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Q: This year’s U.S. Open brought up an interesting water-cooler discussion at work: Was it the most exciting major ever? For me, I said the 1977 British Open. What majors do you rank as your Top 5 for excitement?
— Chris Pilliod, Sinking Spring, Pa.

A: Chris, if you were to ask which ones were most “significant,” I would put forth the 1913 U.S. Open because of what Francis Ouimet’s victory meant to golf in this country. But the term “excitement” puts a different spin on things and it’s only natural that we gravitate to those in the TV age because of the indelible image made possible. Anyway, for my money, here are the five best major championships, so far as excitement goes:

1) 1986 Masters and Jack Nicklaus' 18th major win.

2) Your favorite, the 1977 shootout between Nicklaus and Tom Watson at Turnberry.

3) The 1960 U.S. Open and Arnold Palmer’s charge to victory which crossed the paths of three legends at various stages of their career — Palmer, Nicklaus, Ben Hogan.

4) The 1975 Masters where two great players, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, once again fell one shy to their nemesis, Nicklaus.

5) Greg Norman going head-to-head and beating Nick Faldo at the 1993 British Open was vintage stuff.

I watched, but did not attend, four of these; the ’60 U.S. Open I’ve studied through books and documentaries. For the ones I’ve attended, I’d rank them accordingly: 1) 2004 Masters; 2) 2007 British Open; 3) 2000 PGA Championship; 4) 1999 U.S. Open; 5) 2002 British Open.

Q: I’m struck by the phenomenal performance of Asian players on the LPGA Tour lately. (As of Aug. 5, half of the top 40 women in the world rankings were Asian.) Why hasn’t that translated over to the PGA Tour as well?
— Steve Houtz, Minneapolis

A: Tell you what, Steve. If you can come up with an answer for that one, let me know, because it’s one that’s mystified many of us within the confines of media centers for years now. People who know a lot more about this than I suggest cultural realities are a big part of the phenomenon. There’s also the fact that male golfers from Asia compete against an incredible worldwide depth of talent, with players from the U.S., South Africa, Australia, England, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, and various other European countries being years more developed in their golf programs than most Asian countries. That is slowly changing, but Korean women have not faced the sort of international depth that their male colleagues have.

Q: How does John Daly, ranked No. 698 in the world, qualify to play anywhere on the PGA Tour anymore?
— Marcia Goforth, Carefree, Ariz.

A: Don’t look now, Marcia, but John Daly has slipped to No. 708 since you submitted your query. When he won the 2004 Buick Invitational, Daly secured a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, which expired at the end of 2006, a wasted year given that he earned just $192,134 and finished 192nd on the money list. He got by in 2007 on sponsor’s exemptions, but earned a mere $248,501 and was 188th on the money list. Again, he was forced in 2008 to lobby for sponsor’s exemptions, but whereas he got into 24 tournaments a year ago, Daly has teed it up just 15 times thus far in ’08. That’s an indication that sponsors are growing weary of his act, because while he’ll bring attention to your tournament, he’s very likely to also bring some sort of circus act. And the shame of it all is, the man is a top 40 money-winner every year, if only he’d clean up his act.