MEDINAH, Ill. – This week in the PGA Championship, two names that should show up near the top of the leader board are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Increasingly, whenever major championships roll around, there are two others: Jim Furyk and Chris DiMarco.

Almost without notice, Furyk, 36, has parlayed an unorthodox but dependable swing into a No. 3 world ranking, behind only Woods and Mickelson, in that order.

Furyk has won one major, the 2003 U.S. Open. His climb to the top echelons of golf has been sure and steady, never more so than since his recovery from arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist in March 2004.

Last year, he rose to fourth on the PGA Tour money list, thanks in large measure to his win at the Western Open. And this year, with his triumph at the Wachovia Championship in May plus eight other top-10 finishes, Furyk ranks second on the money list with $4.7 million, trailing only Woods, who has won $5.1 million.

Except for the Masters, where he shot 75s on Friday and Sunday to finish tied for 22nd, Furyk has been at his best this year in the majors.

At the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, Furyk hung tough until the very end, for a tie for second. And at the British Open at Hoylake, where Woods reigned supreme, Furyk made a major move on Saturday with a 6-under-par 66 before finishing alone in fourth.

Despite such a good year, on the eve of its final major, Furyk once again finds himself laboring in the shadows of the game’s two top stars, Woods and Mickelson.

“It’s never mattered,” he said this week. “I’m happy with where I stand in the world of golf, and I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing. Whether or not I show up on TV every week vs. Tiger or Phil or whoever, it is not important to me.

“I think the guys who get the attention, or get more attention than me, are deserving of it and are obviously great players. I get my due.”

That said, Furyk hopes to give CBS every reason to focus on him come Sunday afternoon at Medinah Country Club. He likes the course, and he’s not the least bit intimidated by the fact that, at 7,561 yards, it is the longest in the history of majors.

“I would love to be 20 yards longer, don’t get me wrong,” said Furyk, whose drives have averaged 279.7 yards, which ranks 169th on the Tour. “But usually at major championships – usually, not always – length isn’t an important factor.”

DiMarco, 37, who is suddenly making the best of a bad year, also has high hopes this week.

Since his first PGA Tour victory at SEI Pennsylvania Classic, DiMarco has also fought his way into the top ranks of the game.

Somewhat surprisingly, DiMarco, who has only three wins total, has made a name for himself more on grit, determination, and strong showings in the Ryder and Presidents Cups.

Last fall in the Presidents Cup, it was DiMarco who buried a putt needed to vanquish the Internationals, and in 2004, he was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal drubbing in the Ryder Cup.

Until his steely second-place finish at the British Open, this had been a dreadful year for DiMarco. He missed part of the season with a rib injury from a skiing accident. As he was slowly making his way back, DiMarco suffered another setback with the death of his mother shortly before the British Open.

“It’s been obviously emotional the last six weeks,” DiMarco said. “The most emotional thing for me, and the draining thing for me, is, in the midst of that, trying to come back from my rib injury. Some of the shots and scores I was shooting, I just haven’t done that in a long time.”

Having all but guaranteed himself a spot on the Ryder Cup team with his finish at Hoylake, DiMarco is hoping this week can provide a good finish to the season.

“I mean, I can turn this year around,” he said. “If I go out and do something crazy and maybe win a couple coming in, it could be my best year ever.”