For the last five years, the tournament had all the makings of a prolific event. Sandwiched neatly between two majors – The Open and PGA Championships – prominent players were drawn to the Michigan-based course as a tune up for the PGA. But the casual atmosphere made the Buick a fun, relaxing event after the nerve-blending Brit.

Three of golf's biggest names – Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk – took turns exchanging trophies over the last half decade. As they did, the Buick gained a reputation for being the PGA's ultimate melting pot, where the greatest golfers on the planet played to the second largest outdoor cocktail party in the world.

Rowdy fans chanted along as Singh captured back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, and were at their lager-fueled loudest as Woods held off a late charge by Furyk to win his second career Buick title in 2006.

Now, it's all changed. What was once a favorite tour stop is now as popular as a fart in a space suit.

A PGA schedule change moved the 2007 Buick Open to the last weekend in June, snatching away its plum position between majors. Proud papa Tiger withdrew following the birth of his first kid. Vijay is out with a bum ankle and knee.

All told, only two of the top 20 in the World Golf Rankings – Furyk and Trevor Immelman – are participating at Warwick Hills this weekend.

So is the Buick ready for the wrecking yard? Well, not quite. What it lacks in star power, the tournament more than makes up for in competitiveness and dark-horse contenders.

A look at some of the compelling storylines heading into the weekend:

Jim Furyk - The class of the field. He's the only player to win at Warwick Hills over the last five years, registering a tournament victory in 2003. With five top-10s to his credit already this season (including a solid second place tie with Woods at the US Open), many would assume the odds to be fairly low for Furyk...but 5/1 when the next closest golfer is at 20/1?

Well, consider his finishes at the Buick over the years: He was T-2 here last year, T-6 in 2005, T-6 in 2004 (the year he was coming off wrist surgery), T-10 in 2002, T-2 in 2001 and T-16 in 2000. Furyk consistently plays outstanding golf in Michigan and this year should be no different.

In a field without Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh? Yeah, you do the math.

Chris DiMarco - DiMarco's season has been ravaged by injuries. He hurt his lower back and ribs during a March 2006 skiing accident and has endured a nagging left shoulder problem the past three months. He developed tendonitis in his rotator cuff, arthritis in his AC joint and a bone spur which eventually will have to be removed.

Yikes.

Despite the injury woes, he looked to be on track with a 12th place finish at The Players in May, but followed that up by missing back-to-back cuts at the AT&T and Memorial.

If there is a ray of light for DiMarco, it's that he's strung together a stretch of solid efforts, making the cut in his last three tourneys.

This included a season-low 64 in the opening round of last weekend's Travelers Championship. At 40/1, he'll be a nice story to keep an eye on for golf enthusiasts and bettors alike.

John Daly - JD loves Warwick, and Warwick loves JD. He's referred to the Buick as a great event because "its a beer drinker's tournament" and will participate as a sponsor's exemption this year.

This isn't one of those "watch the human train-wreck" storylines, however - Daly has been great at Warwick in recent years. It's no real surprise some of his best golf is played in front of the rowdiest crowds. This makes Daly a legit darkhorse candidate.

In 2004, Daly put up a second place finish at the Buick. He's broken 70 in 11 of his last 16 rounds at Warwick. And PGATour.com senior correspondant Dave Shedloski has Daly sitting fifth in his Insider Power Rankings for the tournament.

If - and it's a big if - he can put his personal demons aside for the week, Daly could be a major surprise on Sunday.