ESPN Golf

It's not much fun getting trumped by reality.

In predicting which stories may develop over the second half of the golf season, the Weekly 18 had to remove two from the list -- because they've already happened. Call it fickle forecasting, but we could smell Ben Curtis' resurgence, though we'll admit prophesizing a victory, as he seems destined for at the Booz Allen Classic, may have eluded this column. And we just knew Colin Montgomerie would have further final-round foibles following his U.S. Open breakdown, as happened at the Johnnie Walker Championship, where he shot an even-par 73 to finish T-4 on Sunday.

No worries, though; there will be many other highlights -- and lowlights -- to watch. Herewith, the top 18 headlines we're likely to read during the second half of the season, plus how and why each will occur.

After a final-hole double-bogey left Phil Mickelson calling himself "an idiot" for some poor decision-making and a failure to capture his fourth career major championship, there was much conjecture about the subsequent mental state of the world's second-ranked player. Even Lefty intimated he'd need three days in bed following the collapse and has already withdrawn from next week's ING Par-3 Shootout, a hit-and-giggle that would hardly recall the ghosts of Open past. But here's the thing: Mickelson is too talented to let any misfortune stand in the way of his long-term success. Sure, he may be rattled right now, but that sensation won't translate into a winless remainder to the season.

For perhaps the first time ever, the U.S. is not a prohibitive favorite at this year's Ryder Cup. Not only have the Europeans unlocked a secret to the team event, they are competing on home turf at The K Club in Ireland and own a roster that may be as star-studded as Tom Lehman's squad -- from the No. 3 man on down, at least. Of course, as we've seen in the past, comparing these sides on paper doesn't do much good. A repeat of last year's Presidents Cup doesn't seem such a stretch, as the event could come down to the final match on Sunday afternoon. And the winner is ... well, you'll just have to wait and see.

If the season ended today, Lorena Ochoa would win the LPGA's Player of the Year award. And Karrie Webb would be close. But as you may have noticed, there's plenty of golf to be played, which means more than enough time for top-ranked Annika Sorenstam to claim a record ninth career POY trophy. It's not like Sorenstam is having a bad season, per se -- she's ranked sixth on the money list, with a victory and six other top-10 finishes in nine starts -- so making such a comeback isn't out of the realm of possibility. Of course, Sorenstam will likely need a major title to make it a reality, so watch out for her at both this week's U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open in August.

You heard it here first: Tiger Woods won't win this year's British Open championship. Among the factors are Royal Liverpool's anonymity to players (making it more possible we'll have a non-elite winner), Woods' inability to ever win the Open anywhere but St. Andrews and his own inefficient play as of late. That means the world's top-ranked player will head to Medinah, site of his 1999 PGA triumph, trying to avoid his third season in the last four without a major victory. All of which leads to this question: Will Tiger win the PGA? Time will tell, but it's a pretty safe bet that he'll have a better chance at the PGA than the British.

Silencing doubters -- for a few minutes, at least -- Michelle Wie will return to the scene of one her previous best chances at making a PGA Tour cut and finally reach the weekend. Of course, as things often go in the dubious world of Wie, the 16-year-old will hardly be celebrated for becoming the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to make the cut against men. Instead, she will again be roundly jeered for taking her talents to the highest level rather than trying to win against female peers. No one deserves such criticism for making a personal choice like this, let alone a junior in high school. Poor kid.

Let's face it: Guys ranked 157th in the PGA Tour's putting category just don't win many tournaments. Garcia is among the world's top ball-strikers, but until the flat stick comes around that's all he's going to be. It's a familiar refrain for the 26-year-old Spaniard, who was 196th in putting last year, 129th in 2004 and 175th in '03. After starting the year as sixth on the World Ranking, Sergio has slipped to ninth and could find himself in the mid-teens by season's end.

If the PGA Tour used an LPGA-like points system for issuing its end-of-year awards, J.B. Holmes or Nathan Green might be named Rookie of the Year. Instead, the honor is voted on, and Villegas will win as much for the charisma and excitement he's brought to the game as his on-course play. That's not to say he isn't deserving, but all things being equal, it'll be a better photo op when the man recently named to People Magazine's Most Beautiful People list accepts the award.

It's hard to be critical of an organization which is attempting to reinvent its end-of-season schedule in an attempt to generate greater excitement among fans. As a result, most PGA Tour members will be openly supportive of commissioner Tim Finchem when final plans for the 2007 playoff system are announced this Wednesday. But supportive and excited are two different things. You show us the player who is genuinely fired up for next season's FedEx Cup and we'll show you a guy who has the fingers of his golf glove crossed behind his back.

