Making The Cut: Big Phil and Long John

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. Michelle Wie -- Thinking back a year ago, it's almost like Michelle Wie has become a different person. In 2008, at the very tournament she will tee up at on Thursday, Wie forgot to sign her scorecard after rounds of 67-65, landing a disqualification that could be listed as her lowest of lows (which is saying a lot). Now, with a tour card and a fresh outlook, Wie is back at the LPGA State Farm Classic with two top-3 finishes this season and seemingly getting close to her first career victory. Even if she doesn't win, Wie has to be hoping that someone will remind her to put her autograph on the only piece of paper that matters.

4. Jack Nicklaus -- The Golden Bear hosts the Memorial this week and even teed it up on Wednesday with Tiger Woods for a little skins game match. Jack has admitted that he wants Muirfield Village to play a step down from a major championship, but has made the course a hair more playable than last year, when some players were scared golfers wouldn't return to compete in the event. Now, with manageable roughs and a course that won't punish everyone, players seem happier and Jack won't be the catalyst for angry millionaires.

3. Phil Mickelson -- Two weeks ago, Phil announced his wife, Amy Mickelson, was diagnosed with breast cancer and he'd be history from the golf scene until everything had settled down. Since then, it has been all good news for Amy, who caught the cancer early, and Phil has already committed to the St. Jude Championship next week, prepping for the U.S. Open. For the first time in his career, how Phil plays will be the last thing on everyone's mind, and that might just be a secret recipe for success.

2. John Daly -- Like my buddy Jay Busbee noted, having Phil and Big John in the same tournament is almost as exciting as the Memorial field. Next week, Daly will be in a PGA Tour field for the first time since October of '08, and he's bringing a new swagger not often seen in the controversial bomber. If the golf world has ever needed Daly to bring some excitement, it's now, and with the way he's played in Europe, fans have to be fairly hopeful that John has finally realized what he has and might just embrace it instead of drinking it into oblivion. Either way, he's a character, and will make for an interesting story, feast or famine.

1. Tiger Woods -- Tiger has been more of a staple in the NBA than in the golf world the last few weeks. Taking a backseat after a disappointing Players Championship, Tiger has been a fixture at Orlando Magic games and that's about it (well, besides the random appearance in a Simmons mailbag). Now, he's back at a course he has dominated in the past and hoping to maybe -- possibly, hopefully -- find a golf swing that he can live with. At times, Tiger has looked downright confused with his game, a look we're not used to, but he is still producing results. If Hank Haney and company have the man locked in this week, should we go ahead and pencil him in for Bethpage?