Quick 18: McDowell's journey, Tiger's tweets and McIlroy's hair

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Now that his luggage troubles are over, McDowell's sights are set on catching Martin Kaymer in Dubai.

1. Yes, it's THAT week. Time for family and giving thanks. Q-18 also thinks it's a week when we need to move along and stop looking back. No sense in belaboring what he's lost -- full-time fatherhood, a marriage -- or that he has taken responsibility for what led to all. Bottom line, he's working some of the ugliest stuff anyone has to face. This shouldn't be about what people want to know. It should be about what he needs to do for himself.

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2. Can Graeme McDowell catch Martin Kaymer? We're about to find out. It all comes down to this week in Dubai where the best of the European Tour is gathered for the grand finale. McDowell comes in on a roll -- even if he didn't win last week's Hong Kong Open. There are a few combinations in play, but if McDowell wins, the U.S. Open champ wins the Race to Dubai.

3. After a long overnight flight from Hong Kong to Dubai, McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Richie Ramsay reportedly all had an extremely long wait for their luggage, despite flying first/business class. We can all relate. And, as for added fees? Last week, Cathay Pacific Airlines slapped McDowell with a hefty fee -- a reported 300 euros -- for baggage and a priceless carry-on -- the U.S. Open trophy. This week? "I checked with the same amount of luggage last night at Hong Kong Airport and this time with Emirates there was no problem," McDowell said.

4. The biggest news of last week? Tiger's tweets, by less than 140 characters. He tweeted, people followed. Exponentially. At one point, you could refresh and the total would jump by 100. He's passed 247,600 followers -- with a mere four tweets.

5. And as for tweets . . . Q-18 thinks we can all relate to this one -- @TigerWoods The best part about phone interviews is getting to wear shorts.

6. The other news? McIlroy's highlights. We're talking hair, not shots on the course. Yes, the Irishman went for some blond lights . "My girlfriend was very much against it," he said. "But it was just something I want to do. . . When you get back to Northern Ireland on a cold November day you do get quite bored and it is something different I thought I'd try." The look had Irish hairdressers buzzing and, well, they didn't like it. "It's a very good indication to him, though, that if he keeps his hair that's how he's going to look when he's 45," celebrity hairstylist Paul Stafford said. His suggestion? McIlroy go short on the back and sides with curl on the top -- a preppy look.

7. From the politics-meets-golf file: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will bring more than a little clout to the USGA's 2012 Nominating Committee. And the current Stanford professor just might find her way to the Executive Committee one day. Rice plays mostly at Stanford's course now and, in an interview with NCGA Golf, described her game as coming along. "The problem with it is that one shot looks like Lorena Ochoa hit it and the next one looks like Bozo the Clown hit it, and I'm never quite sure what the difference is at any given time, but I think that's just golf." And, she's just like the rest of us in other ways, too. "I'm a very aggressive golfer. My challenge is to be sure that I'm not trying to hit shots that I really don't have in my repertoire, so I wish I were more of a thinking golfer. I'm trying to get better at managing the course, but it's not my strong suit."

8. Great comeback story you don't know about? Keith Clearwater. The last decade has been a long one for the man with face made for the big screen, but it paid off when he won medalist honors at Champions Tour q-school. Clearwater, who won the twice in 1987 -- the then-Colonial National Invitation and the Centel Classic -- stepped away from the game in 2001 to care for his parents who were alcoholics. His mother died in 2003; his father in 2006. "They were great parents growing up," he said. "But then they needed help." Clearwater started his comeback in 2006, then, after turning 50, played 15 events on the Champions Tour last year. Now he's set for 2011.

9. Q-18 offers a belated happy birthday to Errie Ball, who celebrated his 100th last week. Ball is the only player still living from the 72-man field at the 1934 Augusta National Invitational, which was the first Masters. He didn't play the event again until 1957. He came over to the States from Wales and when asked what ship he came on? "It may be the Mayflower," he chuckled.

10. When asked what his best skill was at the ADT Skills Challenge, hockey great Wayne Gretzky didn't hesitate. "Driving the golf cart.''

11. Paul Goydos and the future King of England? Yes, they had a moment prior to the Ryder Cup gala when Prince Charles received the U.S. contingent. "I bowed when Prince Charles came by, and figured that would be it," Goydos told the Long Beach Press Telegram.. "I figured he would say something to Davis Love III, who was at the end. But Prince Charles turned and came back and said to me, `How do you guys play so well?' You could tell he didn't know much about golf. But who ever thought a kid from Long Beach would be asked such a question by the next king of England?"

12. Could Matteo Manassero be one of 2011's major break-outs? We know the kid's got game -- just look at 2010. And, he's got a comfort zone, too, with the Molinari brothers sprinting the same direction. Yes, the Italians are coming. Just don't put too many expectations on any of them too soon.

13. A global game? Seems so. Teenager Ryo Ishikawa is the latest player to decide to stay his home tour for 2011. He'll still be visible at the majors and the World Golf Championship events.

14. Which golfer did you look up to as a kid? It's definitely a generational thing, as the Naples Daily News found out during an interview with Matt Kuchar. "As a kid growing up, I think most of us wanted to be Greg Norman," Kuchar said. "He was the coolest guy in golf."

15. Speaking of cool, GeoEye has some incredible photos in the 2011 calendar, including a shot of Augusta National. All photos are taken from 425 miles above earth. Click here to see some of the photos.

16. You ask, we answer. A number of Q-18 readers wanted to know about three-time PGA TOUR winner Chris DiMarco's 2011 playing status. DiMarco, who used his one-time exemption for being in the top 25 in career money, will play on his one-time top-50 career money exemption. A pair of veterans, by the way, finished inside the top 125 this year playing on past-champion status. Steve Elkington finished 99th; Joe Durant was 124th.

17. According to AFP, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni ordered the Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow a golf course to be built in Murchison Fallas National Park, a wildlife reserve encompassing rapids on the River Nile in the north of the country. But environmental activists are fighting it on the grounds that the course will impact wildlife migration and grazing patterns.

18. Those PureGolf lads -- Jamie Patton and Michael Goldstein -- are back Down Under and a month away from wrapping up their year-long, 365-courses-in-365-days world tour. The 20something Kiwi attorneys are at day 326 and counting -- and playing their way across Australia. They're still raising money for the First Tee of New Zealand, too. To catch up with their travels go to www.puregolf2010.com

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.