Quick 18: Toms, French golf, caddie merry-go-round

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Is David Toms the next Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup Captain? Time will tell.

1. If David Toms wasn't on the short list for a Ryder Cup captaincy ... the poobahs should get it on it. Fast. Three Ryder Cups, three Presidents Cups, a PGA Championship and 13 wins. Another major would seriously seal that deal -- and probably the World Hall of Fame. Why haven't we heard more from him over the years? Chronic shoulder problems, which seem to be under control at the moment.

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2. Would you want to go up against Ian James Poulter in match play? Didn't think so. Best match play player in the game right now -- he's 25-10-2 combined in singles -- by a few dimples over Luke Donald. The feisty Poulter scrambled from, um, Paris Sunday on some holes. The other European in the same category? Sergio Garcia. Yes, Davis Love III has noticed.

3. Poults' tumble -- and bounce back -- from the in-the-weeds, side-hill splat Sunday was second only to ... Woody Austin's face-first, Aquaman plunge at the 2007 Presidents Cup. Poults lost his platinum, diamond-encrusted ball marker with his children's names on it in the fall, but an official found it and returned it.

4. How much did Seve Ballesteros mean to young European players? Quick 18 can't count the ways, but we can tell you the stars turned out at Wentworth -- site of this week's BMW PGA Championship-- Monday for the Ole' Seve pro-am to raise money for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation and Cancer Research UK. And there's this from @ianjamespoulter: This is Seve Ballesteros' ball from the 1991 Dunhill British Masters I was 15 when asked him 4 it.

5. Not a better series of teachable lessons than the ones Carter Toms has watched unfold the last two weeks. His father lost an event -- THE PLAYERS -- he should have won last Sunday at the Stadium Course then bounced back from an awful Saturday round to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Class. Talent. Heart. Focus. Resilience. Perspective. Determination. Love. Redemption. Family. Did we miss anything? Oh, right. Looking good in that red plaid jacket, which is seriously hard to do.

6. Only thing as big as golf in the Toms' household? LSU football. And, yes, they talk it. While we're at it, remember that "These Guys Are Good" commercial where Toms was hitting golf balls onto his roof and they'd rattle along the gutter and pop out the drain spout? Better yet, do you remember when he was THE player in college golf? Quick 18 does.

7. Twitter is supposed to be fun, but Lee Westwood hinted he might give it up because of abusive tweets from, uh, fans. Quick 18 hopes he doesn't. He's too much fun in 140 characters. Twitter is supposed to be all in good fun -- Stewart Cink tweeting a $32 dessert -- but nasty slagging is sadly a part of any social interaction these days, but you have to keep it in perspective. As Graeme McDowell said, just block tweets if they go too far.

8. Ribbit, ribbit. Quick 18 got a giggle out of Jerry Kelly dressing up as TCU's Super Frog and hitting a tee shot in the pro-am at Colonial. Kelly lost a Rose bowl bet to J.J. Henry -- the Horned Frogs beat Kelly's Wisconsin Badgers 21-19 -- and put on the outfit, schmoozed with TCU coach Gary Patterson and fatted his tee shot, oh, 150 yards into the rough. Somewhere, Super Frog fan Dan Jenkins was grinning.

9. Open door ... Sunday was the first big cutoff day on the way to Congressional next month and there were some folks kicking that door in. Toms moved into the top 10 money winners and is in. Bo Van Pelt's third-place finish at Colonial shot him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and into the field. Ditto Ryo Ishikawa, who finished second last week in Japan, who came in right under the line at 49th in the world. Meanwhile ... Sergio Garcia WDs from the British Open international qualifying at Gleneagles in Dallas with an infected fingernail but said he's still playing in this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship. Among those still playing in the qualifier? Davis Love III, Stuart Appleby and Rory Sabbatini.

10. Golf Digest ranks Speaker of the House John Boehner the ninth best golfer in Congress and the 43rd best inside the Beltway. That's 14 spots lower than Vice President Joe Biden, who comes in at 29th, and 65 places ahead of President Barack Obama (108th). Top spot goes to T-Mobile VP Tony Russo, who's a plus-2.3. But we digress. Boehner picked up the game in his 30s and putts left-handed, but plays right-handed. "If you play with him, you can't watch him swing," lifelong friend and Cincinnati businessman Jerry Vanden Eynden told the AP. "You've got to turn your back. I keep telling him, 'You play so damn much, you ought to get good.'"

11. France has a Ryder Cup, but, right now, no player on the horizon who might make the team. Yes, the le Golf National Course creates a buzz down the stretch at the Alstom Open de France and Paris is a fabulous backdrop for the 2018 Ryder Cup, but ... a countryman on the team sure would be helpful. Right now, the best known French golfers are Jean Van De Velde, Thomas Levet and Gregory Havret. The first two had chances to win British Opens, but ... are sliding into broadcasting now. Good news? French golf has seven years to get moving. Then again, the legacy of past winners/Ryder Cuppers at the course -- the Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Monty, Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez -- might be enough.

12. Solheim Cup boot camp at men's-only Pine Valley? You bet. Assistant captain Sherri Steinhauer set it up and about 16 potential team members ooh-and-aahed their way around the classic course last Monday. They stayed in the lodge and ate dinner at the club. "The poor guy (who runs) the dorms, he's never seen so many women,'' Juli Inkster told Golf World. "He's probably taking the week off after that." Inkster, by the way, is an assistant captain until -- in Q-18's she plays her way onto the team, ... . And, oh, Happy Birthday to Morgan Pressel, who eagled the 15th hole at Pine Valley during the outing.

13. Quick 18 remembers when caddies weren't allowed on some tournament properties until their players showed up each day. Now, they're making headlines. Lots of big names parting ways with their players the last two weeks, the most surprising being Tony Navarro and Adam Scott. The list of caddies cut loose of late? Navarro, Craig Connolly, Ricci Roberts, Christian Donald, Zack Raswego and Bobby Brown. Q-18 wouldn't be surprised to see Navarro jump into the mix with Joe LaCava for Dustin Johnson's bag. They're two of the best.

14. How does Sergio's BFF -- and for the moment tennis No. 1 -- Rafa Nadal prep for the French Open? By chilling out with friends, family and playing golf. "I stopped a few days. I played some golf. I have been visiting the family. Since Indian Wells (it has been) a very busy schedule for me. I just tried to be close to friends, my people, for a few days."

15. Tom Lehman is the man everyone will be watching at this week's Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla. And not just because he's the defending champ. With three wins in his first seven Champions events, he's threatening to run away and hide from the 50-plus. Dare we add a T13 at the Mayakoba Classic against the kids?

16. According to reports, Ireland's Taoiseach -- that's Irish for Prime Minister -- Enda Kenny said President Obama will bring his clubs next time he visits Ireland. Obama and Kenny had broad-ranging financial discussions -- unemployment, budget deficits, bank management and bailouts -- last weekend, but little downtime. Next time? Maybe a quick 18 to go with trade and banking.

17. Did you know there's a David Toms Award? Really. It's given by the College Golf Coaches Association to a player who has overcome adversity to achieve excellence in the college game and the committee is discussing this year's award later this week.

18. Dallas QB Tony Romo bounced back from a failed U.S. Open local qualifier to win the Cox Celebrity Championship Sunday hosted by New Orleans QB Drew Brees. Romo came from behind to beat NFL Hall of Famer-turned-caddie Dan Quinn by two. Then he grabbed a microphone and tossed one at Brees. "It's funny,'' Romo said. "The only thing sweeter than this is when we went down to New Orleans and handed the Saints their first loss a couple of years ago." The crowd groaned. "Just kidding," Romo grinned.

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.