Quick 18: U.S. Open champ mulls quitting, celeb tales, more

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2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, who has struggled recently, says he has mulled retirement.

Editor's note: PGATOUR.COM's Melanie Hauser will be shaking out the mental lint and pulling together the "Quick 18" on Mondays this year.

1. Phil Mickelson. Anyone out there not know he's making his 2010 debut at this week's Farmers Insurance Open? The People's Choice played a quick 18 of his own at Torrey Pines. According to GOLF CHANNEL's Tim Rosaforte, who tagged along, Phil was testing out new-old Pine Eye 2 wedges, has a new chip shot in his repertoire -- like he needs more of both -- and is ready to roll. (More on Phil in Tuesday's column).

2. Gotta love Billy Haas. Not your Nuke LaLoosh jock speak. He admitted he was shaking on the 18th tee and when told he looked composed, he grinned. "I'm glad I looked it. I sure didn't feel it." And, oh, didn't know his dad was in the gallery. Now that's focus.

3. Scratching your head about Martin Kaymer? Pay attention please. He's won five times since 2008, which ties him for third-best on that list. Tiger tops it with 12 wins and Phil is second with six. Kaymer, who moved to sixth in the world, is tied with Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry and Ryo Ishikawa. The guy's got game.

4. Did Tom Watson ruin Fred Couples' debut as some headlines suggested? Or did their battle jump-start the Champions Tour season? Or is Watson simply working on a major season? Doesn't get much better than those two going head-to-head. Best mental lint -- in the last two weeks, Watson has won $490,000, the most he's won in back-to-back weeks on the Champions Tour and second-most he's won in his career. His top week? Last year's Open Championship heartbreaker where he collected $723,000.

5. The skater look at 50? We're assuming Freddie's new shoes are easy on the back, but they really have that thick-soled where's-my-skateboard look to them. Whatever works. We're just glad to see him out there playing.

6. The name that jumps out in the World Rankings? No, not Ian Poulter, who slides in at No. 10. It's Paul Casey. Casey, once ranked as high as third, missed so much of last year with injuries, but he's still ranked ninth.

7. The fashion police didn't have John Daly's shagadelics to blither about this week, but they did have Alice Cooper. The rocker rocked his outrageous pants all week and made us think back to his hit "I'm eighteen." He's got a baby's brain, old man's heart ... and a flair for the bizarre. If you don't know what we're talking about, you're too young.

8. Who was on the range with Stuart Appleby last week? Condi Rice. Appleby tweeted about it, saying the former Secretary of State was "hitting it alright for somebody in her line of work."

9. If Kurt Russell ever gives up acting, he might have a future as a golf commentator. Hall of Famer Judy Rankin had Russell -- he played Elvis better than Elvis -- make the call on stepson Oliver Hudson's approach Sunday afternoon. He talked viewers through it in, what he called, his jazz-deejay voice. We think he nailed it. By the way, he plays to a 12-handicap; Hudson to a 2.

10. Best description during the week? That goes to character actor -- or maybe just character -- Bruce McGill. The native Texan -- and UT grad -- called his par a "dirtbag scrambling" par. He's all over TV and played Walter Hagen in The Legend of Bagger Vance. But we still think of him as D-Day in Animal House.

11. Cranky backs are just part of playing golf for a living. Think Freddie Couples and Rocco Mediate for starters. It's never perfect. You just learn to deal with it. Rocco's take: "If I can go with just one or two bad back weeks, I'll take that every year. ... I'll sign up for that for the rest of my life."

12. Rocco did rock the opening of CSI Thursday night, but, with it, came a reminder that rookie GOLF CHANNEL commentator Billy Andrade had a cameo in Season 6 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

13. From Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine: Take your pick. All those priceless photos of Bob Hope and the boys back in the day? Or Jay Haas winning the 1988 Hope in his Amana visor?

14. It's a Ryder Cup year, so what took so long for the jabs to begin? Let the jabs begin. Sergio Garcia said Tiger's absence in 2008 -- he was rehabbing that knee -- made a difference. "It made some of the other players step it up. They wanted to show everyone they could win without Tiger. Maybe when he's there, he's the leader and everyone falls in behind him. Without him, everyone wanted to be the leader. They played amazing golf. You could see a different energy in the team." Let the verbal battle begin.

15. New season, new look for Ryan Moore. No more stubbly-beard and student-headed-for-the-beach look. He's spiffed up. His description for the new look -- "clean and classic." And not too shabby on the course. The 2009 Wyndham champ finished last season with three top-eight finishes and opened this year with a T6 at the SBS Championship.

16. Let's just say Rickie Fowler rolls with however people spell his first name. And there is a variety of ways. But Wednesday, the good folks at the Hope misspelled his last name. Caddie Joe Skovkron's bib had "FOLWER" on it. "I don't look at (Skovron's) back, so I didn't know about it until my dad mentioned it," Fowler said. "Usually, it's my first that is never spelled right. ... I think that's the first time someone spelled that one wrong."

17. Seem like a lot of hockey stars are pretty good golfers too? Retired NHL star Jeremy Roenick, who played to a 0 last week, says it's simple. They've got the time to play in the most prime times -- spring and summer -- and then there's the swing. "It's similar to a slap shot,'' he said. "We have the same kind of motion . If we can just take the right hand out of it, which is important in a slap shot, we can have a good swing.''

18. Haven't heard much about Michael Campbell of late? You're not alone. The New Zealander has struggled since winning the U.S. Open in 2005. He followed it with a T5 at the British Open and a T6 at the PGA. Not much since. "I just don't know what is going on as it's like there are two Michael Campbells at a golf tournament these days," he said. "On the practice range my game is fine and I am hitting balls perfectly but when I get onto a golf course I just tighten up. ... The lows of my career have always been very, very low but then my highs have always been very high so there has never been any happy medium for me unfortunately.'' And, yes, he's asked himself THE question. "I've even thought about quitting but what am I going to do with myself?"

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.