Quick 18: Top masters moments, Manassero's success

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Sixteen-year-old Matteo Manassero is the youngest to ever make the cut at Augusta and will turn pro next month.

Editor's note: PGATOUR.COM's Melanie Hauser will be shaking out the mental lint and pulling together the "Quick 18" on Mondays this year.

1. Tough to pick the most poignant moment at Augusta National late Sunday night. Amy holding back the tears. Caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay holding back his tears. Phil and Amy's long hug. Heck, take all three. What they've gone through the last year touches all of us. Everyone knows someone who's battling breast cancer.

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2. We're convinced there is something to this mystical bond between Augusta National and certain players. Like Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw. And now, Phil Mickelson. How else do you explain that just stepping onto the course righted what was wrong with his game? Mickelson stumbled around earlier this year, then transformed into vintage Phil on Monday. Yes, the family was with him, but... there was something else at work too.

3. It was a Masters filled with incredible shots, but two of them really got our attention this week -- Tiger's bend-it-around-the-tree to the ninth and Phil's off-the-pine-straw-through-the-trees onto the 13th green. Tiger made the putt. Phil didn't.

4. Tom Watson proved, once again, he has no intention of fading into the sunset. He opened with a 67 that had some jaws dropping, but couldn't keep up the pace. Still, he tied for 18th -- his best finish since a fourth in 1997 -- with son Michael on his bag. "I still love to compete," Watson said. "I have thoughts of playing my butt off and not making the same mistakes as I did today. I have the same attitude today I had 37 years ago when I first played here." Attention USGA: His invitation to Pebble Beach should be in the mail.

5. After his closing round, Tiger Woods seemed frustrated with his game and some of the questions. He entered the event to win and didn't get it done. He made too many mistakes in his closing 69 -- and tie for fourth -- and plans to take some time off to reassess. When will we see Tiger again? No one knows. Maybe at PLAYERS, a better chance at The Memorial and definitely at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

6. Timing is everything. Take that squiggly piece of pine pollen that fell mysteriously into Phil's putting line on the second hole and rerouted his putt. We wondered if it meant something. And it did. He wasn't going to let anything distract him.

7. At Augusta, it's all about the details. And here's one for you. A thick layer of yellow pollen settled on everything -- daily, sometimes hourly -- before the cool front blew through Thursday. So to keep the trees lining the entrance and those near the new hospitality area green, the grounds crew gave them a nightly rinse to take off dust.

8. It doesn't seem like there's much middle ground when it comes to thoughts on the new Tiger Woods Nike television ad. You either like it or you hate it. Not many ehs in the mix. But, as Nike founder Phil Knight said, it got people talking. But it wasn't shown last weekend.

9. You hear the players talking about crystal. They win it here for eagles, holes-in-one, low round of the day and double-eagles. The leading crystal winner? Six-time champ Jack Nicklaus who has had 24 eagles and 15 low rounds. That's 48 goblets and 15 crystal vases, if you're counting.

10. According to a pundit or two, a Tiger win would have set karma back centuries. Q-18 disagrees and counters with a different take. What would karma say about second chances?

11. And while we're at it, Larry Gatlin's take on Tiger's comeback: "I read in this book, a book that I should be reading more often that those without the sin cast the first stone. That pretty much leaves the cowboy singer out of rocks in that fight. As a recovering addiction, I think you might say a prayer for him instead of throwing things at him."

12. One more Gatlin story -- hey, he's a golfer. He and his bride of 40 years, Janis, had separate tee times at Saks and Neiman Marcus in New York. Gatlin walks out of Saks and spies a table of Rolex knock offs. He takes off his genuine Rolex and asks the sidewalk merchant if he'll trade him for one of his. The guy looks at the watch -- blue face, diamonds around the face -- and shakes his head no. "Can't do it blood,'' the guy said. The guy went back to selling his $19.95 knock offs. Gatlin just laughed.

13. Some people can keep a secret. Golf World reported that during Thursday's round, David Duval's drive bounced twice, then hit his wife Susie in the right thigh, thus saving him from a really bad situation. She didn't want to break his concentration and asked everyone around her not to tell him when he walked up. They didn't. When told about the incident following the round, it was, well, no big deal. His opening 75 was.

14. Tiger on playing four rounds with K.J. Choi: "He's a great guy, and on top of that he's learned a lot of English. Our conversations are getting a little bit longer now.'' And he understands your jokes? "Oh yeah.''

15. Talk about a shot of cold water in the face. Els was on a roll coming into the Masters, made the cut for the first time in four years, then throws out a third-round 75. He shrugged. "I'm going to play Sunday, try and break par, not break a club... if I can."

16. Consider Rory McIlroy's current malaise as a learning curve. He's 20, carving out a new life in the States and it takes a while to adjust to the TOUR life.

17. Two words: Ricky Barnes. If you're not paying attention, you should. The former U.S. Amateur champ is finally coming into his own -- a few years later than he thought he would; than we thought. He earned his way onto the PGA TOUR this year and now has a pair of top-10s in majors -- a share of the runner-up spot at last year's U.S. Open and a tie for 10th Sunday at the Masters. Once a little brash, he's now 29 with a bit more perspective. "This is a fickle game, a very humbling game,'' he said. "No one had higher expectations than me. Maybe I put too much on myself."

18. And, while we're on amateur champs, Matteo Manassero had us flashing back to a young Seve Ballesteros. The soon-to-be-17-year-old is turning pro and will be home schooled to finish his education, so he won't be around to defend his British Amateur title. Where will the U.S. see him next? In the headlines from the Italian Open, then at St. Andrews in July. When asked his thoughts on Manassero turning pro, uber-European agent Chubby Chandler said, simply, "Brilliant." And Manassero won't be on Chandler's client list, so that's quite a statement.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.