Most of the time viewers watch golfers on the PGA Tour and are more jealous than the buddy of a powerball winner.

Today isn't one of those times.

The leaders at the Open Championship are battling their way around the links of Royal Birkdale in winds that are gusting to 40 miles-per-hour, hitting balls in places you'd never expect pros to be.

Nobody has broke par today and an Englishman named Simon Wakefield, who even the best of golf fans couldn't pick out of a lineup, fired an even-par round of 70 to post five-over, a number that is slowly becoming the mark to beat.

Justin Rose shot an 82, Jean Van de Velde fired an 80 and Adam Scott posted a 77 in winds on a day where the scoring average is 75.75, nearly six-over.

It appears nobody told Greg Norman that he's supposed to be struggling in these conditions. The Shark just made a birdie on the 14th hole to move in the lead at three-over, tied with K.J. Choi as they attempt to take advantage of the par-5 15th.

The weather has brought a lot of golfers back into the picture, including early favorite Anthony Kim, who made an eagle on the 17th hole to post 71. Kim stands at seven-over and as close as he's ever been to winning a major championship.

Bundle up, throw down another glass of coffee and remember how important a par is today. Our final pairing tomorrow could very easily be Simon Wakefield and Greg Norman. My how the world of golf is different without a certain Tiger Woods around.

The 2008 British Open is the only major championship since 1996 that we can say with certainty, "Tiger Woods will not be winning." With the best player in the world out for the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see what type of golfer steps up to claim the Claret Jug.

Will it be a top tier golfer, pouncing on the major without the best around? Will it be an up-and-comer that could use the British breakthrough? Could we see another stealth golfer steal the jug away from the field, unknown to everyone except the guy that puts the media guides together?

Here are a few to watch this week at Royal Birkdale, their best finish and something about them.

There are a lot of professional golfers that some (see:me) would say have a better chance of winning the British Open this week than Justin Rose, with Kenny Perry undoubtedly being one.

The thing is, Perry isn't playing in the British, skipping out on the major championship because of a prior commitment to the Greater Milwaukee Open. His reasoning was that if he hadn't caught fire and won three of his last five events, he wouldn't have a seat in the British and would still be invited to the GMO. Hey, a commitment is a commitment, ya know? Whatever your thoughts are, Rose doesn't agree.

"He is arguably the best player in the world right now. I find it amazing he is not here." Rose told The Sun. "I couldn't personally imagine myself opting out of a Major. He even opted out of the US Open. He won around that time too."

"It is strange he is not playing in these Majors and not testing himself at the highest level."

Hey, it might not be the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but it is a little trash talking made from a pro golfer born in the host country. This subject has been bounced around a bit over the past weeks, but could it be a guy not wanting to compete in a tournament he isn't the favorite? Wouldn't you rather contend in a major than win another B-level tournament without anyone of credibility in the field? Do you just hate paying for things with coins?

Come on, even David Duval is playing in the British.

It hasn't been the easiest of times for Stewart Cink, a golfer many consider to be as good as anyone on tour not named Tiger or Phil.

Cink's win yesterday at the Travelers Championship was his first since 2004, and helped lift his head above the constant second place water level he's been battling with this year.

Cink finished second to Tiger Woods at the Accenture Match Play in February and followed that up with a, would ya lookie there, a second place finish at the PODS Championship two weeks later.

Now, he finds himself third in the FedEx Cup points system, winning the first tournament after the "Oh No Tiger Is Out For the Year Fill Your Basement with Bottled Water and Canned Goods" which turned out to be great golf with amazing names on the leaderboard.

Hunter Mahan, winner of this event last year, finished a shot back of Cink after four rounds of impressive play that included only three bogeys.

Kevin Streelman, Cinderella story turned bogey maker at Torrey Pines, used the much needed confidence that comes with being recognized on the biggest stage in golf, snagging his first top-10 of his career on the PGA Tour with Friday and Saturday rounds of 63-62.

