Quick 18: Haas' heroics and Presidents Cup scenarios

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1. Anyone else wondering if Bill Haas slept last night? His head's still got to be spinning. From a 42 on the back nine and a closing 78 last week to ... well, so much to sort through -- a mega $11.44 million check, two titles, a five-year exemption and, just maybe, the inside track to a spot on the United States Presidents Cup team. No more under-the-radar for him.

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2. Sleep? Not much in Ireland, either, Q-18 suspects. The Europeans kicked off a monster Sunday of golf with a 35-minute comeback -- how good was Suzanne Pettersen? -- to win the Solheim Cup. Captain Allison Nicholas has a way with upsets. Remember her 1997 U.S. Open win over Nancy Lopez at Pumpkin Ridge? Everyone figured Lopez would finally win her Open but ...

3. Best moment of the afternoon was ... Haas didn't even know he had won the FedExCup until he got to the presentation and no one else was there. He turned to his wife who confirmed it with a nod and a smile. Can you say old school? He was focused on winning the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Like mom, dad and every coach you've ever played for always says: "focus on winning and the rest will take care of itself." It did.

4. Three saves down the stretch. One of the shots of the year -- that out of the water at the second playoff hole. Talk all you want about what everyone else didn't do, but bottom line is what Haas did do. Those were clutch moments.

5. Surprised that Joe LaCava left Dustin Johnson for Tiger Woods? Don't be. His name's been out there all along and, honestly, it's not just about the money for LaCava, one of the best in the business. He's used to having a more family-friendly schedule after all those years with Fred Couples and he brings everything from experience to discretion to a great sense of humor and non-stop sports talk to the equation. Count Q-18 among those who think he might be a key piece in TW's multi-layered comeback.

6. Who's your PGA TOUR player of the year? Good question, right? A cast of characters and you can make cases for just about every one, but Luke Donald's consistency just might be the difference.

7. Best morning moment Sunday? Certainly wasn't the weather. Loved Pettersen's emotion and clutch putts down the stretch followed by the European team gathered around the iconic poster of Seve Ballesteros. Didn't love Paula Creamer's American flag antennas. Just saying ...

8. Early pivotal Presidents Cup moment? Could come Tuesday when Steve Stricker undergoes an MRI. If the MRI is clear, another cortisone shot could mean he's a go for Australia next month and Couples has one pick. If the MRI finds something more serious and Stricker can't play? Couples will have two more selections to make.

9. Playing your way in or out ... As well as he's played his rookie year, Bradley knew he needed a strong finish to make the Presidents Cup team and it didn't happen. Conversely, Aaron Baddeley may have made one of Greg Norman's choices a bit easier with his T3 at East Lake.

10. Presidential duo. Current golfer-in-chief Barack Obama asked former golfer-in-chief Bill Clinton to play a round with him at Andrews Air Force Base course last weekend. Any question it wasn't a pick-your-brain/got-any-suggestions 18?

11 .Just so you know ... Michael Jordan's golf bag isn't exactly understated. The side panel features all six of Jordan's NBA championship rings with a lone Air Jordan sneaker underneath it. Above the rings? One of those flying Jordan logos.

12. Geoff Ogilvy's thoughtful take on the best golfer in the world? Take away the scores and he thinks it's former British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen. "All things being equal ... I think Louis is the best golfer in the world, but he just doesn't shoot the scores," Ogilvy said. "The way he swings and the way he chips, I just love watching his game. You guys probably think that's a ridiculous statement, but he just makes golf look too easy to me ... I don't understand why he doesn't win all the time or at least contend all the time.''

13. Stirring up trouble. First a storm blew through Waterchase Golf Club just outside Fort Worth and took down a tree limb at the 18th green. Then groundskeepers had to trim another branch a few days later that was obstructing approach shots to a pin. Little did they know -- until a worker was stung six times -- that the tree was home to a beehive. An estimated 40,000-50,000 bees were displaced and, when they took the second limb, angry bees started swarming during the second round, stinging 16 people at the UT-Arlington/Waterchase Invitational and forced cancellation of the event. Beekeeper David Lister was called in to take care of the problem and said simply, "Bees were a little upset over what happened and looking for someone to take it out on."

14. The Daily Mirror says Norman would love the chance to sit down with Tiger. Really. Kick back and just do the guy thing one night -- just like he did with former president Bill Clinton. "I'd love to talk to Tiger about it, guy to guy," Norman said. "The president ... when he came to my house, wanted to talk to me guy to guy. We all put our underpants on the same way, one leg at a time. So we sit down and have a chat until two o'clock in the morning." Norman's take on Tiger right now? "... When he dominated, had a single-shot approach. It was only about the golf. That's just not the case anymore."

15. So, the Pac-16-Box-of-Crayons super conference isn't happening. Well, right now, at least. But Golfweek did the math and had that uber conference been a reality last year, it would have been home to 11 of the top 30 teams in the country. And? It would have had five of the top eight spots in the men's pre-season rankings.

16. One more club toss, one more walk-off ... Q-18 is wondering how long the European Tour will put up with life with John Daly after last Friday's double implosion in Austria. Whips his club into the water after dunking his ball for the second time that day, then, after referee Andy McFee informs him he made an illegal drop and that will be a two-shot penalty ... Daly walked off the course. At least he shook hands with his playing partners.

17. Golf 101. Or maybe method acting. In any case, Lauren Conrad needed a few lessons to learn how to swing a 9-iron before she did a photo shoot for her fall fashion collection at Kohl's.

18. While we're on the celeb thread ... Jonah Hill was the recipient, er, victim of Brad Pitt's latest practical joke. They both had golf carts to zip around the sets of Moneyball and one day Hill walked out to see his cart shrink-wrapped in pink and detailed with "I'm Jonah Hill and I love Wham!" and a photo-shopped snapshot of Pitt and Hill as Wham members. And a radio that was looped with Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." As Hill told David Letterman, "Earlier in the film, when we were shooting, he decided that I love the band Wham! I'm not specifically not a Wham! fan, but I'm not specifically a Wham! Fan.''

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.