Quick 18: Presidents Cup looms, Rory moves to No. 2

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Rory McIlroy has quietly moved to a career-high second in the Official World Golf Ranking.

1. Where did that come from? Quick 18 can't be the only one wondering what got into Martin Kaymer in those last 12 holes in Shanghai. Yes, winning the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is a nice bookend to a season that started with a win in Abu Dhabi and a move to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but since then, Kaymer has just kind of been in the fields. No top-10s at the majors, just a runner-up finish to Luke Donald at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play, a slip-slide down the world top-10 -- the kind of year that we hardly even notice. Now a record comeback -- he was five back with eight to go -- in World Golf Championships history. Could this mean a better 2012?

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2. All eyes this week will be on . . . the Australian Open. Yes, we have a span-the-globe week with the Barclays Singapore Open and the women are in Mexico at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, but . . . the focus will be Down Under for more than a couple of reasons. Tiger Woods will be rolling out the latest updated swing, but sounds like organizers thought twice and won't be pairing him with Adam Scott. The field is filled with Presidents Cup faces including Woods, Dustin Johnson, Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy and Greg Norman. Marketing campaign over there calls it "Unmissable." A chance for most of the Presidents Cup cast to get their time clocks adjusted for next week.

3. Don't look now, but Rory McIlroy's tie for fourth at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions pushed him past Lee Westwood -- by .03 points -- and into the No. 2 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's the first Irishman to get to world No. 2, which, he hopes, is a step on the way to No. 1. "I'm not desperate, but it's definitely a goal that I've set for myself," said McIlroy, said of No. 1 earlier in the year. "I feel as if it's very attainable. It might not be this year, but definitely into next year, I can give myself a very good platform to kick off the season next year if I end the season well."

4. When Michael Jordan bowed out of Couples' braintrust for next week's Presidents Cup because of the ongoing NBA lockout, Couples didn't have to think twice. He called John Cook. Cookie is close friends with Fred and Tiger Woods and is respected by most every player. After all, he may be a fiftysomething, but that didn't stop him from teeing it up with the flatbellies last February and shooting 66-66 on the weekend to tie finish third at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

5. Tom Lehman hasn't made history ... yet. He did hold off Mark Calcavecchia for the Charles Schwab Cup win, but Champions Tour Player of the Year is a vote of the players. Lehman, who won three times and had 12 top-10s, could become the first -- and maybe only -- player to win Player of the Year on the PGA TOUR, Nationwide and Champions Tours. He won the then-Ben Hogan Tour Player of the Year in 1991; the PGA TOUR honor in 1996. But Calcavecchia could grab some votes (one win, 15 top 10s), as John Cook (three wins, 8 top-10s and a third at Mayakoba) and Couples (two wins, 6 top-10s in 10 events, and a T15 at the Masters, T7 Northern Trust Open).

6. Where does Keegan Bradley keep the Wanamaker Trophy? Where he can grin at it night or day -- right by the TV. "It's right on my table where I keep my TV, so when I'm in bed or I wake up, it's the first thing I see every day," Bradley said. "It's kind of weird to have a trophy like that in there. I've had other PGA TOUR pros who live in the area walk in, and it reminds me of the way that they look at it how special it is to win the tournament . . It's weird to see it in there. But it's where I want it to be where I can see it every day."

McDowell

7. Bouncing back. A week after imploding in the final two rounds of the Andalucia Masters, Graeme McDowell closed with a pair of 67s to finish T3 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. As he said, he had a long flight -- Spain-to-Shanghai -- to think about things. "It was one of the more embarrassing weekends I have ever had on a golf course," G-Mac said of the 81-82 finish in Spain. "I threw the towel in a little bit. I didn't have a shot in the bag and I couldn't make a putt either. That is how I have been this year. There's an element of being ashamed of yourself, and an element of 'What am I going to do about it'?" Quick 18 thinks he did it in Shanghai.

