Quick 18: More Rory, funny Feherty and a Rock star

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Rory McIlroy, pictured celebrating his U.S. Open win with his father, is winning everyone over with his humiility.
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Jun. 20, 2011
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

1. What is it about Rory? The grin? The effortless swing? The humility? The openness and honesty? The fact that he's so darn genuine? His ability to bounce back from the Masters meltdown? The way he made his historic 72 holes feel more like a round with the guys than one of the best performances ever in the Open? The brilliance of it all? Who wasn't pulling for the kid? Who doesn't want to see him at the top of the heap for a long-long time? See what happens when we stop trying to make stars? They happen.

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2. If anyone can put an end to this American vs. International dominance nonsense, it's Rors. He didn't go a hole at Congressional without "Ror-y, Ror-y" cheers. Or seeing a shamrock hat or two. He's just the guy to bridge the gap. Who doesn't love him? People who don't like the game love him.

3. Favorite overseas scene we didn't see? Had to be the packed clubhouse at Holywood breaking into "Rory, Rory Hallelujah." Headline writers kinda liked that, too. In case you're wondering ... after waiting 60 years for their first major, Ireland and Northern Ireland have combined for five of the last 16 majors.

4. That said, couldn't help but grin when, Sunday night, @luke_donald tweeted: Thinking about moving to Northern Ireland!!

5. Donald first played with McIlroy at the Dunhill Links in St. Andrews, and the kid impressed him. "I think that was the time he needed to finish top 10 or something to get his card on the European Tour,'' Donald said. "He finished third. Yeah, just a lovely game, no fear, and goes out there and plays to his strengths."

6. Do yourself a favor. Tune in or set your DVR for the debut tonight of Feherty on the Golf Channel. You won't be disappointed. Feherty leads off with Lee Trevino who, in the tease says, "I can take Tiger Woods in 15 minutes and straighten him out." ... As for Feherty? Nothing is off-limits. "I don't have an skeletons in my closet because I emptied the whole thing out in front of everybody,'' he said. "I'm just trying to make people smile and see a lighter side of the game."

7. Anyone else out there think Sergio Garcia might want to pick up the phone and call putting guru Dave Stockton? All Q-18 can say is look what it did for Rory. Great to see Sergio bounce back to finish T7 at Congressional, but he might want to think ahead quickly to ... Royal St. George's.

8. The best story not in the top 10? That was Englishman Robert Rock and his visa problems. How in the world does a guy travel all night, not see the course except on TV, open with a 70 and finish T23? He's pretty good player. He's also got a little rock-star-type mentions about his hair. Hmm. A little Rickie Fowler, a little Ed Westwick.

9. Who does this remind you of? "You lose a lot more in golf than you win. So when you do win, you have to enjoy it." Q-18's brain flashed straight to Jack Nicklaus. Seems those little visits he has had with Rory are sinking in.

10. Leader in the clubhouse for Comeback Player of the Year has to be Harrison Frazar. The man who was thisclose to giving up the game and ranked outside the top 500 in the world, wins the FedEx St. Jude Classic, then ties for 30th at the U.S. Open. He's 40th in the FedEx Cup standings and 41st on the money list. He's made more this season than the last two combined. To think he played this year because, "All I want is one win, for my kids, for my wife, for my coach, for my friends, and I don't know if I'll ever get it, but I'll give it another shot in 2011." Turns out, he did some pretty good things for him, too.

11. We're not avoiding the question, but ... Q-18 is still trying to digest the Golf Boys' "Oh, Oh Oh" video and offer a more, um, accurate review.

12. G-Mac: "I didn't have a chance to play with Tiger when he was in his real pump and this guy is the best I've ever seen."

13. Lost in the McIlroy shuffle was ... Jason Day. He's finished top 10 in the last three majors and was second in both the Masters and the U.S. Open -- first time out for both. He won the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship and has seven top 10s this year.

14. Just so you know ... cost of a membership at Congressional CC is upward of $100,000. And there's a seven-year waiting list. Yikes.

15. Bill Pennington of the New York Times went behind the doors in the scoring trailer -- metaphorically -- and came away with a couple of interesting observations. Paul Casey told him "I've often thought the scoring tent ought to be a padded cell." And this from 2006 U.S. Open champ Geoff Ogilvy: "It's a green room after a performance instead of before one. And you will see every kind of human emotion in there. Guys will throw their scorecards across the room, kick the table and then suddenly start laughing. Maybe they'll bury their head in their hands. All in the space of a minute."

16. Canada's Postmedia caught up with Canadian Graeme DeLaet, who coming back from surgery and asked him to describe something quirky he'd done to shake a slump. "Maybe drink beers for a couple of days?,'' DeLaet answered. "Yeah, just drinking beers for a couple of days and not playing golf." Did that work? "Probably not,'' he admitted.

17. Tweet of the week comes from Joe Ogilvie, who basically retweeted himself: @ogilviej: I repeat my Masters statement, If Rory wins he will be first major winner since 1997 (Tiger) to believe he is the best player in the world.

18. Fashion is nothing new to golf. But this just in ... golf was the inspiration for Prada's 2012 spring/summer men's collection that seems nothing if not a bit offbeat. Designer Miuccia Prada said she used golf as an excuse to make the collection eccentric. "Even if I hate golf and don't play, it is completely international,'' she said. She showed off her collection on artificial turf floor -- with Prada branded clubs and bags -- in a space during Milan Fashion Week. The collection makes Ian Poulter look conservative.

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.

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