FanHouse Peter Hanson

The name Craig Thomas probably doesn't ring a bell with a lot of golf fans. And why would it? Well, it just so happens that Thomas currently holds the non-PGA Tour tournament record at Bethpage Black, shooting a 64 in the -- you ready for this -- North Fork Bank New York State Open Championship.

Friday, at Bethpage Black, Mike Weir was trying his hardest to make Craig look like a dud. The problem was, the Black course has teeth, and Weir couldn't avoid its nastiness on his way home. Six-under par and sneaking up on a lot of records (lowest score in a U.S. Open is 63, lowest score ever in an Open at Bethpage), Weir made a double-bogey on the 408-yard par-4 6th hole. No problem. Weir birdied his last two holes to shoot the 13th 64 in U.S. Open history, and the first since the second round at Olympia Fields in 2003.

---

---

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.

Someone once said about golf that you'd rather be lucky than good. I have absolutely no idea what this means or even how it makes sense, but hey, look at Peter Hanson, making a hole-in-one on the second playoff hole at U.S. Open qualifying to get a spot at Bethpage Black.

Lucky dog!

It might not have been Tiger Woods against Phil Mickelson. Heck, it isn't even Ernie Els playing Vijay Singh, but the two professional golfers playing the best right now will face up against each other Sunday exactly 125 miles away from their home course.

Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who won this tournament in 2006 and was runner-up in '07, will take on Englishman Paul Casey in a 36 hole final to see who can claim title of Best Golfer During Tiger Week.