Quick 18: Aronimink major impression, British Open prep

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Though Justin Rose captured the title, the real winner this week was Aronimink Golf Club.

Editor's note: PGATOUR.COM's Melanie Hauser shakes out the mental lint and pulls together the "Quick 18" on Mondays.

1. Seeing Justin Rose bounce back after last week reminded Q-18 of that fearless 17-year-old at Birkdale. Steps up, holes a shot for birdie at the 72nd hole as an amateur and we can't stop talking about him. Then life hit. An afterthought for the last baker's dozen years, Rose is stepping up to join the crowd of Brits -- and Europeans -- poised to dominate the game and we're talking about him shooting to 16th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Will the Euros do it? Tiger and Phil might have something to say about it, but Europe does hold nine of the top 16 spots in the world.

2. The big star last week? With all due respect to Rose, it was Aronimink. Big. Classic. Tough. It had almost all the players dropping the M word -- major. As in, could hold one. The AT&T will be back next year since Congressional will host the U.S. Open, but we may not see Aronimink in the major rota for a while. Why? Both the U.S. Open and PGA are committed through 2017 and 2016, respectively. Also, the Open is coming to nearby Merion in 2013 and Oakmont in 2016; the PGA to Baltusrol in 2016. And both events like to spread their tournaments around geographically.

3. Sometimes you need a change. Lee Westwood and Geoff Ogilvy are both taking a pass on this week's Barclay's Scottish Open to prep a bit early at St. Andrews. Westwood will miss the event for the first time since 2000. He won the St. Jude Classic the week prior to the U.S. Open and finished T16 at Pebble Beach (He also finished T8 at the Shell Houston Open, second at the Masters the following week). Ogilvy, an Australian, has always called the Scottish Open his second national Open because he counts Robert the Bruce, one of Scotland's greatest kings, in his family tree. Ogilvy, who's playing Muirfield early this week, summed up the change, saying, "I have 10 different theories on how to prepare, but the best preparation for St Andrews is St Andrews.''

4. Anyone else get the idea Tiger is looking ahead? Q-18 can't blame him. You watch him grinding, you see the shots like that one to the 18th green Saturday afternoon at Pebble and...St. Andrews comes to mind. Why not? Forget finishing 14 shots behind Justin Rose this week. He's won the last two Opens there -- in 2000 by eight shots over Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn and in 2005 by five shots over Colin Montgomerie.

Woods

5. Tiger flew across the Atlantic last night in his Gulfstream V to join the star-studded field at the two-day JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Ireland. Others entered in the once-every-five-years event? U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy -- to name a few -- are playing. Westwood was on the roll too, but withdrew to get treatment on the leg that was bothering him last week. Hollywood type amateurs in the field include Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Douglas, Peter Gallagher and Kyle McLachlan. As for the host? The Irish mega-millionaire, who lives in Switzerland, is into racehorses and currency trading. There's also a long-running rumor he once beat Tiger -- 3 and 2 -- at a match at Limerick Golf Club.

6. Looks like Ryan Moore will have to make an unscheduled trip to Phoenix for his passport. Moore, whose game is rounding into major shape, grabbed one of the last two spots in the Open Championship with his second place finish at the AT&T. And he's not sure where his passport is. "I think it might be in Phoenix," he said. "I'm going to have to go try and find it, although I wasn't planning on going there. But now I think I have to go make a pit stop there on the way home."

As for Open golf? He's only played one -- at Carnoustie in 2008 -- and he finished T42. "It's still golf," he said. "It's just a little different type of golf."

7. Could McDowell be any more at ease in front of studio television cameras? He's honest. He's funny. He's self-effacing and, at the same time confident. Quick study too. Hosts lob questions -- even ask for lists -- he answers. If he ever decides to quit playing, he's got a job in television.

8. Tough week for Jose Maria Olazabal, who played last week despite his battle with rheumatism. He shot 82-70 and missed the cut at the French Open, but decided to play in the JP McManus Pro Am before he takes the rest of the summer off. "I feel better, but still have pain in my shoulders. It's just a game of wait and see, but it feels like a slow process -- it feels like the finishing line is near, but you never get to it," said Olazabal, who could not play for 18 months when the rheumatism first hit in the 1990s. He's Q-18's choice to captain the 2012 Ryder Cup team.