Like the old Joker's Wild game show, cash is king and Lady Luck is queen on the PGA Tour, where often the two combine as one. As every player knows, tournaments distribute the big bucks no matter who is in the field, and many will take advantage of some big-timers neglecting their day jobs later this season. We're less than two months away from the true dog days of the PGA Tour, when players like Woods and Mickelson take extended vacations, leaving the leaderboards to some lesser-known guys. The ensuing result? More random faces finishing in this year's top 30 on the money list, where we should see the likes of Carl Pettersson, Arron Oberholser and Brett Wetterich at East Lake this November.

With as many as three or four rookies lined up to make the U.S. roster, captain Lehman is going to need a few wily veterans he can rely on for three days. At last year's Presidents Cup, Chris DiMarco and Fred Couples made the two biggest putts of the event in winning their singles matches on Sunday afternoon. Lehman's going to have a bevy of talented players to choose from, but here's saying he'll favor experience over everything else.

Said Geoff Ogilvy following his U.S. Open victory: "This is the last one [of the four majors] I would have thought I was going to win because I don't drive it very straight." He later added, "British Open is one of my favorite tournaments in the world. Hopefully I can play well there again." A top-notch player hitting his stride entering one of his favorite events? That will equal another major charge for Ogilvy, who should prove he's no fluky champion by contending for four days at Royal Liverpool next month.

Newly-turned 50-year-old Fred Funk has now entered the Jay Haas/Loren Roberts phase of his life, as he's now eligible for Champions Tour events while remaining exempt on the PGA Tour for four more years, courtesy of last season's Players Championship victory. Still the most accurate driver around with an above-average short game, Funk should thrive on the shorter courses of the senior tour. First up: The U.S. Senior Open in Hutchinson, Kan., two weeks from now, where you can expect the gritty Chickenhawk to contend on Sunday afternoon.

One year after setting a record for most money earned ($1,010,154) without a victory, Natalie Gulbis is back at it again. She's currently ranked ninth on this season's money list, but with five top-10 finishes and only one missed cut in 14 starts, a victory seems only a matter of time. The lone LPGA player with her own swimsuit calendar, Gulbis is often compared with former tennis star Anna Kournikova, who never won a tournament; upon the golfer's initial win, all correlations should be absolved.

Sometimes you have to hit rock-bottom before you can reach the top again. Furthering proof of that theory after the likes of Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak won major championships will be Charles Howell III, whose nethermost moment came at this year's Masters. In his hometown of Augusta, Ga., Howell finished DFL, as the players like to say, one stroke behind 68-year-old Charles Coody through the tournament's opening two rounds. Since then, he has seen a return to form, making the cut in six of eight starts, including a T-2 at the Zurich Classic.

No, not that Howell. Though CH3 will see a resurgence, David Howell is simply surging. The Englishman currently leads the European Tour's Order of Merit, despite retaining PGA Tour status. How good is this guy? He already has two victories in Europe and eight made cuts in as many U.S. starts this season, including five top-20 results. It's a grinding schedule that has seen men like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen wear down from in past years, but before Howell eschews one tour for the other, he'll continue to succeed on both.

Sound like an unreasonable win total for a nation that boasts only 22 tour regulars this season? Rack off, mate. Players from Down Under have already accounted for six victories -- two apiece from Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby, and one by Rod Pampling and Aaron Baddeley. Each of those men could certainly win another time or two and the likes of Adam Scott, Robert Allenby, Mark Hensby and Peter Lonard have all proven in the past they're capable of winning on U.S. soil.

Ryan Moore was All-Everything as an amateur, winning the U.S. Amateur, U.S. PubLinks, NCAA Championship and Western Amateur, and finishing T-13 at last year's Masters. Upon turning professional last year, Moore immediately made his mark with four top 25s on the PGA Tour in 12 events to gain full status for 2006. However, this season hasn't gone exactly as planned. The UNLV alum has a best finish of T-31 in eight starts while missing two months with a fractured bone in his left hand. Now that he's fully recovered, though, expect Moore to revert to form, faring better as the season progresses.

He may not have the flair or name recognition of last year's Nationwide three-time winner Jason Gore, but Tripp Isenhour has plenty of talent to take his game to the next level. With victories in two of his first five starts of '06, Isenhour is already guaranteed a spot in the big leagues next year, but can get there immediately with one more win. He almost accomplished that earlier this month, finishing T-3 at the Rex Hospital Open. At 38 and a PGA Tour member as recently as 2004, Isenhour is no rated rookie, but he will inspire headline writers while making a return "Tripp" to the tour.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com