FanHouse SorenHansen

The commercial campaign with Phil Mickelson from a few years ago that asked the open-ended question, "What will Phil do next?" is as spot-on today as it was when it came out. It seems that, thanks to his erratic play over the last two weeks, Lefty has been on a rampage to give anyone and everyone in his camp a heart attack.

After his all-over-the-place win at the Northern Trust Open last Sunday, Mickelson came to Marana, Ariz. as the second seed in the Ben Hogan bracket. Now, two days into Accenture Match Play, and many upsets later, Mickelson is the tournament's only hope of keeping the public's interest through the weekend.

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.

It's the day before the tournament and time for more FanHouse Media Guide.

• Todd Hamilton -- CUT -- Hamilton had a great 2004 (won twice, once was the British Open). All other years besides 2004? Not as great. In five attempts at the U.S. Open Hamilton has never made the weekend.

• Soren Hansen -- DNP -- Hansen has never battled the U.S. Open, but he has won twice on the European Tour and carded a top-10 in the 2002 British Open.

• Padraig Harrington -- 5 -- For a stretch in the early part of this decade, it seemed like Harrington (pictured) was in the hunt at every major championship (this, of course, is what I call a "journalistic exaggeration"). The reigning British Open champion has four top-10s at this event and tied for fourth at last week's St. Jude Championship.

• David Hearn -- CUT -- In 13 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour, Hearn has only made six cuts. The Canadian native did play a full year on the PGA Tour in 2005 and has had a lot of success at the Canadian Open.

• Jimmy Henderson (a) -- DNP -- A 65 in the second round of sectional qualifying allowed the amateur a spot in the field. Golf clap.

• Justin Hicks -- CUT -- HIcks has played in six tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, scrounging up only $8,464. With gas at $4 a gallon, that's only 2,116 gallons of gas. Note to Justin -- golf clubs do fit in the back of a Prius.

• J.B. Holmes -- t-48 -- One of the longest hitters on tour, Holmes is one of those guys that tend to do well on a stretched out U.S. Open course because unlike short hitters, he's used to playing out of the rough (I'll allow five seconds for you to snicker). He's only missed two cuts this year and showed everyone he isn't scared of some of the big guys, with a playoff win over Phil Mickelson in Phoenix.

• Charles Howell III -- t-18 -- Chucky Three Sticks has made the cut in six straight U.S. Opens, but has only cracked the top-30 once. Also, the 4,943 golfer in the Open that played at Oklahoma State.

• Ryuji Imada -- t-12 -- Feast or famine for Imada at this tournament. The Japanese native has two top-15 finishes and two missed cuts at the U.S. Open, but has been coming more into his own this season, even winning for the first time on the PGA Tour.

• Trevor Immelman -- t-21 -- Not to get all crazy on you, but I'm a big believer that the Grand Slam is "well within reach."