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.
4. John Daly -- Speaking of Mr. Daly, get your passport ready for those always friendly American custom agents! Long John, who has shed some weight and is looking great (see what I did there?) has announced he will be returning to the states for the St. Judes Classic in three weeks, his first PGA Tour tournament since he underwent the mandatory six-month suspension. Daly, who has become a Twitter-favorite because of his random posts and frequency, went all "My Life In & Out of the Rough" Wednesday morning when he said, about returning Stateside, "1st few things lookin to have in U.S. is White Cheddar Popcorn & a fresh U.S. Diet Coke!" His golf game might have changed for the better, but other things will never be different with this guy. For that, I think we love him even more.
3. Rory Sabbatini -- Trust me when I tell you I will take as many pot shots at the always uncomfortable Sabbatini whenever I can, but you can't dismiss his game last week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Moving in on a near two-year slump since his last victory, Sabbatini had weekend rounds of 65-64 to take the title by two shots over Brian Davis. His goofiness will never change, but neither will his streakiness as a player, and when he finds that groove, he's as good a golfing product to come out of the University of Arizona as anyone (sorry Jim and Annika).
2. Peter Hanson -- Hole-in-ones are like sexually transmitted diseases ... a ton of people don't have one, but you get the occasionally person who has more than you'd like to hear about. Hanson, for all we know, has knocked in numerous tee shots on par-3s, but the biggest of his life came in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open, when on the second playoff hole, Hanson went all Craig Parry at Doral, holing his tee shot for a hole-in-one and a chance to conquer or be conquered by the devil that is Bethpage Black.
1. Paul Casey -- Quick, name the third best golfer in the world right now. Sergio Garcia? Close. Geoff Ogilvy? Almost. It has to be Padraig Harrington, right? Not quite. The third best golfer, after his win Sunday at the BMW PGA Championship, is Casey, who now has three wins this year between the European and PGA Tour. Not only does this come as quite a surprise, but it shows something pretty important at this juncture in golf -- the European Tour might be more talented that the PGA Tour. Think about it -- Casey has won 10 times on the European Tour in his career and only once, at the Shell Houston Open this year, in America. While that seems like it might mean the fields here are tougher, I believe it shows that the European events are getting just as tough of fields and just as much respect from the Official World Rankings as the PGA. Casey also makes another good point -- Tiger Woods might have hit his stride early in his 20s, but most guys find their games when they hit the big 3-0. He is now 31, and is playing the best golf of his career. If you don't have him at the top of your list at Turnberry, you might just not be paying much attention.
