Quick 18: Daly's TV, Phil's late flight and Murray to Augusta?

text size

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

John Daly's golf bag now features a flat screen TV which displays advertisements during rounds.

1. Who knew that Cinderella Story would come true? Just at Pebble Beach, not Augusta. Grumble if you must about Bill Murray, but he really does care about the game. And his game. Always has. All the way back to when he and his brothers caddied in suburban Chicago. He just hides it with comedy. And he just has to stand in front of you to make you laugh. But is that a bad thing? He finished off his round with a little fun, but you could see how much this meant coming down the stretch. Jack Lemmon, another funny man, could never make the cut at Pebble. We figured Murray would never win, then he did. "I felt like my mind had left my body," Murray said afterward. "I didn't know how to behave. It was like, 'Holy cow, I won. What do I do? I guess I can die now.' "

Got a comment or question for Melanie? Click here to e-mail her.

2. About that other Cinderella story/early Valentine's Day present? Yep, D.A. Points. No question, it was his week. He wanted to play with Murray and embraced the week. He had fun, just like he did winning on the Nationwide Tour. It wasn't like he came out of nowhere -- he's had a solid start to the year. He just put it all together. How can you argue with the hole-out from 100 yards at the 14th hole or that 30-foot twister for birdie at 15? Next goal? Making the 2012 Ryder Cup team so he can play in front of a home-state crowd at Medinah.

3. Random Murray moment: Standing in line at the Augusta airport years ago, Murray asked if he could borrow a piece of gum. Q-18 obliged. Thankfully, he never gave it back.

4. You think Murray will be in Augusta? Don't ponder too long. Not a stretch to think he might tote for D.A. Points at the Par-3, then hang out the rest of the week. Or maybe, Points hinted, he would let his mom or dad caddie, which would leave Murray free to roam the grounds. Just don't expect to see him wearing that Elmer Fudd hat underneath the oak tree.

5. Interesting that Points called Pebble Beach the most iconic course in America. Gorgeous shoreline, awesome views, tough course. But shouldn't Augusta National be included in that conversation? Q-18 bets that after Points drives down Magnolia Lane in April and tees it up, it will be.

6. A letdown in Dubai? Well, you had to figure one of the big names would step up, but . . . no. Instead Alvaro Quiros, sore arm and all, won the fifth tournament of his career and jumped into the top 25 in the world. The big hitter powered through a serious all-star cast and jumped from 36th to 21st.

7. One more reminder of Phil Mickelson's family-first commitment? He flew home Saturday night to get to his daughter's dance recital. Next up for Lefty? He'll head for Riviera and this week's Northern Trust Open where he's won twice.

8. Just so you know . . . it's been 975 days since Tiger Woods last won a major.

9. If the lineup remains the same for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play, there will be lots of interesting first-round matches including Bill Haas vs. Bubba Watson and Woods vs. Thomas Bjorn.

10. Another week, another win for Yani Tseng. And, oh, the win at the ANZ RACV Ladies Masters Sunday pushed her to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings.

11. John Daly's new golf bag has a flat screen on it. Yes, he was inspired by Rodney Dangerfield 's character Al Czervik in Caddyshack.

12. Give LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan snaps for problem solving. When a number of top players balked at committing to the RR Donnelley Founders Cup -- the new event where the entire purse goes to charity -- he worked to get the charitable numbers up. Instead of $500,000, the event will now generate $1 million, prompting Paula Creamer to let them know she's in. Will other holdouts like Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie follow?

13. You want to know what keeps everyone coming back to this game? It's that at-any-given-moment thing. Jeff Maggert opens with 75-74 at the AT&T, then shoots 62 in the third round to make the 54-hole cut. David Duval goes 77-65-70 to do the same.

14. Interesting piece of mental lint courtesy of Craig T. Nelson. His father was a drummer for Bing Crosby in high school and Der Bingle introduced Nelson's parents on a blind date. As for golf? The former Coach and current Parenthood star put his tongue in his cheek and said, "It's insane. This game is insidious and its obsessive. It'll drive you crazy and make you sick. You have to go for help and get therapy so there are a lot of people making a lot of money off golf.''

15. Snaps to Golf Channel's Charlie Rymer for reminding Q-18 about Keith Fergus' in-the-shower Ivory soap commercial. Complete with shower cap and rubber duckie. Chuckles all around.

16. It was a rookie mistake, one that's been repeated by a lot of wide-eyed young guys over the years. This week it was French European Tour rookie Victor Dubuisson, who played with Lee Westwood on Saturday in Dubai and was star-struck. "It was the first time I have played with a very famous player and it was with the world number one,'' he said. "On the first two holes I started with two bogeys and I didn't even realize because I was watching Lee playing. I watched his shot and then played mine but I was thinking about how he would play his next shot. There were more people watching than I am used to although I don't think they were there to watch me.'' Next time, he'll be ready.

17. Anyone wondering about Frank Chirkinian's selection to the World Golf Hall of Fame needs a history lesson. The Ayatollah, as he's known, brought golf alive on TV. He once told Q-18 the best decision he ever made at Augusta was NOT cutting away from Ben Crenshaw on the 18th green Sunday afternoon in 1995. Iconic shot. Just one from the Chirkinian Hall of Fame.

18. An ace that was 11 yards too short? That's the way the insurance company underwriting the policy for a $1 million payout for a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at Trump National Golf Club during the Alonzo Mourning Charities Tournament last August saw it. According to the NY Post, former Commodities Exchange Commissioner Marty Greenberg aced the hole, but, after showing the insurance folks where he hit it from, they determined the shot was only 139 yards, not the required 150. So Greenberg is now suing Mourning . "This situation should have been a happy and exciting event,'' Greenberg told the Post. "It is my intention to use the proceeds for charitable purposes, which makes my being forced into legal action all the more tragic. Sadly, I was left with no choice.''

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.