Shaun Micheel

The math is simple: 156 players tee off Thursday at the British Open, come Sunday one name gets engraved on the trophy. Winning a major golf tournament ensures immortality. But greatness? Maybe not. Golf history is rich with fluke winners, even in majors. Below is one observer's list of the five worst golfers to win a major in the last 50 years, plus the five best who never won a big one. Worst winners of majors: 1. Orville Moody, 1969 U.S. Open. In the 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino got their first tour wins at the U.S. Open, so did Moody.

The math is simple: 156 players tee off Thursday at the British Open, come Sunday one name gets engraved on the trophy. Winning a major golf tournament ensures immortality. But greatness? Maybe not. Golf history is rich with fluke winners, even in majors. Below is one observer's list of the five worst golfers to win a major in the last 50 years, plus the five best who never won a big one. Worst winners of majors: 1. Orville Moody, 1969 U.S. Open. In the 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino got their first tour wins at the U.S. Open, so did Moody.

His hands were shaking, his knees were weak. You wondered if he could stand on his own two feet. Another hip-swinger from Memphis was all shook up. In fact, the prospect of winning the 85th PGA Championship at Oak Hill almost sickened Shaun Micheel. "I had some oatmeal for breakfast that got about three bites taken out of it," he admitted.

Reporting from Pebble Beach — This was opening day at the 110th U.S. Open in a clamshell: Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who have combined for 18 majors, failed to card a birdie — but someone named Brendon De Jonge landed an eagle. Professional Geoff Ogilvy (eight over par) played like an amateur and amateur Hudson Swafford played like a real pro for 16 holes, going one under making double-quadruple on his last two holes. John Rollins held the top spot on the leaderboard at one point, and so did Cabrera.

Shaun Micheel was the last to qualify for the 16-man field in the World Match Play Championship at Virginia Water, England. He was the first player in two months to beat Tiger Woods. And, after dusting off another European Ryder Cup player, Micheel stands one match away from the richest prize in golf. Destiny? "You have to feel that way," Micheel said Saturday after a 2-up victory over Robert Karlsson.

Reporting from Pebble Beach — This was opening day at the 110th U.S. Open in a clamshell: Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who have combined for 18 majors, failed to card a birdie — but someone named Brendon De Jonge landed an eagle. Professional Geoff Ogilvy (eight over par) played like an amateur and amateur Hudson Swafford played like a real pro for 16 holes, going one under making double-quadruple on his last two holes. John Rollins held the top spot on the leaderboard at one point, and so did Cabrera.

The $5-million Target World Challenge, the final sanctioned PGA Tour event of the year, begins today at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. Tiger Woods is the host of the 16-player, 72-hole tournament in which the winner receives $1.2 million. Padraig Harrington of Ireland is defending champion. The field is made up of Woods, the top 11 available players from the rankings as of Oct. 6, plus four special exemptions. Woods invited Jay Haas, Fred Couples, Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel.

Tiger Woods returned after a five-week break from the PGA Tour and found that some things never change. In the land of Disney, players have to shoot low scores to be in the lead. He wasn't among them. "For my first tournament back in a while, to be able to shoot a halfway decent score is not bad," Woods said Thursday after his 69 in the National Car Rental Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Five players had a share of the lead at seven-under-par 65, most of them with something at stake.

First round par-72 scores at the PGA Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. p-PGA West, Arnold Palmer Private Course (6,931 yards); b-Bermuda Dunes Country Club (6,927 yards); w-Indian Wells Country Club (6,478 yards); q-La Quinta Country Club (7,060 yards): * THE FACTS *--* Bob Tway...31-32--63p Stephen Ames...32-31--63p John Cook...33-31--64w Chris DiMarco...33-31--64b Robert Gamez...31-34--65w Dave Stockton Jr....33-32--65q Frank Lickliter II...35-30--65b Shaun Micheel...34-31--65q Rod Pampling...

Shaun Micheel arrived at Disney World feeling the strain of trying to keep his PGA Tour card. He wound up sharing the first-round lead, but his perspective changed quickly Thursday when he got to the first tee. Micheel's amateur partner was supposed to be a New York stockbroker. Instead, the spot was given to Patrick Marcune, a 22-year veteran of the New York Police Department who had been at ground zero since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Shaun Micheel was the last to qualify for the 16-man field in the World Match Play Championship at Virginia Water, England. He was the first player in two months to beat Tiger Woods. And, after dusting off another European Ryder Cup player, Micheel stands one match away from the richest prize in golf. Destiny? "You have to feel that way," Micheel said Saturday after a 2-up victory over Robert Karlsson.

His hands were shaking, his knees were weak. You wondered if he could stand on his own two feet. Another hip-swinger from Memphis was all shook up. In fact, the prospect of winning the 85th PGA Championship at Oak Hill almost sickened Shaun Micheel. "I had some oatmeal for breakfast that got about three bites taken out of it," he admitted.

Did Thomas Bonk actually watch Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of the PGA before he wrote, "You have to give Woods credit, because he has handled his discomfort with skill and grace?" During those rounds, Tiger frequently acted surly and discourteously. Many times, he threw his club toward his caddie in disgust or slammed it into the ground. Every missed putt resulted in frowns and looks of disbelief. He was behaving like an ill-mannered junior member. Then, on a short par-four, he tried to drive the green while the group in front was putting -- just about the most discourteous act in golf.

The first 1-2 showdown was a washout at Torrey Pines, but maybe Tiger Woods-Vijay Singh II will prove to be better as a sequel at Riviera Country Club when the $4.8-million Nissan Open begins Thursday. Woods and Singh, the top two ranked players in the world, lead a field that also includes defending champion Mike Weir and 11 of the top 20 players in the rankings. That number includes 10th-ranked David Toms, who hasn't played this year after having wrist surgery at the end of last year.