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 weekly feature we call Making the Cut.5. Rick Rhoden -- Who said 50-year-old golfers can't win the occasional golf tournament? Rhoden, 56, claimed his eighth (8th!) Lake Tahoe Celebrity Championship last weekend, beating out Dan Quinn and Tony Romo. As Ryan pointed out after the victory, Rhoden has earned more in his "celebrity" golfing than he ever did during a season as a major league baseball player.
4. Hank Haney -- This quote basically has summed up the past week of Haney -- "I'm really worried about Hank [Haney]. Between Tiger and myself, he might kill himself." That came from the lips of Charles Barkley, and if anyone should be nervous, it is the famed instructor in charge of the most famous swing in golf. Tiger Woods has seemed to struggle with his swing all season, even during wins, and it all hit the fan at Turnberry. Sure, even Tiger deserves a break when he has a bad week, but can Haney stick around if Tiger can't find his groove anymore? Time will tell.
3. Bo Van Pelt -- If I told you Bo Van Pelt won on the PGA Tour last week, you might think I was crazy. Well, he did, at the U.S Bank Championship in Milwaukee, site of the "other" tournament going on during British Open week. It was Van Pelt's first PGA Tour win in 229 starts in his career, and he needed a birdie on the second playoff to claim it. It might not have starred any of the top names in the game, but Van Pelt had to beat out the likes of John Mallinger and Jerry Kelly to claim the victory, a large feat considering the success those two have had.
2. Tom Watson -- Probably the golf story of 2009 so far, Watson was one shot away from winning a major championship two months from his 60th birthday. While he didn't win, he sure did kick up the "is golf a sport" conversation, one in which my coworker absolutely killed on Tuesday. If Watson wasn't the best British Open golfer before this week, he sure is now, and I'm not really sure there is any comparison. If Watson makes par on 18, he would have won a British during the Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods era. You can't argue his ability to play links golf.
1. Stewart Cink -- How influential is Twitter in Stewart Cink's life? I actually got an e-mail from my mom asking if I followed him on the social site. Since the victory at Turnberry, Cink has tweeted pictures of Guinness-drinking from the Claret Jug, how he fit the Claret box in his overhead compartment and what the top-10 list looked like before his appearance on David Letterman. Needless to say, it appears Cink is really enjoying his latest piece of hardware.
