Quick 18: A soundproof room for the captain who hears all

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Could one tee shot on the par-3 18th hole at East Lake decide THE TOUR Championship and the FexExCup?

1. Want some heart-in-the-throat excitement Sunday? It might come at the 72nd hole at East Lake where a few players could be looking at one shot -- the perfect tee shot on the 200-yard par-3 -- for THE TOUR Championship win and serious PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup extras. Like a $10 million bonus.

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2. When a car pulled a left turn in front of his 2010 BMW motorcycle, Paul Azinger did the only thing he could to avoid a crash. He laid down the motorcycle, but still came away with bruises, three cracked ribs and road rash. He's recovering at home and won't play the rest of the year. He does, however, plan to be in Wales next week for his NBC/ESPN duties at the Ryder Cup. Meantime, he's tweeting away. And eating chips out of the Ryder Cup trophy.

3. A soundproof room? Really? Yes, The Daily Mail reports European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie doesn't want anything leaking out of the team room at Celtic Manor, so he had it soundproofed. Paranoid much? Seems what Q-18 sees as an overreaction may have come from the last Ryder Cup, when Nick Faldo had a drum kit in the Euro team room and the U.S., led by captain Azinger, thought the drumbeat meant the Euros weren't taking the matches seriously. The U.S. won. Monty doesn't want the U.S. hearing anything this time around.

4. If you like retro or Arnold Palmer/Perry Como cardigans, you'll love the U.S. Ryder Cup team uniforms, designed by Peter Millar. Saturday's ensemble offers a lavender cardigan and striped pants. Lots to sweater vests too. Very vintage with a modern twist. Ralph Lauren meets Ryan Moore and Graeme McDowell? Love Millar's ties, but they're noticeably absent. As for the players? Not too sure how comfortable not-so-preppy players like Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson will feel when they put them on, but, hey, it's one week. And the 1999 team did win despite some not liking the Sunday shirts. As for the wives uniforms? It won't matter. The European press will hate them. They always do.

5. Twin ball wizard? Not really. But European vice captain Sergio Garcia does know his way around a soccer field. He recently had a chance to play with his hometown team -- CF Borriol -- in Spain's third division. Garcia spent eight minutes on the field in Borriol's 1-0 loss to Ribarroja. Will we see Garcia on the field again? If he can convince the coach, you bet. He's taking a break from competitive golf for a few months and he is, after all, the local club's president.

6. Lee Westwood pronounced himself ready for the Ryder Cup. Westwood, who has been sidelined with a calf muscle injury, has been slowly working his way back, lost about 12 pounds and hasn't had a pint in a month. He admitted, however, if the Euros win, he'll probably have one. Or more. "If we win back the Ryder Cup and you hear a loud noise,'' he said, "it will be (me) falling off the wagon.'' Westwood will start his RC run-up today -- at least four rounds -- at Darren Clarke's charity event.

7. They can afford it. NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg finally gave it up -- he and President Barack Obama both lost $11 during their 18-hole visit earlier this month. He also noted -- to the New York Times -- they both play to about an 18 or 20 handicap. But he was a tad awed by the experience. "You know, it's a kick to be invited by the president of the United States; I don't care how blasé you are," Bloomberg said.

8. Twisting the words. Last week's Nationwide Boise Open field had a player with two last names -- Keegan Bradley -- and one with two first names -- Kyle Stanley. Just saying. Now you're going to be confused for months. So is Q-18.

9. Zinger doesn't mince words. So here's his take -- from an upcoming Golf Channel special -- on Montgomerie. Zinger said right time, right place for Monty to lead. "There would be a lot of cat calls if he were the guy over here. He's really a fun guy to hang out with off the golf course. On the golf course, it's like he turns into somebody else. It's like that whiner and complainer. He's got rabbit ears. It's easy not to like him when he's playing the game.''

10. With two off weeks before the Ryder Cup, Fowler was looking for a little competition last week and he found it. In Stillwater, Okla. Yep, Fowler headed back to see the Oklahoma State gang and took on redshirt freshman Brad Gehl, who didn't make the roster for the Fighting Illini Invitational. According to The Oklahoman, the match was all square on the 18th tee. Fowler hit driver, 3-wood and made the putt for eagle to win. "Vintage Rickie," OSU coach Mike McGraw said. "He absolutely loves competition."

11. Bubba's signature signoff on his videos and tweets is a simple "Ur welcome." The background story? He tweeted it: "this is where Ur Welcome comes from ------- "Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." (Romans 15:7). Yes, Ur welcome.

12. Watson, Rory McIlroy and McDowell are having a bit of fun on Twitter with all this Ryder Cup buildup. Watson told Rors and GMac to stop practicing, the Euro teammates traded tweets about being partners. A bit of misdirection on the Euros' part? Perhaps. After all, partnership possibilities are being tossed around everywhere. Bring on the mind games.

13. Laura Davies won the 76th tournament of her career -- and fourth this year -- Sunday, but still doesn't qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Oh my. The LPGA's criteria are the stiffest of any Hall, but Q-18 thinks maybe a bit of tweaking is in order. Davies, who's pushing 47, hasn't played enough in the U.S. to qualify. She's has won four majors and 20 LPGA events, but she's still two points away from the LPGA HOF. If she doesn't win one more major or two LPGA events -- chances are running out -- she'll likely be voted in, but could it be to the World Golf Hall of Fame before the LPGA HOF? Maybe so.

14. According to The Daily Mail, The Duke of York spent £5,000 of taxpayers' money for a Windsor-to-Sandwich-to-Kensington Palace helicopter trip so Prince Andrew could present a golf trophy at Royal St. Georges. Then he flew back to meetings. It was pointed out a trip from Windsor-to-Kent in a car would have taken two hours, 20 minutes and given off 100 times less carbon dioxide. A royal spokesman said the helicopter was necessary to get the Prince back to London for meetings.

15. No clothes with political slogans or advertising. No in-and-out privileges. Those are just two of the points made on the "no" list for the Ryder Cup. The organizers don't want a repeat of the World Cup when 36 women in orange mini-dresses were asked to leave because the outfits promoted a beer that was not an official sponsor.

16. How much did having two Italians on the Ryder Cup mean to three-time Cupper Costantino Rocca? When countrymen and brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari both made the Ryder Cup team he choked up. "When I knew the Molinari brothers had both qualified for the team I cried because I was so happy.'' Rocca also choked up at his first Ryder Cup when they played the Italian national anthem. "I was sitting next to Jose Maria Olazabal and he took my hand. That was very nice. It is a moment you cannot believe but I had to believe it at that moment. ''

17. The penultimate final word this week comes from Paul Casey, who was critical of the renovations to Cog Hill and told XM radio: "Two things you don't want to hear as a player, Rees Jones and Sub-Air.''

18. And the final one? In the spirit of fairness, it goes to Jones, who said Johnson's winning score of 9-under at the BMW Championship said it all. "We designed it to be an examination for the players, and that proved to be the case," Jones told Crain's Chicago Business. "It is a championship golf course. Remember there's a reason (Cog Hill No. 4) is called 'Dubsdread.'"

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.