FanHouse Paul Casey

SAINT-NOM-LA-BRETECHE, France (AP) -- Britain and Ireland led 3-2 over Europe after Thursday's opening fourballs of the Vivendi Trophy, a matchplay event on the European Tour.

Captained by three-time Ryder Cup winner Paul McGinley, Britain and Ireland had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 but Continental Europe hit back each time at the Saint-Nom-la-Breteche Golf Club on the outskirts of Paris.

The Vivendi Trophy, formerly known as the Seve Trophy after Seve Ballesteros, was created in 2000. Europe won the inaugural event before Britain and Ireland won it four consecutive times.

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.

Just like we did with Augusta and Bethpage Black we present your Favorites for the British Open. Turnberry is hosting its first Open Championship since 1994, and most players have never played a competitive round at the beautiful course on the west coast of Scotland. So who are the Favorites to win the British? Here are the top five.

Martin Kaymer -- Best Finish: 80 -- He's only 24, but has won four times on the European Tour since January of 2008, including two in a row heading into the British. While his major championship record is slim at this point, you can't discard his results in the short period of time he's been out there. Other than the last guy on this list, he's bringing the best 2009 resume to Turnberry.

Bethpage Black is 7,426 yards of pure nastiness, meaning the 2009 U.S. Open will play to a gruesome par of just 70. It is one of the toughest tests in golf, and it will be home to the best golfers in the world this weekend. Coming on the heels of your Sleepers for this week at Bethpage, here are the Regular Joes.

Nick Watney (Best Finish: t-60) He's 28, and might be the best chance for a young American to win this championship. Watney can launch if off the tee (fifth on tour in driving distance) and is enjoying his breakout year with a win on last year's U.S. Open venue. While he hasn't fared particularly well in this event the past two years, his attitude seems different and he has just the sort of game that can sneak up and snatch this event from one of the top dogs. Out of the 10 guys topping the driving distance category, Watney is one of two in the top 56 in putts per round.

There are few times that a tournament preceding the U.S. Open gets as much buzz as this years St. Jude Championship, which has dominated golf headlines lately. But amongst all the Phil Mickelson and John Daly news come the pairings for the U.S. Open next week at Bethpage Black.

Most times Tiger Woods alone can make a group star-studded, but that isn't the case with the 8:06 AM ET starting time next Thursday. Woods will be matched up with PGA Championship and British Open champion Padraig Harrington, as well as Masters champion Angel Cabrera. In that pairing alone will be 19 major championships, with Woods carrying 14, three for Harrington and two for Cabrera.

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. The Mickelsons -- A week after learning that Amy Mickelson was diagnosed with breast cancer, the golf world has jumped directly behind Phil Mickelson and his family during this tough time. John Daly wore pink pants in honor of Amy. A flurry of support from fellow tour players including Twitter posts has shown that no matter what you think of Phil, everyone understands and respects the man as one of the better family men on tour. He will be missed on the golf course, but he is where he should be right now, and for that he is quickly earning tons of respect from places that it may have been lost over the last few years.

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) -- Paul Casey of England joined some elite company Sunday with birdies on his last two holes for a one-shot victory in the BMW PGA Championship, his third win this year moving him up to No. 3 in the world rankings.

Casey closed with a 4-under 68 to hold off a strong charge by Ross Fisher, who had a tournament-best 64.

After realizing he was trailing when he first saw a leaderboard, Casey responded with a 15-foot birdie on the 15th, an 8-foot birdie on the 17th to tie Fisher for the lead, then a 4-foot birdie on the par-5 18th after hitting into a greenside bunker with his second.

Before Phil Mickelson broke through at the 2004 Masters, Lefty held the ultimate "kissing your sister" title. Phil was the "best player to never have won a major championship." Sure, Phil had made waves in majors, nearly taking the title at the 1999 U.S. Open and the 2001 PGA Championship, but he couldn't break through. Once the infamous birdie leap occurred at Augusta National in '04, Mickelson passed that title off to someone. The thing is, nobody has really grabbed it as feverishly as Phil did. He was the major-less face. Now, according to Forbes, it isn't Sergio Garcia.

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

Houston, We Have Weather Problems -- Professional golfers have two ways of preparing for major championships. You can go the Tiger Woods route of taking the week off prior to the major and spend that time practicing, resting and getting yourself mentally prepared for such a grueling week, or you can take Phil Mickelson's advice and play the week before to keep yourself in shape.