FanHouse Michael Campbell

Harry Varden, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus all have something in common at the U.S. Open -- they've all lost a U.S. Open playoff.

18 holes of grueling, stroke-match play on a golf course that's been beaten to pieces by the USGA, the field and the weather all week long and you're having to grind your way around it for one more day.

Tiger Woods wants to be in the same breath as those players in just about every category but this one, and he's playing a competitor in Rocco Mediate that is just about his worst possible foe, a guy with zero to lose.

Tiger's disappointments have never come from Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia or Vijay Singh in major championship stages, they've been Rich Beem, Zach Johnson and Michael Campbell, men that are just having that week.

Today's U.S. Open playoff is probably the most popular one since Lee Trevino threw a rubber snake at Nicklaus on the first tee at Merion Country Club in 1971, a U.S. Open that belonged to Trevino 18-holes later.

No, it isn't Buster Douglas versus Mike Tyson and it definitely isn't salmon eats bear, but Tiger has been pushed to the brink by a guy named Rocco, who keep smiling and joking and hitting fairways. Mediate probably won't win, because he's facing You Know Who, but it sure will be fun to see the two battle.

Just to stir the fire, only one has ever lost a playoff on the PGA Tour, and it isn't the man with a Peace sign belt buckle.

We keep grinding these out, part three of your FanHouse Media Guide.

• Angel Cabrera (above, right) -- WON -- Now here's a guy I can get on board with. Last year he smoked like a used Suburban, worked out as much as the Lincoln Memorial and still wins the toughest test in golf? Whaaa? Also, he was named Olimpia de Oro for Argentina's sportsperson of the year in 2007, adding to a group that includes such elite names as Las Leonas, Deigo Degano and Nora Vega.

• Mark Calcavecchia -- 14 -- This is pretty bananas -- Calc has been playing in the U.S. Open, somewhat consistently, since 1986 and has only made 10 cuts. Also, Mark was once late for his wedding after a round of 78, the worst round of his year, where he thought his caddy wrote "100" on his golf ball instead of "I DO." Those golfers and their crazy stories.

• Michael Campbell (above, left) -- WON -- Talk about a random 2005. Campbell wins the U.S. Open, finished in a tie for fifth at the Open and a tie for sixth at the PGA Championship. Other than that, he has one top ten finish ever in a major.

• Paul Casey -- t-10 -- Just as much as Casey hates America, the country's tournament hates him back. One top ten and two missed cuts with a WD for good measure.

• Chad Campbell -- t-35 -- Campbell is one of those guys Bill Simmons talks about that was once so underrated by everyone that he's now overrated. He hasn't had a ton of success at the U.S. Open, mainly because he carries a heavy putter around and I don't mean the brand.

• Garrett Chaussard -- DNP -- A little abnormal, Chaussard has only made one cut this year on the Gateway Tour before qualifying for the Open. Even wilder, since April 2 the University of Illinois graduate has shot more rounds in the 80s than in the 60s. I'm going to get a little wacky here and say he probably didn't see his coming.

• Jay Choi -- DNP -- An excellent golfer at the University of New Mexico, Choi qualified with a birdie on his second playoff hole in sectional qualifying. A native of Korea, Choi didn't play golf from November 2006 to August 2007 because of a weight problem that saw him lose 65 pounds!

• K.J. Choi -- t-15 -- For a guy with as much game as Choi, it's interesting he's never cracked the top-15 at this event. Of the seven tour events Choi has won, none have been on the west coast.

• Daniel Chopra -- t-24 -- He's only played in one U.S. Open, so a top-25 in your first marathon is fairly impressive. Also, he's half Swedish, half Indian, which I find a touch more interesting than that first sentence.

• Stewart Cink -- 3 -- If there has ever been a definitive "it's not over till it's over" moment in golf, it has to be Cink's three-putt on the last hole at Southern Hills in the 2001 U.S. Open. Just trying to get out of Retief Goosen's way, Cink hurried and missed both the par putt and a spot in the Monday playoff.