Quick 18: Match Play, Freddie and a swing-search kerfuffle

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Upset special? Q-18 is taking a long look at Henrik Stenson against a slow-starting Lee Westwood.

1. He had us going, didn't he? Nothing is cooler than Fred Couples. Anywhere. Let alone at Riviera. The effortless swing. The little fist pump. The skater shoes and silver hair. The ease. But in the end, playing four rounds against the kids -- instead of three on the Champions Tour -- might have caught up with our favorite stream-of-consciousness-run-on-sentence. Q-18 knows the 10th hole did. Freddie played it 3-over for the week. Still, no one this side of one of those magical Tiger seasons captures our collective attention quite so fully even during, as he calls them, nice little runs like at Riv.

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2. This time, the numbers might lie. Rule of thumb to get into the Hall of Fame of late is, oh, 19- 20 wins, but Freddie won't need it. His 15 PGA TOUR wins, which includes one Masters jacket and two PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPS, might seem a tinch thin, but he'll still get Q-18's vote. Why other than the numbers? For starters, his shots pretty much gave credence to a fledgling Presidents Cup in its first few installments. And there's five Ryder Cups. And that same intangible as Payne Stewart.

3. B-B-B-B-Badd to the Bone. Not really, but just had to use that line. Aaron Baddeley has always been one of the good guys, even through his four-year swing-search kerfuffle. He's still the same person and the same bright talent we saw when he won the Australian Open 11 years ago as an amateur. He's headed for the Masters again and pretty much to the Presidents Cup where he'll play for countryman Greg Norman.

4. Want a bit more insight into Badds? First, he's heading to the Mayakoba Golf Classic this week. Second? Check out his Sunday night tweet: @aaronbadds Just walked in our house great to be home!! Trophy in hand after an amazing day! And now playing play-dough with my daughter! So blessed!!

5. While we're on tweets, the self-deprecating king rules the week with the following: @stewartcink Where did the biggest crashes occur Sunday, Daytona or my back nine scorecard at Riviera? The carnage details? A bogey, a quad, a double and two birdies. Home in 41.

6. Not yet on the G-Mac/McScruffy train? Better queue up fast. Graeme McDowell jumped to No. 4 in the world while playing poker with Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and G-Mac caddie Kenny Comboy on an Orlando-to-Tucson NetJet flight Sunday night. Not kidding. If G-Mac can take a bit of a break after finishing third at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and hop over Phil Mickelson ... well, this just might be another big season for the cardigan man.

7. In case you're wondering ... Poults and G-Mac made sure their tweeps could follow that mile-high poker game. They tweeted, twitpic-ed and twitvid-ed the game, complete with chip stacks. Comboy took everyone's money.

8. While we're eyeing the rankings ... Badds' win pushed him from 224th in the world to No. 73 and SSP Chowrasia 's win at the Avantha Masters in India went from 497th to 268th. What does SSP stand for? Shiv Shankar Prasad.

9. Why is everyone wondering when Michelle Wie will win? Better to wonder IF Yani Tseng will lose. The women's world No. 1 is 4-for-4 in 2011. The three-time major champ won a small event in Taiwan, two European Ladies Tour events and the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand. Whew. And, just so you know, she's charming and funny. Nothing gets lost in translation since she speaks very good English.

10. First-round matchups at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play that caught Q-18's eye? Nick Watney vs. Anthony Kim, Lee Westwood vs. Stenson and Cink vs. Poulter. If Kim is healthy -- he withdrew from Riviera with what was reported to be a sinus problem -- it will be a great match. Westwood hasn't started well, and vs. a former Match Play champ? Upset in the making? And Cink vs. Poults? Tweets aside, doesn't seem fair that these two should meet in Round 1.

11. Toughest bracket? Could be the Sam Snead with Tiger on top. Paul Casey, the second seed, is a Q-18 pick for the finals, but lordy, how can it get much better than a bracket with former champ Geoff Ogilvy, Tiger's first-round draw Thomas Bjorn, Paddy Harrington, Bubba Watson, Mark Wilson, Bll Haas, Ernie Els and Dustin Johnson. Can you stay stacked?

12. You might want to keep an eye on Rickie Fowler this week. He's a rookie in this event, yet anything but when it comes to match play. Fun quarterfinal match? Fowler vs. G-Mac. Just saying.

13. Look out for ... Vijay Singh. What's gotten into the man who celebrates his 48th birthday tomorrow? A seriously improved short game. That seemingly effortless, powerful swing has always been there, but Singh, who hasn't won since 2008, has been through the putting gamut -- long putters, short putters, cross-handed and now the claw. It's working. He finished second at Riv, which was his second top-three in the last three starts. And, don't forget, it was a tip from Veege that got Bill Murray's game in shape at Pebble Beach.

12. Hail to the chief? Oh, it's President's Day, so Q-18 must give a nod to all those Golfers-in-Chief -- with both good and bad swings -- who used the game to take a break from the Oval Office. Personal favorite has to be 41 -- George H.W. Bush, who always played a break-neck speed. He was Q-18's former Congressman back in the day and loves the game. He never misses a chance to visit with players -- he had Q-18 introduce him to Badds and Westwood one day -- and always has a smile on his face. Best player in the Oval Office bunch? Had to be John F. Kennedy, despite his back problems.

13. Courtesy of Golf Channel's Randall Mell: The average world ranking of winners on the TOUR this year? It's 151. So call it the year of new -- or renewed --faces.

14. Just so you know, Freddie doesn't tweet or post his status. Doesn't know what Facebook is or what Twitter is. But the guy does text. He can always make his point and doesn't have to worry about answering until he wants. Perfect.

15. On the subject of tee times . . . isn't it ultimately the player's responsibility to know when he tees off? DJ's oops in L.A. wasn't the first for a TOUR player and won't be the last. Mistakes happen. The best make sure they don't happen again.

16. How about ... Erik Compton. After his wife gently prodded the two-time heart transplant recipient off the couch and away from the popcorn, he flew to L.A., made it through the Monday qualifier and closed with a 64 to tie for 25th.

17. Tiger buddy John Cook said things clicked for Tiger with his swing last Monday. "It was fun just to stop and watch and see the excitement he had on his face and the flight of the golf ball as he was explaining to me what was going on,'' Cook said. After reading what Cookie said, former Tiger swing coach Hank Haney weighed in, too, on Twitter: @hankdhaney: I read where John Cook said it all clicked for Tiger on Monday with his swing I remember when that happened with me, he should win next week. Pressure? With match play? Never. But World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship? Hmmm.

18. A rules reversal. This time it was the official who didn't know the rules. During the opening round of the Avantha Masters, Thongchai Jaidee hit a light pole with his tee shot. He then hit two more shots and, with officials watching, he hit the light pole twice again. Then, after eventually getting around it and holing out, officials regrouped and told him he was -- according to the rules -- entitled to play the tee shot again without penalty. Oh my. Despite it all, he opened with a 69.

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.