FanHouse RorySabbatini

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.

Where all ten golfers on this page will be emailing me to take them off the unlucky number page, the FanHouse Media Guide.

• Justin Rose -- t-5 -- I'm fully convinced Justin Rose (pictured) goes to every golf tournament with one thing in mind -- wearing tighter clothes than any female spectator in attendance. He has never won a PGA Tour event but he has won a tournament in 2002 called "The Crowns" which I'm sure is made-up.

• Rory Sabbatini -- t-51 -- Sabbatini hates Tiger Woods, normal belt etiquette and headwear that covers the top-portion of your head. He isn't having the year he's used to (33rd in FedEx points) and has missed the cut in four of his last six tournaments. Oh, and he hates this thing I just wrote.

• Adam Scott -- t-21 -- In case him being the third best golfer in the world and that your girlfriend wants to watch golf now because she might catch a glimpse of him isn't enough to hate him, check his sponsors. Titleist, Burberry, Rolex, Gulfstream, EA Sports, Footjoy, Aspen Group, Scott Golf Designs and Australian Golf Digest to name a few. Also, the U.S. Open is the only major he's never cracked the top-10.
  

• Patrick Sheehan -- DNP -- A journeyman that has bounced around between the Nationwide and PGA, Sheehan only has one top-10 this season. He graduated from the University of Hartford where he played golf with both Tim Petrovic and Jerry Kelly.

• Kevin Silva -- DNP -- Silva, a Tar Heel, has played on the Tarheel Tour, the New England Pro Golf Tour and the Minor League Golf Tour. Needless to say, this week will be the biggest stage he's ever been on.

• Vijay Singh -- t-3 -- The big Fijian has made the cut in 13 straight U.S. Opens, with seven top-10s during that stretch. He might struggle at times to find the fairway (147th in driving accuracy) but he always seems to make it work. Also, he was appointed a goodwill ambassador for Fiji in 2005.

• Heath Slocum -- CUT -- Slocum has been extremely consistent in 2008, making every cut since February 3. Slocum played on the same golf team as Boo Weekley (Bubba Watson joined the same team two years later) in Milton, Florida.

• Brandt Snedeker -- t-23 -- Everyone seemed excited about Snedeker at the Masters this year, where he closed with a 77 to tie for third. Since Augusta, he hasn't fared better than a tie for 35th with two missed cuts.

• Kyle Stanley (a) -- DNP -- He played in the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational, missing the cut with rounds of 75-74. A member of the Clemson golf team, Stanley is currently ranked 34 by Golfweek.

• Henrik Stenson -- t-26 -- It's amazing that Stenson has never finished in the top-10 at a major. The 15th ranked player in the world hasn't won this season on the European Tour but he does have six top-10s in just nine events.

Although he'd probably never admit it, I'm guessing Rory Sabbatini wished he never made those comments about Tiger Woods last year. It pretty much derailed his season, ruined his offseason, and we haven't heard from him since.

(That's not entirely true; he finished second at the Sony Open, and third the following week at the Buick, but in the nine tournaments since, he's missed the cut three times and finished no higher than 33rd.)

In any event, Sabbatini has emerged from his undisclosed location to compete in the U.S. Open. And he's still not backing down from those comments:

"I wasn't raised with the belief that you should be second best," said Sabbatini ... "I was raised with the belief that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything you want.

"I'm a competitor. I want to win. I said, 'I've seen Tiger play his best, and what I saw when he won at Wachovia is that he struggled that day. And the Tiger I saw play that day could be beaten.' That became that I'm saying Tiger is beatable. I didn't quite understand. That's why I do this and I'm not a commentator or part of the media."

Last year, in much tougher conditions, The Masters cut was 8-over par and included 60 players. This year, it's 3-over. and just 45 golfers qualified for the weekend. (Technically, at Augusta, it's the top 44 scores and ties, plus scores within 10 shots of the lead.)

As is the case every year, there are plenty of big names heading for home tonight. Interestingly, among the past champions, only Jose Maria Olazabal is more than seven years away from full-time Champions Tour status. Oh, and 72-year-old Gary Player improved on his first-round 83, carding a six-over-his-age 78 today. Maybe the most impressive thing to come of the first 36 holes.

Other notables looking for flights: Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Aaron Baddeley, all finished at 4-over. And perhaps the biggest shock: Rory Sabbatini (he finished at five-over). After winning the par-3 contest, Sabbatini gave some speech about not believing in curses, and that to win both tournaments you have to win the first. Forty-eight years of history disagree. Maybe next year, big guy.