Where all ten golfers on this page will be emailing me to take them off the unlucky number page, the FanHouse Media Guide.

• Justin Rose -- t-5 -- I'm fully convinced Justin Rose (pictured) goes to every golf tournament with one thing in mind -- wearing tighter clothes than any female spectator in attendance. He has never won a PGA Tour event but he has won a tournament in 2002 called "The Crowns" which I'm sure is made-up.

• Rory Sabbatini -- t-51 -- Sabbatini hates Tiger Woods, normal belt etiquette and headwear that covers the top-portion of your head. He isn't having the year he's used to (33rd in FedEx points) and has missed the cut in four of his last six tournaments. Oh, and he hates this thing I just wrote.

• Adam Scott -- t-21 -- In case him being the third best golfer in the world and that your girlfriend wants to watch golf now because she might catch a glimpse of him isn't enough to hate him, check his sponsors. Titleist, Burberry, Rolex, Gulfstream, EA Sports, Footjoy, Aspen Group, Scott Golf Designs and Australian Golf Digest to name a few. Also, the U.S. Open is the only major he's never cracked the top-10.
  

• Patrick Sheehan -- DNP -- A journeyman that has bounced around between the Nationwide and PGA, Sheehan only has one top-10 this season. He graduated from the University of Hartford where he played golf with both Tim Petrovic and Jerry Kelly.

• Kevin Silva -- DNP -- Silva, a Tar Heel, has played on the Tarheel Tour, the New England Pro Golf Tour and the Minor League Golf Tour. Needless to say, this week will be the biggest stage he's ever been on.

• Vijay Singh -- t-3 -- The big Fijian has made the cut in 13 straight U.S. Opens, with seven top-10s during that stretch. He might struggle at times to find the fairway (147th in driving accuracy) but he always seems to make it work. Also, he was appointed a goodwill ambassador for Fiji in 2005.

• Heath Slocum -- CUT -- Slocum has been extremely consistent in 2008, making every cut since February 3. Slocum played on the same golf team as Boo Weekley (Bubba Watson joined the same team two years later) in Milton, Florida.

• Brandt Snedeker -- t-23 -- Everyone seemed excited about Snedeker at the Masters this year, where he closed with a 77 to tie for third. Since Augusta, he hasn't fared better than a tie for 35th with two missed cuts.

• Kyle Stanley (a) -- DNP -- He played in the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational, missing the cut with rounds of 75-74. A member of the Clemson golf team, Stanley is currently ranked 34 by Golfweek.

• Henrik Stenson -- t-26 -- It's amazing that Stenson has never finished in the top-10 at a major. The 15th ranked player in the world hasn't won this season on the European Tour but he does have six top-10s in just nine events.

Depending on what happens this week, European golfers could be 0-for-30 in the majors dating back to Paul Lawrie's unlikely 1999 victory. So, why exactly has Europe his the skids in the big tournaments? One explanation, I guess, is that three of the four majors are played in the United States, and American courses are, in general, more about manicured fairways, perfectly-raked bunkers, and 15-on-the-stimpmeter greens.

In Europe -- and especially the British Isles -- golf is less about "hit the fairway, hit the green, two-putt and move on," and more about battling the elements, quirky, 100-year-old courses, baked-out fairways, and slow, undulating greens. In many ways, the two games are diametrically opposed, though with many Europeans now playing on the PGA Tour, the differences have been lessened.

Still, why the struggles? Particularly when Europe routinely kicks' the U.S.'s ass in the Ryder Cup? It's a mystery ... and I don't have an answer. And if not for maybe the weirdest finish in a major, well, ever (hello Jean Van de Velde), Europe might be looking at 0-for-32. (Jose Maria Olazabal won the 1999 Masters. Oh, wait, Van de Velde is French ... does that still count?)

Anyway, none of this matters ... I think the streak ends this week -- I like Justin Rose.