Quick 18: O'Hair, Ogilvy, Daly impress in Canada

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Geoff Ogilvy's T4 finish at the RBC Canadian Open was his third top-10 of the season.

1. The latest example of golf hammering you down, then just when you're ready to walk, you get out of your own way and it gives you everything and more and a reason to smile? Or in this case cry? Sean O'Hair. The twentysomething we figured would be part of major conversations had become a footnote with a spate of missed cuts (10 of 17). Then comes the lowest soul-searching point last Wednesday at the RBC Canadian Open and boom. He pulled a Darren Clarke/Harrison Frazar won on the first hole of sudden death with a bogey and struggled to control his emotions.

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2. The twist to O'Hair's win? He parted with Canadian swing coach Sean Foley and his Canadian caddie Brennan Little earlier this year. Just a twist and a bit of mental lint. Don't read anything into it.

3. Rough week? The thick stuff at the RBC Canadian Open had everyone talking and Mike Weir withdrawing so he wouldn't reinjure a tender elbow. Q-18's favorite line came from CBS' David Feherty, who checked out the thickness: "If it was a thread count, you could sleep on it.''

4. One scribe called them the Tee Amigos. We go with Three Major Amigos. You want star-power at a tournament? How about this week's Irish Open at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, where the headliners are the Northern Ireland trio of Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. Add in three-time major champ and Irishman Padraig Harrington and let's just say County Kerry is the place to be.

5. In case you overlooked it, Geoff Ogilvy's T4 at the RBC Canadian Open was his best finish since that T4 at the Masters. Ogilvy's been up and down this season, but when he's up -- watch out. Could he be the next player to step out of his own way?

6. About the Tiger Woods-Steve Williams split... it was THE headline last week. Splits are part of TOUR life. Only most of them are footnotes, not headlines. But just move on, which Williams has -- to Adam Scott's bag. Williams has worked for some of the best in the game, including Raymond Floyd, who said he was the only caddie who never choked, and Greg Norman. Who's up for Tiger? Tony Navarro, Scott's old caddie and one of the best in the game, is on the short list, as is Ricci Roberts. Joe LaCava? Right up there with Navarro and Williams, but he just jumped to Dustin Johnson's bag.

7. Don't call him another Tiger, Jordan is just fine. Yes, Jordan Spieth gave us another reason to chat about his future when he joined Tiger last weekend as the only multiple winners of the U.S. Junior Amateur. Spieth, who celebrates his 18th birthday in two days, was a mega favorite at the event he's now won twice in three years. Spieth, who got our attention finishing T16 at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship and contending until the back nine this year, is headed to Texas this fall as a freshman. Also on tap? The Walker Cup

8. Who let the Dawgs out? Sorry, couldn't resist after amateur Harris English became the second Georgia golfer -- Russell Henley was the first -- to win on the Nationwide Tour this year. English held off NCAA champ John Peterson from LSU and Nationwide veteran Kyle Riefers to win the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Henley won the Stadion Classic at UGA in May.

9. As much fun as it is to see college kids winning, Q-18 has to point out Peterson might want to rethink his post-tournament, um, exuberance over three amateurs in the Nationwide Children's Hospital top 10 and two amateur winners at that event in five years. If we were talking football it would be bulletin major board material: "The top guys in college, the top 20 or 30 guys, can beat the top 20, 30 guys on the PGA TOUR," Peterson said. "Maybe with the exception of two or three guys who are constantly up there, like a Matt Kuchar or Luke Donald, those guys that are always there ... those top 20 college guys will beat those top 20 or 30 PGA TOUR guys, if given the opportunity. They just don't have the opportunity.''

10. Two faces you might want to remember: Alexander Noren and Adam Hadwin. As if the European Tour wasn't deep enough, Noren survived some seriously brutal wind to win the Nordea Masters -- with a closing 77 on a day when the average score was 83.97. Hadwin didn't become the first Canadian to win his country's Open since 1954, but the two-time Canadian Tour winner gave it quite the run. And he's only 23.

11. No, Tom Watson doesn't slow down. He made a run Sunday before finishing T3 behind winner Russ Cochran at the Senior British Open. Add the T22 at the British Open the week before. And now he'll be at the Greenbrier Classic this week instead of the U.S. Senior Open. Whew. He'll be teeing it up with the kids on a course he knows well, but this was a go-seriously-low course last year with winner Stuart Appleby closing with a 59. If nothing else, Watson headlines along with Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.

12. Wondering if Hale Irwin could put himself in the mix at this week's U.S. Senior Open at Inverness? At 66, tough to say no since he won here in 1979 and, well, he's Hale Irwin. Never ceases to amaze, right?

13. Everyone was talking about Kris Blanks' Canadian red shoes --- "red fairway creepers" as Jason Gore dubbed them. Where'd he get them? From the keyboard of @krisblanks: "thats what happens when you mix booze and FJ myjoys webpage. Figure they're cool here in Canada. http://yfrog.com/h4libvrj." They're staying in Canada, too. He signed them for the locker room attendants.

14. Twin ball wizardry. Or in Michael Jordan's case, tri-ball. So what sage advice did Jordan impart to Dallas QB Tony Romo? "He has a great mind for both games,'' Romo said in a radio interview. "When you watch him play golf, he understands how to win. He obviously doesn't possess the same abilities that he had in basketball, but he's smart. He doesn't do anything but be himself and he doesn't think about the other person. ... I try to tell people that when you're playing golf, it's a great tool for your brain. ... In football, I throw an interception or two and I'm the reason we're losing and we're trailing by four with two minutes to go and you're just emotionally feeling terrible, you've got to be able to suck it up, come right back out and take your team down the field and win the game. ... In golf, you make two bogies on 15 and 16 and you just had the lead and now you're down two or one and you have to come back and make a birdie, you have to mentally come back and overcome that." Glad you asked.

15. A long putter at 21? Yep. Michele Wie is struggling. What was an optimistic start to the season has devolved into frustration. And 139 putts at the U.S. Women's Open. Yikes. Long putter looked strange and didn't help since she missed the cut at the Evian Masters. Q-18 must point out it won't get any easier at this week's RICOH Women's British Open at Carnasty, er, Carnoustie.

16. The sign in the gallery said "In John We Trust." We wouldn't go that far, not even close, but Q-18 must point out that John Daly did play his way into the top 10 -- his first at a TOUR event since his 2005 loss to Tiger at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. Since then? JD missed 45 cuts and withdrew 17 times. A T9 has to feel like a win.

17. Mental lint, Lord Byron style. In case you didn't know, Byron Nelson played a key role in the development of golf shoes and golf umbrellas. He and Jug McSpaden approached Foot Joy in 1938 and suggested thicker soles and broader toe areas in shoes. Done. And in the early 1940s when Nelson was the pro at Inverness, he suggested a to his boss at the time -- Cloyd Haas -- that golfers could use a larger, sturdier umbrella. Done. Haas-Jordan made the first golf umbrella.

18. Five LPGA majors? It's a sign of the times -- think sponsor dollars -- but Q-18 thought four worked just fine. To paraphrase a line from another formerly ink-stained -- now we're just keyboard stressed -- press room regular, some things just shouldn't be changed. Think 12 days of Christmas and seven dwarfs.

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.