Quick 18: Ishikawa's 58, Fowler's orange, Mickelslam

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The future looks bright for young Ryo Ishikawa, who shot a 58 on Sunday to win in Japan.

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. They had our attention. Now they have a double dip of Q-18's respect and awe. Knowing Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa have great things ahead of them is one thing. Watching them win on the same weekend -- Rory with a closing 62; Ryo with a mind-boggling 58 -- well, get ready. They're not going to be sitting back and waiting for the next wins. They're going for them.

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2. So much for paying too much attention to someone's latest finishes. Again. McIlroy was a shot away from missing his third consecutive cut and ... boom. A few weeks ago, Phil Mickelson had us scratching our heads about his game and ... boom. McIlroy just needed his tangled mane to grow back after a cut -- yes, he kidded about that in Houston. Phil needed Augusta. Who's next?

3. A 58? Yes 5-8. It doesn't matter what course, what tour. That's impressive, especially with two closing pars. Don't say, oh, short course (par 70, 6,545 yards). And don't go thinking this means a spate of 59s. What it means is watch out. This teenager is the real deal. And a 58 is something special.

4. Saving the tour, one win at a time? Japanese Tour executive director Andy Yamanaka said Ishikawa rescued the tour. Just about single-handedly. "Before he appeared, people were losing interest in men's golf,'' Yamanaka said. "The men's tour at that time didn't have a star player like Ryo Ishikawa.

5. International players have won five of the last eight PLAYERS Championships (more on that Tuesday). And who's hot coming into the week? International players McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Spain's Alvaro Quiros, who just won the Spanish Open. The only one missing is Ishikawa, who was eligible for the event, but declined due to a previous tournament commitment in Japan.

6. Remember the golf course -- well, hole -- on Lost? Terry O'Quinn -- alias John Locke/Locke-the-smoke-monster, is about a 10-handicap thanks to playing a couple times a week since moving to Hawaii to shoot the television series. In a Q&A with Golf Digest, he was asked if he was a Tiger or Phil fan. "I'm not a fan of either,'' he said. "I'm a Paddy Harrington fan. I like the guy who's chasing those guys. I like Boo (Weekley), I like Brandt Snedeker, guys like that.'' And when asked what type of golfer Locke would make? "He'd be a zen golfer. He'd probably be a Golf In The Kingdom-type golfer.''

7. Since this is the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship, this year's Champion Golfer of the Year will also receive a replica of the original belt awarded to the winner. Young Tom Morris got to keep the belt after winning his third consecutive Open in 1870. There was no championship in 1871 because there was no trophy, but the following year the field played for a £30 Claret Jug.

8. Wondering what's up with Tiger? Aren't we all? He's a master at compartmentalization, but right now there's so much chaos in his game and his personal life that Q-18 wonders if the combination is affecting that famous focus. It's hard to have everything going sideways at once. Having said that, he could turn it around at PLAYERS. Then again, maybe not.

9. For what it's worth, Tiger was a mid-day arrival at Sawgrass Monday. He hit the range just after noon.

10. From the Wayback Machine: Talking about Rickie Fowler's Sunday signature Oklahoma State orange got Q-18 flashing back to the 1970s and 80s when OSU, Texas and Houston always seemed to be slugging it out for the NCAA title. UH players would shy away from anything orange -- even golf tees. Ditto for Texas and OSU players when it came to red. But all the college teams did wear those ugly -- now retro-ish -- patchwork pants in their team colors.

11. Golf has a lobbyist. The Podesta Group -- big-time, power lobbyist firm -- is stumping on Capitol Hill for We Are Golf. "We're not looking for an unfair advantage,'' PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said. "Our message is that we want to put golf on a level playing field with other small businesses, because that's what we are."

12. You either liked Tiger's pre-Masters goatee or you don't. But the Globe and Mail took things a bit far when it asked Alan Peterkin, author of 1,000 Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair, to weigh in on Tiger's facial hair. Really. Q-18 would not kid you. Two of Peterkin's thoughts: "He has an exceptionally boyish face. This makes him look more like a man'' and "It can be a bit of a diversion (from other questions).'' Or maybe, like a ton of other guys, he just wanted to try growing one?

13. Wondering why you're not hearing a lot of Mickelslam talk right now? Forget Mickelson's three wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach -- and those two thirds. Could be because Lefty's best finish at a British Open was third in 2004. His best finish at St. Andrews was T11 in 2000.

14. Oops. That's the last time Darren Clarke heads home on a guess. Seems he projected himself outside the cut line -- with good reason -- at the Spanish Open and flew home. Then he found out he made the cut and scrambled to get back to Seville. He missed a commercial flight at Gatwick because of traffic. He couldn't find the jet he and Lee Westwood share, but he did locate one in Oxford and flew out at 2 a.m. At what cost? He wouldn't say, calling it "extortionate", but The Mirror reports the cost of the private jet was £10,000 ... he flew to Malaga, then drove to two hours to Seville where he slept for 53 minutes before heading to the course for the third round. He tied for 30th and earned ? 16,900. Why go through all that? Simply, he said, it would have been unprofessional not to attempt to get back. That's one more thing Q-18 loves about him.

15. According to several British papers, a rare 100-year-old Lady's Slipper orchid on Silverdale Golf Course in Lancashire is under surveillance by British police. The wildflower -- one of the rarest species in the UK and protected by law -- has been damaged twice in the last six years. People travel to the course just to watch the flower bloom.

16. Q-18 could never have imagined one of the world's top 10 -- let alone top four -- players on the outside looking in for an exemption. The folks at the St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew got it all sorted out and Lee Westwood is in the event, but let's hope going forward it won't happen again.

17. Heard some grumbling in the inbox about Q-18's golfer-in-chief stats two weeks in a row. Lighten up. We're here to entertain, enlighten and have a little fun, not hammer anyone. It must, however, be pointed out that Barack Obama's 33 trips to the course since he's been in office are well ahead of Ike's infatuation -- several readers brought it up -- with Augusta National. Ike actually made only 45 trips to Augusta to play -- five before he took office, 29 while in office and 11 afterward.

18. Just so you know, CNN anchor John Roberts proposed to fellow CNNer Kyra Phillips on the 18th green at The Greenbrier. He put a note on the pin flag and the ring in the cup. It wasn't a 62 or a 58, but definitely was an exclamation point to their round.

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