Quick 18: Star power, super seats and a little snow golf

text size

Dunn/Getty Images

Is the Big Fijian gearing up for a big year? Keep an eye on Vijay at Pebble Beach.

1. The stars are out everywhere this week. The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has faces like Bill Murray, Chris O'Donnell and Kevin Costner. Elsewhere? The game's glitterati -- yes, the world top-three Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods -- is gathering in the Middle East for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Also in the field? No. 8 Rory McIlroy. And, yes, there could be a shakeup at the top, especially since Westy has started slow.

Got a comment or question for Melanie? Click here to e-mail her.

2. If you're looking for a favorite at Pebble, two-time defending champ Dustin Johnson is your guy. Two top 10s this year already, plus a top-10 that coulda-been-a-U.S. Open-if-not-for-a-closing-82 last summer. But, don't get fixated on a Johnson three-fer. Phil Mickelson is working his way into top form. Ditto for Nick Watney. And Rickie Fowler? OK, we whiffed on picking him last week, but it's just a matter of time.

3. The latest great story/character on everyone's minds? Tommy Gainey. Everything from his two-glove routine to his blue-collar background in Bishopville, S.C., to an amazing week. He's got a little Boo Weekley feel to him. That downhome charm laced with honesty. Just not as wide-eyed or rambunctious -- think the gallop at the Ryder Cup -- as Weekley.

4. Ah, the perks of being one of the world's best. @Graeme_McDowell: My seats will work I think!!! 50 yard line. Atmosphere is amazing. http://yfrog.com/h3hykrfj And it's his first Super Bowl. Q-18's first Super seats back in the day? Media work room.

5. Not sure why Vijay Singh was in such a hurry to finish up Sunday night. In the end, missing that putt at 18 in the dark didn't cost him the tournament -- he said as much afterward -- but it was, well, curious. Bottom line: The big guy is rounding into form for a good year and maybe he wanted to get to Pebble. He won at Pebble in 2004, lost a playoff there in 2008 to Steve Lowery and has a half-dozen top 10s.

6. Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee's best line on Gainey's swing: "guy wearing two garden gloves, trying to kill a rattlesnake."

7. Like everyone else, Q-18 has some mixed feelings about the tweaks to the U.S. Open qualifications. The new top-50 rules will definitely avoid the kerfuffle that left Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler -- who played their way into the top 50 two weeks too late -- on the sidelines last year. Now, there are two chances to make that magic top 50. The first top 50 cutoff will be May 23; the second, June 13. Next year, qualifications for being in the top 30 on the PGA TOUR money list and top 15 on the European money list will fall by the wayside, but most will be covered in that top 50. One disagreement: Q-18 still thinks think top 15 from the previous Open should be in. The new rules will lower that to the top 10.

8. Just so you know, Ladbrokes has Tiger as 4-to-1 to win the Masters. Mickelson is 6-to-1, followed by Westwood at 14-to-1, Kaymer at 16-to-1 and Dustin Johnson at 20-to-1. McDowell, Ernie Els, Paul Casey and McIlroy are all 25-to-1.

9. Tony Romo may not be ready to take hits on the field quite yet, but the Dallas quarterback/scratch golfer has been cleared to tee it up at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Romo, who missed the final 10 games of the Cowboys' season with a broken collarbone, will team up with buddy John Daly.

10. Fowler's all-green ensemble for Saturday? Eco green. Not Kelly. Not Emerald. Specific hue for the Waste Management Green Out. You're welcome.

11. Funny how things work out. According to Golf Channel analyst Tim Rosaforte, Thomas Bjorn texted his instructor Pete Cowan two weeks ago telling him he was ready to retire and he wouldn't be playing if he didn't need the money. And when he won the Qatar Masters by four shots over Alvaro Quiros Sunday? Cowan texted him that is wasn't bad for a guy who can't compete anymore.

12. Q-18 isn't ready to say Bjorn's win will lead to another chance to win a major -- remember the bunker incident at Sandwich at the 2003 British Open and the 2005 PGA Championship -- but it definitely opened the door for creative headline writers. Oh, the possibilities led by Bjorn Again and Bjorn Supremacy. Go ahead, take a minute and have at a little word association.

13. One of those former NFL'ers-turned-golfer that you never hear much about is Chris Doleman. The former defensive end is playing with guys like Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Jordan and former Braves centerfielder Kenny Lofton. But the one guy who the retirees find it tough to play with? He told the York Daily Record it's Sir Charles Barkley "We're all retired so it's not uncommon for 15 or 20 of us to be out there playing. But I don't think any one of them wants to play with Charles. His swing is so bad, it's contagious. I'm not lying. It's like being in a telephone booth with someone who has the flu."

14. It's Mexico's equivalent to having Tiger in the field. Yes, Lorena Ochoa, the country's sweetheart and former No. 1 player in the world, will headline next week's pro-am at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun.

15. The men's world rankings aren't the only ones with movement. Yani Tseng's win at the Australian Open moved her to second in the world, bumping Cristie Kerr to third. Jiyai Shin, who finished seven shots behind Tseng, is still No. 1.

16. It must be a geographic/hardier stock thing. Last week's Arctic Chill closed down Dallas (and Super Bowl activities) and Houston when their respective freeways were turned into ice rinks. Even Chicago's Lake Shore Drive was a scene with lines of abandoned snow-covered cars in the road. But out at Cog Hill in suburban Chicago? Yep, players were teeing it up in the snow. With bright colored golf balls. And, according to the Chicago Tribune, if your ball cracks in half, you play from where the farthest half of the ball lands.

17. Karrie Webb was none too happy -- twice -- when she almost became the latest victim of a rules kerfuffle at the Australian Women's Open. She marked her ball with a tee and that was called into question. She explained many players on the LPGA Tour do just that, but the officials still called the R&A and talked to her playing partner Christina Kim. No penalties, but Webb was still upset. "They said they called the R&A, and then I asked Christina Kim how many people on the LPGA put a tee behind the ball, and she said: 'About 70 percent.' That was the end of the issue. I don't know why Christina Kim's word was taken more than mine.''

18. The Rules of Golf are now available in Spanish on the USGA's website. So, now you can be confused -- 214 pages of rules, 700 or so pages of decisions -- in two languages.

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.