It started when Zach Johnson, who had only one PGA Tour victory and missed the cut in seven of his previous 11 major championships, won the Masters.

		Gerry Dulac's Lipouts A topical look at the world of golf Tiger Woods wins the Bridgestone Invitational by eight shots, the sixth time in the past eight years he has won the tournament at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio: The only person who had more success in Ohio was Woody Hayes. Rory Sabbatini, who shot 74 in a final-round pairing with Woods, has a spectator ejected from Firestone after the fan asked him if Woods looks beatable now: Sabbatini would have been better served if he could have found a way to have Woods ejected. Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 female player in the world, finally wins her first major championship when she wins the Women's British Open by four shots at St. Andrews: Which begs the question, how did she ever ascend to No. 1 without a major title? The New York Daily News reports that former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, subject of a federal investigation regarding gambling allegations, was suspended from the country club to which he belonged in 2004 because he used to "pepper his neighbors' houses with golf balls that he hit from his backyard." Hey, he probably bet someone he could land a golf ball in one of their gutters for $50. The Skins Game on Thanksgiving weekend will feature Stephen Ames, Masters champion Zach Johnson, Fred Couples and Brett Wetterich: Whatever happened to the days of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson?

It continued when Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who had never won a tournament in the United States and only three in Europe, won the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

And it heightened when Padraig Harrington of Ireland, a veteran of European Ryder Cup teams but a player with no major victories, won the British Open at Carnoustie.

Could there possibly be another first-time major winner waiting to emerge when the PGA Championship, the final major of the season, begins today at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.?

Here are the top five possibilities to continue the trend that began when Johnson held off Tiger Woods and Ernie Els -- players with a combined 15 major titles -- to win the green jacket:

Sergio Garcia. The 27-year-old Spaniard had his best chance to win a major at the British Open when he frittered away a five-shot lead and watched his putt on the 72nd hole at Carnoustie cruelly spin out of the cup, forcing a playoff with Harrington. Don't forget, though, Garcia had a chance to win the previous time a major was at Southern Hills -- the 2001 U.S. Open -- but derailed with a final-round 77.

Adam Scott. If it wasn't for Garcia, he would be the person to carry the annoying tag of best player to never win a major. Having just turned 27, Scott is 0 for 26 in majors but has won five times on the PGA Tour, including two tournaments just a notch below the majors -- The Players Championship and Tour Championship.

Luke Donald. After taking a month off to get married, he might be ready to take another big step at Southern Hills. Donald was third in last year's PGA Championship and, after his long layoff, played well on the weekend at Firestone, shooting 67-70.

Stewart Cink. He might not be in this group if he didn't miss an 18-inch putt on the final hole at Southern Hills in the '01 U.S. Open, keeping him out of a playoff. Cink was third in the Players Championship and sixth in the British Open, and he seems to be the type of player who wins the PGA.

Scott Verplank. Not only will he be accustomed to the heat -- he grew up in Dallas and played at Oklahoma State -- but Verplank also is on a roll, with five top-10 finishes in his past six starts. He also is one of just 13 players who have made the cut in all three majors this season and finished seventh in the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Trivia

Sergio Garcia remains regarded as the best player to never win a major championship. Who is regarded as the best player to never win a PGA Championship? Answer at end.

Wrong direction

Robert Allenby of Australia, who began the season with five top-10 finishes in his first six starts, is going in the other direction heading to the PGA Championship.

Allenby is among four players at Southern Hills who have missed the cut in all three majors this year. The others are Colin Montgomerie, former British Open winner Todd Hamilton and Johan Edfors.

Worse, Allenby shot 82-80 in the final two rounds at the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, not exactly a performance that will brew confidence heading into the final major of the season.

Conversely, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk -- the Nos. 1 and 2 ranked players in the world -- are among 13 players in the field who have made the cut in all three majors this season.

The others: Verplank, Johnson, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Mike Weir, Jerry Kelly, Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, Niclas Fasth, Lee Westwood and Carl Pettersson.

To illustrate how difficult the courses played in the first three majors, Woods is a cumulative 7-over par in those events despite finishing second at the Masters and U.S. Open and 12th at the British Open.

		Birdies & Bogeys The ups and downs Birdies: To Natalie Gulbis, right, the LPGA Tour's calendar girl, who finally won her first LPGA event -- the Evian Masters -- in Evian-Les-Bains, France. If she can continue to win, Gulbis could do more for the LPGA Tour than any of its current stars -- provided she keeps her dad away from the spotlight. Bogeys: To Michelle Wie, who is beginning to rival John Daly for most rounds in the 80s by a professional golfer. Her latest came in the second round of the Women's British Open when she shot 80 at St. Andrews -- the fourth time in her 13 completed rounds she has shot 80 or higher. That does not include her first-round withdraw from the Ginn Tribute when she was 14 over through 16 holes or her withdraw after nine holes of the second round from the U.S. Women's Open.

A Woods-Sabbatini pairing?

Rory Sabbatini might get yet another chance to see how beatable Woods might be.

Gary Player, who will captain the International team in the President's Cup, said he just might pair Sabbatini, a native of South Africa, against the world's No. 1 player when the matches are contested Sept. 27-30 in Montreal.

"You either take down the best player," Sabbatini said, "or you sacrifice yourself for the rest of the team."

Sabbatini has been paired twice with Woods in the final round this season -- once at the Wachovia Championship and again Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational -- and each time Sabbatini shot 74 and lost. It was the week after the Wachovia Championship, after Sabbatini shot a first-round 67 to lead The Players Championship, that he said Woods looked "as beatable as ever" despite his victory.

At the U.S. Open, it was almost as if Sabbatini was taunting Woods when he signed up to play a 7 a.m. practice round with him on Wednesday. Woods, though, decided not to play a practice round that day, something he will often do during a major championship.

Quotable

Greg Sheridan, the caddie for Natalie Gulbis, after she won the Evian Masters, her first LPGA Tour victory in 151 starts: "That should take care of the Kournikova stuff," a reference to Russian tennis beauty Anna Kournikova, who never won a tournament.

Dissa and data

Garrett Sieger of The First Tee of Beaver Falls is one of 60 juniors from The First Tee programs worldwide selected to play in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, a Champions Tour event Aug. 31-Sept. 2 in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The Pittsburgh Amateur championship for men and women is Aug. 18 at Schenley Park Golf Course. There are four divisions for men and women -- Open, Senior (ages 50-61), Super Senior (62-74) and Legends (75 and older). The Open division will be 36 holes and entry is $40. All others are 18 holes and cost $20. Register in the pro shop or call 412-622-5969.

The 18th Tito Francona Golf Classic, which benefits the oncology and cardiology funds at Heritage Valley Health System's Beaver campus, is Aug. 20 at Olde Stonewall GC and Connoquenessing CC. Call 724-728-9111.

Trivia answer

Arnold Palmer won seven major titles, but he never won a PGA Championship. He finished second in 1964, '68 and '70.