FanHouse Rory Sabbatini

Just like the Tiger Slam of 2001, these last few weeks might best be described as the Tiger Slump. Why? Because it wasn't an actual slump like most golfers go through, it was just Tiger Woods doings things that aren't Tiger-like. A loss after a 54-hole lead in a major. A missed putt on the 18th green for birdie that would have tied the lead. A, gulp, finish out of the top-10.

All that could be erased after the first two rounds at the BMW Championship. Woods followed up a first round 68 with a 4-under 67 on Friday, tying the lead at the third leg of the FedEx Cup race and moving him closer to the $10 million bonus. On a course that Woods has won at four times, Woods needed five birdies after making bogey on his first hole of the day to tie Mark Wilson at 7-under, a shot clear of Padraig Harrington Rory Sabbatini, Bo Van Pelt and Marc Leishman.

---

---

He isn't the most liked guy on the PGA Tour. Probably towards the bottom of the list, really. That doesn't change the fact that Rory Sabbatini, as Craig Stadler once put it, can play stick. His win this year at the Byron Nelson was the fifth of his career, and helped vault him to his current position in the FedEx Cup point standings at 35.

None of this seemed to matter to Greg Norman, who made his Presidents Cup captain's picks the same way I pick a cab when I stumble out of a bar at 2:08 AM on a Saturday ... "Ummmmm, that one." Sabbatini was ahead of both the picks that Norman made, had more wins this season on the PGA Tour than both combined (which is, obviously, zero) but got snubbed. So, surely Norman called Sabbatini to let him know he wasn't going to pick him, sadly, but he appreciated his game and hoped to see him on the team in the future. Yeah, not so much.

It was a final round 63 last week that got Tiger Woods, yes, Tiger Woods, back into form at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Struggling with scoring, Tiger carded eight birdies and an eagle to tie his lowest score of the year, and that little spark carried over on Thursday at Cog Hill.

Sporting an umbrella on the collar of his blue Nike polo in honor of Arnold Palmer's 80th birthday, Tiger posted a 3-under 68, made a hair worse by a third shot on the par-5 18th that landed nearly in the hole, but struck the pin, ending up 12-feet away, leaving Tiger a disgusted look and a disappointing par.

---

---

The PGA Championship begins Thursday, and as has been the case in the three previous majors this year, Tiger Woods is the clear favorite. Despite victories in consecutive weeks leading up to this event, the story is as much about the level of his play as it is about how he won at Firestone Sunday.

The circumstances have been well documented, but for the unenlightened, the Cliffs Notes version: Padraig Harrington led the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by one stroke over Tiger as they made their way to the 16th tee. At some point on the hole the group was put on the clock for slow play, Paddy went on to record an eight on the par 5, Woods carded a birdie, and two holes later he was hoisting the trophy.

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.

If I've said it once, I've said it a billion times. Tiger Woods has skewed our take on golf tournaments. It isn't that easy to win. It just isn't.

Jerry Kelly would agree with me. He's 42, and won twice on tour in 2002. Since then, he's finished second four times, which is pretty darn impressive from the quintessential PGA Tour journeyman, but he couldn't break through. Sunday in New Orleans, Kelly claimed his first win in seven years, taking the Zurich Classic over a group of golfers either trying to break their own winning slump or trying to claim their first PGA Tour title.

When talking about John Madden's legacy, MDS has it right: he's an "American original", and football will be worse off without him. NBC has already named Cris Collinsworth as his successor, and that softens the blow, but no one will ever replace Madden.

It's not all bad news, though; Madden video games will live on, and Frank Caliendo's impersonation of Madden will not. Via CNBC.com's Darren Rovell:

If you had only watched the PGA Tour on Thursday and Saturday this week, you'd probably be wondering how many tournaments Phil Mickelson has won this year.

The answer, of course, is zero, as Lefty has struggled the entire year leading up to the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles where he won last season. The first round was a bogey free 63 where Mickelson needed only 22 putts.

Think back to the 2007 Patriots season. Spygate, win after dominant win, and even a little chatter from the media about Bill Belichick running up the score on some less-fortunate teams. How did that team handle the multitude of questions from the media? Well, by never really returning the punches swung at them.

Now look at this 2008 New York Giants team. A Super Bowl ring, a 4-0 start and now being dogged by a member of the 1-3 Cleveland Browns. The Giants have decided that the best response to the talk of "knocking (Brandon Jacobs) head off" and "There ain't nothing physical about (their offensive line)" is to follow the Pats' professionalism and just let their game walk the walk.

"Not me anymore," said Jacobs, no longer taking the verbal bait, instead accepting cues from center Shaun O'Hara.

"The best statement you can make is walking off the field a winner," said O'Hara. "I can honestly say I never won a game because of bulletin board material or lost a game because of bulletin board material. You have to play the game. It makes for great TV and great drama for those not involved, but in the end it's all just hype."

Colin Montgomerie has something of a reputation for thin skin and bat-like hearing. He has an uncanny ability to turn an innocuous comment whispered from the back reaches of the gallery into a breach of golf etiquette the likes of which many of us have never seen. Or something.

It's unfair to call Ian Poulter this generation's Monty -- he has a pretty good relationship with the fans which automatically takes him out of the running, I think; plus as long as Rory Sabbatini's around, he's the de facto winner -- but he doesn't shy away from controversy.

First, there was the contrived drama with Tiger Woods (frankly, I think Poulter came off looking more like a weak-willed child than anything, but whatever), and now, with European Ryder Cup captain and resident loonNick Faldo set to make this picks for the final roster, Poulter and Monty are having a go at one another.