U.S. Open five things to know

American rise? For the first time in the history of golf, no American owns a major championship at the same time Europe has possession of the Ryder Cup. Might that change at Congressional Country Club this week? Well, Europeans own the top spots in the world with Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer taking the top three rungs on the rankings ladder. And if a non-American were to win just outside our nation's capital on Father's Day, the streak of five major winners from somewhere other than the United States would also be a first in the sport's history. 2. Streaks end at Congressional With Tiger Woods not in the field, he'll be missing his first U.S. Open since 1994. That leaves the Masters as the only major Woods hasn't missed as a professional. Other streaks that will end this week are Vijay Singh's mark of 67 majors in a row, which was the longest active streak. The new benchmark is Sergio Garcia's 48 straight after the Spaniard made it through sectional qualifying on June 6. Mike Weir had been ahead of Garcia with 48 in a row, but the Canadian -- who has been struggling through injuries -- isn't in the field at Congressional, either. 3. When leading isn't ideal He who sleeps with the 54-hole lead should beware. Thirteen consecutive 54