who will be trying to Scope that bad taste out of their mouths? Below are the winners and losers from PGA Championship week.

Winners

Y.E. Yang -- Sometimes it's best to admit when you were completely and utterly wrong. On Sunday morning, I tweeted the following -- "over/under on Y.E. Yang's score today? I'd set it at 75.5. Thoughts?" Yep, Yang surprised just about everyone at Hazeltine, being paired with the best in the world, matching him shot for shot and eventually using a gutsy 3-iron to end a round that couldn't have been finished better if you were playing Hazeltine on a video game (say, Tiger Woods 2010, perhaps?). Not only was his win historic, taking down Woods for the first time when he was leading a major championship after 54 holes, but it made an entire group of people excited about this fantastic sport.

Yang will be known as the man who defeated Tiger to us, but on the other side of the globe, he will simply be the native who won a major championship for the first time.

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.

The 2009 Masters are underway, and unlike last year, when Arnold Palmer hit the ceremonial first shot into a cloud of fog, it has been an incredible day, weather-wise, from the start.

Palmer's first shot this year found the middle of the fairway and the first group built on that momentum. In the second group of the day was Par-3 Tournament winner Tim Clark, who, in typical form, bogeyed his first two par-3s before getting it together and reeling off four birdies on his closing 12 holes before posting a 4-under 68, leading the tournament in the clubhouse.

Right behind Clark are Ross Fisher, Kevin Sutherland, and Prayad Marksaeng who all posted 3-under 69s and will enjoy the rest of the mid-70 degree day fine-tuning their game while other golfers try to put the finishing touches on some rather salty (read: "good") rounds.

Golf is resting from a long, grueling season and rest it shall; it was a doozie of a 2008. We had some of the same old names winning consistently, some of the same old names losing consistently and a list of new golfers sure to find their way in golf conversation for years to come. Without further ado, here are your winners and losers of the 2008 PGA Tour Season.

Winners

Padraig Harrington -- With all respect to Tiger Woods and what he accomplished early this season, Harrington is our player of the year and for good reason. Padraig won two major championship in a row, making it three of the last six, and trying his best to accomplish what Sergio Garcia once said his goal was, to top both the PGA Tour money list and the Order of Merit in Europe. Harrington's second shot on the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale was one of the better executed shots of the year considering the pressure, setting up a Claret clinching eagle and repeating at the Open.

Somewhere in the United Kingdom, Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke are having a good chuckle. It's early -- we're only one day into the 37th Ryder Cup -- but the European squad is in an unfamiliar position: down after seven matches. Specifically, they trail the United States, underdogs on paper and in real life, 5-2.

And part of the reason for the early-on beatdown is because captain Nick Faldo, known just as much for his quirky disposition and sometimes vindictive personality as for his six major victories, thought it would be great fun to go with Ian Poulter and Paul Casey over grizzled Cup veterans Monty and Clarke. So far, so bad on that front.

The U.S. got off to a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes, but Faldo inexplicably decided to break up the Lee Westwood-Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington-Robert Karlsson pairings for the afternoon four-ball, even though they were the only groups to earn points (halves, as it turned out).

Instead, Harrington was paired with Graeme McDowell, and Sergio with Miguel Angel Jimenez (Johnny Miller's a big fan, by the way). The result: 0-2. For more perspective, when Poulter and Justin Rose are the only group on the European side to win a match in seven tries, things are pretty dire.

The Ryder Cup starts Friday, which is another way of saying the Europeans are just three days from Operation Beatdown '08. It's hardly surprising that our friends across the pond are favored -- they've won the last three events, and the only reason it's not six straight is because Justin Leonard holed a "no way that goes in" 40-footer in 1999.

But, hey, there's a reason they play these things: anything can happen. As a companion piece to Shane Bacon's look at the American side, here's my ill-informed take on the European team, their past record, and who I think they will be best paired with this week.

Sergio Garcia (14-4-2) and Oliver Wilson (rookie) -- America hates Ryder Cup Garcia for a reason: because he never loses (or at least it seems that way). He's played with Jesper Parnevik, Jose Maria Olazabal and Lee Westwood during the last four events and he's won 70% of the time. Not too shabby. I'll be honest: I have no idea who Oliver Wilson is. For all I know, we're related. Whatever, he'll just have to stay out of Garcia's way on Friday and Saturday and hope the Euros are far enough ahead on Sunday that it won't matter if he goes down 9 and 8.

Most of the time viewers watch golfers on the PGA Tour and are more jealous than the buddy of a powerball winner.

Today isn't one of those times.

The leaders at the Open Championship are battling their way around the links of Royal Birkdale in winds that are gusting to 40 miles-per-hour, hitting balls in places you'd never expect pros to be.

Nobody has broke par today and an Englishman named Simon Wakefield, who even the best of golf fans couldn't pick out of a lineup, fired an even-par round of 70 to post five-over, a number that is slowly becoming the mark to beat.

Justin Rose shot an 82, Jean Van de Velde fired an 80 and Adam Scott posted a 77 in winds on a day where the scoring average is 75.75, nearly six-over.

It appears nobody told Greg Norman that he's supposed to be struggling in these conditions. The Shark just made a birdie on the 14th hole to move in the lead at three-over, tied with K.J. Choi as they attempt to take advantage of the par-5 15th.

The weather has brought a lot of golfers back into the picture, including early favorite Anthony Kim, who made an eagle on the 17th hole to post 71. Kim stands at seven-over and as close as he's ever been to winning a major championship.

Bundle up, throw down another glass of coffee and remember how important a par is today. Our final pairing tomorrow could very easily be Simon Wakefield and Greg Norman. My how the world of golf is different without a certain Tiger Woods around.

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.

There are a lot of professional golfers that some (see:me) would say have a better chance of winning the British Open this week than Justin Rose, with Kenny Perry undoubtedly being one.

The thing is, Perry isn't playing in the British, skipping out on the major championship because of a prior commitment to the Greater Milwaukee Open. His reasoning was that if he hadn't caught fire and won three of his last five events, he wouldn't have a seat in the British and would still be invited to the GMO. Hey, a commitment is a commitment, ya know? Whatever your thoughts are, Rose doesn't agree.

"He is arguably the best player in the world right now. I find it amazing he is not here." Rose told The Sun. "I couldn't personally imagine myself opting out of a Major. He even opted out of the US Open. He won around that time too."

"It is strange he is not playing in these Majors and not testing himself at the highest level."

Hey, it might not be the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but it is a little trash talking made from a pro golfer born in the host country. This subject has been bounced around a bit over the past weeks, but could it be a guy not wanting to compete in a tournament he isn't the favorite? Wouldn't you rather contend in a major than win another B-level tournament without anyone of credibility in the field? Do you just hate paying for things with coins?

Come on, even David Duval is playing in the British.