We get to see a new 'old' course on the rotation this year. We're used to seeing the names St. Andrews, Muirfield, and something with a Royal on the front of it. The 2006 British Open will be contended on another Royal course, but it is known as something else.

Royal Liverpool Golf Club is the official name of the course commonly called "Hoylake." The British Open was last played there in 1967 and is back after a 39-year absence. There aren't many numbers out there to research, but there were a few things about Hoylake and the British Open to consider in this week's The Numbers Game.

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The U.S. Open produces some of the most interesting golf all year long. In a tournament where par is a great score, it is always fun to view the aftermath.

This year, we have some new words because of Winged Foot's 18th hole. "A Phil," or a "Monty"… maybe a "Phonty" can be defined as letting an Aussie win a major championship after throwing up all over oneself. Any way you describe it, the U.S. Open has provided many interesting factoids for this week's The Numbers Game.

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In 1974, Sandy Tatum was in charge of setting up Winged Foot for the U.S. Open. A quote he gave that week has become a mantra for all succeeding Opens: "We're not trying to humiliate the best players in the world. We're simply trying to identify who they are."

To his credit, the USGA did just that. It took the massacre at Winged Foot to stamp it down. There really isn't a question now that the U.S. Open has been and is now the toughest golf tournament in the world with the best regularly surfacing to the top. This week in The Numbers Game, I'll look at events leading up to and after the defining moment of U.S. Open golf and also compare this major with the others since that point in history.

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A popular sports radio host says "if you take the time to email me, I'll take the time to read it." The same goes for me. Of course, he probably gets tens of thousands more emails than me. Still, I do read and think about the emails I receive, and I encourage you to send me more. Our email addresses can be found on the staff page.

Over the past few weeks, two emails in particular have inquired about The 40-30-20-10 Rule. Recently, I applied the rule to the LPGA and to the Champions Tour. Both emails posed questions or suggestions that I thought I'd answer here.

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If you were like me and many other golf fans, you spent Sunday afternoon watching an exciting finish to the Senior PGA Championship. Both Brad Bryant and Jay Haas made nerve wracking birdie putts on the final hole of regulation to send the championship into extra holes.

During those three holes, Haas spent most of the time scrambling around and sinking longer putts to keep himself alive. Bryant, on the other hand, could not rekindle the magic he had on #18 in regulation and lost the tournament by missing a four footer on the last playoff hole, which happened to be #18 again.

This week in The Numbers Game, I thought it would be an appropriate time to take the 40-30-20-10 rule and see if it applies to the Senior PGA players as well as it does to the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. We saw just how important the 30 (putting) was in those final few holes. Will the others fall into their normal place? Read on to find out.

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Next year we get to witness the "NASCAR-ization" of the PGA Tour. The guys in the big offices of the PGA headquarters wanted to make the end of the year more exciting than watching paint dry, watching people struggle to keep their PGA Tour cards, and the occasional Michelle Wie sighting.

So what we will have is a points system unveiled last year that will determine a playoff field. The points will be reset for a final points chase. Is all this good for the PGA Tour? Is there a better way? I'll talk about that and more this week in The Numbers Game.

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Dave Koster has the week off, so I'm filling in for him. This week, we'll be talking about handicaps, course ratings, and slope, as well as how you can take this knowledge to improve your odds of winning a few more bets. For the purpose of this article, I'm going to assume that you know how to calculate your own handicap index. If you don't, read the appropriately titled "What's Your Handicap?" and come back. I'll wait.

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I had the pleasure of going to the Wachovia Championship this past week. If you're wondering, I wasn't one of the dedicated few that stuck it out on Sunday even though a few of us had tickets. I love golf, but not enough to stand in hard, cold rain.

So while I was watching Jim Furyk pour (no pun intended) in his par putt on the first playoff hole, I thought I'd run down a few of the numbers that stood out to me. This week it's The Numbers Game, Wachovia Championship style.

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