8. Next up for G-Mac? He jumps to the Barclays Singapore Open, where the field includes Phil Mickleson, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Anthony Kim.

9. No sooner had Yani Tseng, who's going for win No. 12 on the year in Mexico this week, mentioned she'd like to test her skills in the PGA TOUR event, she has the Puerto Rico Open talking exemption. Tseng wants to win the Women's Grand Slam and is just seven points away from qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Seems as though her inner circle wants her to postpone any PGA TOUR event until she completes those two goals. No matter what happens, she only wants to test her game -- like Annika Sorenstam did at Colonial in 2003. She doesn't want to follow Michele Wie's lead.

10. Bo Van Pelt followed up his win at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia with a T11 in Shanghai. That's four top-11s in his last six events. Almost as good as his Oklahoma State Cowboys who are No. 2 in the nation. While we're on that subject -- just wondering -- how big is David Toms' smile after his LSU Tigers beat Alabama in overtime to remain No. 1?

11. It's been a tough year for Paul Casey, so it was good to see him finish T4 in Shanghai. Casey, who was third in the world in 2009, has struggled with a turf toe on his right foot this season and a recent divorce and finished 144th on the money list. He told Global Golf Post's Lewine Mair the decision to divorce was difficult, but he and wife Jocelyn, who had been married three years, were traveling different paths. "Life on TOUR was fun at the start, but, little by little, it took its toll," he said. "My career was costing Jocelyn her dreams." The divorce was final a week ago. "It was a mutual decision -- very sad, but for the best," he said. Now that he's healthy, he's focusing on 2012 when he'll likely rely on Past Champion status and exemptions to play TOUR events.

12. So much for finding a common ground. When the Golfer-in-Chief and Speaker John Boehner teed it up in June, it seemed golf might be the conduit to working together to find an economic solution. Maybe another 18 is in order. Boehner admitted on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that the relationship "been a little frosty over the last two weeks. But we've got a pretty good relationship. And I've told the president, and I'm the most straight-up transparent person in this town, that I would never mislead him, that my word is my bond . . .Doesn't mean that we always agree." As for agreeing on ways to deal with the deficit? "It's hard to put Humpty Dumpty back together again." Like we said, another 18?

13. Gone to the dogs. And cats. And cows. The Illinois National Golf Course, which was a victim of the economy and closed two months after it opened in 2007, has been sold and the 256-acre site has been re-purposed as a veterinary facility.

14. Couldn't pass up repeating this Halloween observation from Joe Ogilvie: @ogilviej: Halloween is like cilantro, you either love it or you hate it, there is no middle ground. And while we're at it, your chuckle for the day courtesy of @ Paige_Mackenzie Me trying to order "Coffee?" Girl:"Hi" Me "Hi. Coffee?" Girl: "Hi" Me: "Hi. Um, coffee?" I was annoyed until remembered hi means yes #japan

15. Two eye-catching pairings for Norman's upcoming Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout? The fashion-conscious, heartthrob duo of Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas and the Twitter boys Stewart Cink and Van Pelt.

16. Happy early 101st birthday to Errie Ball. The last surviving member of the first Masters field in 1934, who turns 101 later this month, was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame last week. He doesn't teach official lessons anymore, but the pro emeritus at Willoughby Golf Club (Stuart, Fla.) will still offer a thought from time to time. His recipe for longevity? Simple, he told the Palm Beach Post. "Two scotches before dinner."

17. Is the LPGA getting a headstart on Rio in 2016? According to the Golf Channel, the LPGA is working on an Olympic-style event for 2012. The event, which would be in the Chicago area the week after the U.S. Women's Open, is kicking around the thought of four-woman teams from eight different nations and in match-play formats. Stay tuned.

18. Got a kick out of Ben Crane's funny, self-deprecating response when one of his tweeps came up with the following Kim Kardashian divorce-related tweet: #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage a round of golf w/ @bencranegolf . Crane's response: Never thought I'd be compared to KK, but, sadly, prob true.

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.