9. A Ryder Cup without Sergio Garcia? Could happen. Garcia looks as though he's trudging through mud this season -- a pile of T-fortysomethings will do that -- and he's dropping loud hints through manager Carlos Rodrigues that he might not even accept a captain's pick. Having said that... don't count him out at St. Andrews. He finished T5 there in 2005 and owes himself one for that 72nd-hole brain blip at Carnoustie in 2007. St. Andrews could be good for what ails him. Be great to see that passion back.

10. Talk about loaded. Two of the teams for the Open Champions Challenge at St. Andrews next Wednesday will get your serious attention. Five-time Open champ Peter Thomson will captain a squad with Mark Calcavecchia, Sir Nick Faldo and Woods, while Tom Weiskopf has Els and Tom Watson.

11. Can Cristie Kerr make it back-to-back majors? After her runaway win at the LPGA Championship, the Women's Open is up this week at Oakmont. The winning score could be higher than anyone thinks -- the course is a handful. And we're not even talking about steering clear of the church pew bunkers. Winning score for Angel Cabrera at the 2007 U.S. Open was 5-over 285. Just saying.

12. The Colonies -- small July 4 reference -- aren't the only ones taking care of their wounded warriors. Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and an avid golfer, announced the launch of The On Course Foundation -- at The Royal Household Golf Club on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Sapper Gregg Stevenson, a double leg amputee from Lancashire who was injured in Afghanistan, is one of those involved in the UK project. He played against America's Wounded Warriors in April and summed up the benefits of the program: "If someone had said that I would be playing golf in Orlando 13 months after my injury, I would have told them they were more injured in the head than I am in my legs."

13. Major league clubs. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers' Josh Hamilton is the latest major leaguer to blast a 470-foot-plus homerun this year and earn a set of Callaway clubs. Hamilton's homer -- off Roy Oswalt -- was 485 feet into the right center upper deck at Rangers Stadium. Other players with new clubs? Atlanta's Jason Heyward, Washington's Adam Dunn and St. Louis' Colby Rasmus.

Kaymer

14. If you're not keeping an eye on Martin Kaymer, you should be. The young German, who is ranked 11th, dropped four shots in the final four holes to miss out on the playoff in France. He's missed out on a spot in the 2008 Ryder Cup, but experienced the event anyway, tagging along with Nick Faldo's team as an official observer. "It was amazing to see all that goes on," Kaymer said. "There is so much to do other than practice on the days before. I soaked it all in. I talked to Nick. I talked to the caddies. I talked to the other players. It is not about money yet there is so much pressure. You have to be there to feel that.''

15. Wondering how Robert Garrigus is dealing with that meltdown at the St. Jude Classic? Quite well, actually. "I was playing so well, but that one hole kind of ruined it," Garrigus said last week. "But I didn't focus on that. I focused on how well I was playing for the week. I was the best player there that week, and one hole just kind of tore it all up."

"That tag, the (Jean) van de Velde thing, I've watched every SportsCenter, every Golf Channel, and just watched them rip me a new one," he said. "And I was laughing, to tell you the truth, because people are going to know me for that. But I hope they know I played better than everyone else that week - it was just one hole - and I can do it again."

16. Great courses, interesting nights. To update you on those you're-only-young-once Kiwi chaps Michael Goldstein and Jamie Patton who are playing their way across the world -- 365 courses in 365 days (Q-18 found them May 25) . . . . they've made it to the East Coast where they've played Merion, Baltusrol, Pine Valley, Winged Foot and Bethpage in the past few days. But where have they slept? On a NYC roof, at a Dunkin' Donuts, at St. Thomas Church and in The Hamptons. They head across the pond next week to take on the UK (Jamie's home land) and take in a little Open golf at St. Andrews. To live vicariously through their journey, check out www.puregolf2010.com.

17. Getting their goats. Really. Hawktree Golf Course, just north of Bismarck N.D., has been using goats to deal with weeds. The course tried a two-goat approach to clean up the clover and other weeds on the 16th hole. They've since added three more. Don't chuckle. Sheep and goats used to graze courses in the UK way back in the day.

18. Take dead aim. Former Houston Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson needed a little help getting lined up, but when he did, the 72-year-old hit a 8-iron to the 152-yard 17th hole at the Bob Lily Golf Classic at Cottonwood Creek (Texas) Golf Course for the fifth ace of his career. What makes this one so special? Dawson, an avid golfer, was struck by lightning in 1990 and it affected his eyesight. He can't see the pin -- and a spotter has to help find his ball -- so former Baylor athletic director Tom Stanton got him on line. Dawson did the rest. The ball hit just above the pin and rolled back in. He didn't know until everyone around him started cheering.

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