Quick 18: Bubba delivers, World Ranking shake-up, Watney's 28

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Nick Watney's back-nine 28 Sunday at Torrey Pines left Bo Van Pelt wondering what tees he was playing.

1. The man who will do just about anything to make us chuckle with his, as he says, dumb videos gave us a serious clinic on focus and clutch shot making Sunday in San Diego. Impressive. The best thing about Bubba Watson? Not the pink shaft in his driver, the tears, those rockets off the tee or the buttoned-up look. It's that he's just himself. The kid from Bagdad, Fla. who loves to have fun, share his faith and play the game -- at the highest level. He doesn't mind opening up, either, admitting that the cancer that claimed his father's life last year brought them closer together. You're welcome.

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2. If you didn't pause for a minute to take in the final leaderboard at the Farmers Insurance Open, please do. It's a trending topic in the game. Quite the blend. Bubba. Phil Mickelson with a serious smile on his face for the first time in a while. Dustin Johnson pushing the envelope. Everyone's new favorite inspiration in charmer/scene stealer Jhonattan Vegas. Nick Watney with another low round. Bill Haas. And, oh, Anthony Kim, who is working his way back. Welcome to 2011.

3. Everyone's talking about Mickelson's, um, theatrical wedge to the 72nd hole. He had caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay pull the stick so his call-it shot would have a better chance. Lefty says he hits the flagstick 10-12 times a year and the ball usually bounces off it.

4. Delicious little twist on the European Tour. Paul Casey wins the Volvo Golf Champions -- his first win in 20 months -- on a course designed by Colin Montgomerie, the man who didn't choose him for the 2010 Ryder Cup team. Casey, the first one to break the silence between the two earlier this month, didn't bite on that. "The biggest goal on the horizon,'' he said, "is Augusta.''

5. That first major of the year is also on Tiger Woods' mind. You say really? After closing with 74-75 at Torrey Pines? Not what he wanted, but there were flashes out there. He's making progress with this change. Just not as much as those outside his camp want to see. He keeps saying "I'm not looking back. I'm moving forward. It takes time." Perhaps we grasshoppers should listen instead of continuing to look back.

6. Who better to weigh in on Tiger's marathon adjustment to another swing change than Butch Harmon, who nursed him through one -- and on to one of the best runs of Tiger's career. "He's still Tiger Woods. I think he could revamp his game and play left-handed and still be phenomenal."

7. If Watney's 28 on the back nine at Torrey didn't get your attention . . . Q-18 is worried about you. He flirted with 59, settled for 63 and, yes, he's in the field for this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Watney's a streaky player, so add him to this week's short list, which is already overflowing with Lefty, Vegas, AK, Rickie Fowler and defending champ Hunter Mahan. @bovanpelt weighed in on the 63 with this tweet: "Did Nick Watney get to play from the ladies tees today! 8 under on the back nine at Torrey Pines. Ridiculous. He's my hero."

8. He said goodbye to competitive golf a few years ago. Now, he's leaving the pilot's seat. According to Golf Digest, Arnold Palmer flew his last flight -- Palm Springs to Orlando -- in his Cessna Citation 10 today. Palmer, now 81, won't be renewing his pilot's license, which expires today -- Jan. 31. It's the end of an era. Q-18 remembers the old days when he would dip a wing on takeoff. "I'll still be flying in my plane as much as always, just not in the cockpit," he told Digest. "Flying has been one of the great things in my life. It's taken me to the far corners of the world. I met thousands of people I otherwise wouldn't have met. And I even got to play a little golf along the way."

9. That power round between the Golfer-in-chief and Speaker of the House John Boehner is getting closer. Boehner told Fox News he would definitely play a working 18 with Barack Obama. A huge chance, perhaps to reach across the aisle. "I'm sure I'll have to give him strokes!" Boehner said. Last week, Obama advisor David Axelrod confirmed the round could be sometime soon.

10 Jack and Tom . . .again? Is it time to break up the Jack Nicklaus-Tom Watson pairing at the Champions Skins Game? Just kidding. When those two elite Hall of Famers tee it up in a Hall of Fame short field, what do you expect? This year, they edged Mark O'Meara and Bernhard Langer. And it's all good fun. When he accepted the trophy in 2010, Nicklaus quipped, "Who played? I don't remember. That's part of being old, isn't it? You don't have to remember what happened five minutes ago."

10. So much for being bored with the status quo of the Official World Golf Ranking these past few years. Big movers over the weekend? Bubba Watson from 33rd to 18th, Casey up three to No. 6 and Phil from sixth to fourth. And, oh, Vegas from 86th to 69th. He was 187th two weeks ago.

11. It's time for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which means all eyes will be on the decibel level at the raucous 16th hole. Honestly, television -- HD, 3-D or otherwise -- can't even do it justice. You gotta see it in person. Really.

Glover

12. Justin Rose couldn't help it. Lucas Glover's new bearded look was just begging for a little, um, commentary. So, he tweeted, "Winning a US Open, So easy, a caveman could do it!" http://twitpic.com/3tks41

13. Q-18 sends snaps to 18-year-old, USC-bound Anthony Paolucci. He bogeys the first three holes at Torrey, then goes on to finish T29. Who'd he beat? An all-star cast of Tiger, Stewart Cink and Camilo Villegas, to name a few. Think he'll be the talk of school this week? Indeed. Think Jordan Spieth, who, as a high school junior, tied for 16th at last year's HP Byron Nelson Championship.

14. Couldn't help but chuckle about one golf story from Ron Gardenhire's offseason road trip. The Baseball Writers Association American League Manager of the Year headed south in a luxury RV after his Minnesota Twins lost to the Yankees and, as he told the Minneapolis Star- Tribune, there was only one real bump in the road -- on the turnpike headed from Wichita and his hometown of Okmulgee, Okla. "We went through a toll booth, went about 2 miles, and blew belts. Now I'm in the middle of nowhere, I shut down the engine and make the call, and they say it's going to be five, six hours before they can tow me. So I crank on the generator, we put the Yankees and Rangers game on the TV, and I grab my golf clubs and light a cigar. I'm out in front of my motor home, hitting golf balls out into this little pond, where the cattle were walking by. I lost a lot of golf balls." The hardest part? Three Oklahoma police cars came by, but didn't stop. No one did.

15. According to Reuters, the Tiger Woods Dubai project -- course and luxury residential mix -- has been suspended because of poor market conditions. The project, which, according to the website was to have 292 residential lots for palaces, mansions, luxury villas and golf villas, could resume if the financial/real estate climate improves.

16. Morgan Pressel's Morgan & Friends Fight Cancer event raised $502,000 this year alone for breast cancer. The LPGA's inaugural Founders Cup event -- the one where players are being asked to play for free -- is currently planning just $500,000 in charitable donations. Wonder if players like Pressel, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr who are balking at the event might rethink their commitment if that dollar figure increased. Just throwing it out there ...

17. Stats he'd rather forget? Now Tiger has finished out of the top 10 twice in his season debut -- last week and in 2009 with a T17 at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play where he lost in the second round. And it was only the first time he's been out of the top 10 at Torrey. Next up? The Omega Dubai Desert Classic next week where he's never finished out of the top five (two wins and shares of second, third and fifth).

18. In case you didn't notice, golf made it a week without any call-in issues and with promises from all the governing bodies to take a look at what was turning into a kerfuffle. Good news all around if you ask Q-18.

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. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.