Woods experienced his first taste of success at the US Open in 1999. He finished in a tie for third place with Vijay Singh in a tournament that ended up being won by Payne Stewart.

The performance put on by Woods at the 2000 US Open remains as one of the great golf performances of all time. Despite adverse weather conditions, Woods shot an opening-round 65 to give him a one-stroke lead over Miguel Ángel Jiménez and he never looked back. He ended up at 12 under par, becoming the first golfer in the 106-year history of the US Open to finish at double-digits under par. Ángel Jiménez and Ernie Els tied for second 15 strokes behind Woods. The 15-stroke margin of victory remains the largest margin of victory in any major championship.

Woods returned to the top of the leader board at the 2002 US Open held at Bethpage State Park. He led after each round and ended up at three under par. Phil Mickelson, his closest competitor, finished three strokes behind.

After a pair of top-20 finishes in 2003 and 2004, Woods nearly won his third US Open in 2005 held at Pinehurst. Woods did not finish in the top six at the end of each of the first three rounds but came charging back in the final round to nearly steal the victory. He shot four birdies on the back nine and shot an overall best-of-the-day 69. It was good enough for second place.

Woods won his third US Open in 2008 at Torrey Pines. His 12-foot putt on the final hole tied him with Rocco Mediate at minus one, forcing a playoff. After an 18-hole playoff between the two ended in a tie, Woods defeated Mediate in a sudden death playoff.

This PGA golf tournament was started in 1922 in Louisiana and enjoyed several different tournament names through the years until 2005 when it took on the name of the Zurich Classic. The winners of this famous tournament through the years are from all around the world. The Countries of Fiji, Argentina, France, South Korea, Paraguay, Wales, South Africa, Spain, Canada, and the United States have all boasted winners from their prospective countries.

This years line up of professional golfers will be no different from any other year as the top golfers in the world will step up to make their name in golfing history at the 2010 Zurich Classic golf tournament. Jerry Kelly enjoyed that victory last year after failing to win a PGA tournament since 2002. Who will take this year’s PGA Zurich Classic championship title that starts on April 22nd?

The early rounds were highlighted by the 60-year-old Tom Watson leading for most of the first round and the fourth ranked golfer in the world, Lee Westwood, taking the lead in the late hours of the round. The leader board didn’t disappoint going into the weekend with names such as Poulter, Westwood, Mickelson, and of course Woods all in the top ten.

Saturday started with Westwood in the lead and ended with him there also, but it was Mickelson’s play in the late afternoon that shifted the entire feel of the Masters. Hitting back to back eagles and following them up with a birdie on the back nine put Mickelson in the final pairing only a stroke behind Westwood entering Sunday with other big names like Woods within striking distance.

Sunday was not Woods time to shine though, as he faded early and eventually finished in a tie for fourth. Mickelson, avoiding his typical meltdown, took advantage of the momentum he gained on Saturday and took the lead heading into the back nine. Mickelson never scored worse then par on Sunday and fought off surges from competitors while he overtook Westwood to win by two strokes for his third green jacket.

The 2010 version of the Shell Houston Open is highly anticipated as it has one of the best golfer lineups that the event has ever had. Earlier this week, golfers Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples announced that they would participated in the tournament. While Mickelson and Couples are two of the world’s most recognizable golfers, they are just two of the latest names to the list of established golfers.

This tournament is especially important to Couples, as he is an alumnus of the University of Houston. In 2003, Couples became the first Houston alumnus to win the event. Last year, Couples had the lead in the tournament heading into the last 9 holes of the tournament, but eventually lost his lead.

With Mickelson and Couples, the Shell Houston Open now has 6 of the world’s 11 highest ranking golfers on their commitment list. The tournament has already lined up Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, and Roy McElroy. Paul Casey won last year’s tournament and took home over $1 million.

The tournament has also received commitments from Angel Cabrera and Lucas Glover. Cabrera won the 2009 Masters in Augusta, GA, and Glover won the 2009 US Open.