Quick 18: Scott stoked, three stats and Rory's good call

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Adam Scott was stoked Sunday, for good reason. Now we'll see if it carries over to Atlanta Athletic Club.

1. You're not really that surprised are you? Not THAT story. We're talking Adam Scott, who put on a clinic Sunday at Bridgestone and seems ready to step into the role we thought he was destined for years ago. Couldn't help but think back to 2004 when, despite dunking his approach at the 72nd hole, he snapped our heads with that win at THE PLAYERS. The turning point on the way back from his 2008 malaise? We see a timeline of them. Greg Norman making him a captain's pick for the 2009 President's Cup. Putting the long putter in his bag. The runner-up finish at Augusta in April. And, finally, Steve Williams on the bag. We loved the pairing of Scott and Tony Navarro, but there's no denying there's something great happening with the new pairing.

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2. Loved the term Scotty used after winning -- stoked. So Aussie. So surfer. So appropriate since he loves hitting the beach with his board. As for his candid comments and clever sense of humor. People are just noticing. Had those when Q-18 first met him as a barely twentysomething. He's just getting better with age.

3. Roll out the red carpet ... The last major week of 2011 comes complete with tonight's Atlanta debut of "Seven Days in Utopia" starring Academy Award winners Robert Duvall and Melissa Leo and pretty darn good golfer/actor Lucas Black. The adaptation of David Cook's book also features K.J. Choi as golf antagonist T.K. Oh and several TOUR players, including Rich Beem and Rickie Fowler.

4. Your short list for Atlanta Athletic Club and the 93rd PGA Championship? Getting crowded, huh? Must-haves include Scott, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Fowler.

5. Could this week make it seven consecutive first-time winners? Absolutely. Could we have a Chubby (Chandler) Slam? Odds going up. Westwood closed with a 65 at Bridgestone, has Rotella working on his brain and Dave Stockton working on his putting. And his BFF Darren Clarke just won the British Open. Just saying.

6. When it comes to style, Q-18 doesn't miss a beat. Neither do you. People can't stop talking about Fowler's 64-Crayon Box monochromatic look. And now? Ryo Ishikawa's hair. From a full head of it to a perm to buzzed. He did it, he said, because it was hot in Akron. But his logoed golf balls didn't keep up. That image is has the long straight hair. Will we see the buzzed logo this week?

7. Tweet of the week goes to ... @bovanpelt: "I am only US player on a flight from Akron to Atlanta. All European tour players. This is my secret major preparation."

8. Three stats to take from last week? Fowler needed just 100 putts at Bridgestone. Hale Irwin shot his age -- 66 -- again (and a 67 and ties for eighth). Scott Piercy's 61 on the way to a win at the Reno-Tahoe Open. And one asterisk -- former PGA champ Steve Elkington's T6 at Reno.

9. The state of Tiger's game? Rusty. Improving. Middle-of-the-pack at Bridgestone? Needs to find more fairways and a putter. He benched his trusty Scotty Cameron -- the one that won 13 of 14 majors -- to try the Nike Method (again). Both good choices. But which one fits his mind the way those new Nike Frees fit his feet? As for caddies? His funny of the week came when asked if he would disclose his caddie short list. "No. Was that too fast? Ask me again."

10. Mental lint you can use ... one day. Englishman David Horsey's nickname? Giddy. As in giddy-up.

11. Never look back. Chubby Chandler told The Guardian he doesn't regret selling 75 percent of his International Sports Management group the day before Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open and triggered a run of Chubby's clients winning majors. "Maybe this run started because of that (deal),'' he said. "If I lived my life wondering what would have happened and about 'what ifs' then I wouldn't get very far. The life I lead is very much a precarious one. There's nothing to say that five of these guys won't lose form. You tend to look forward not back. I'm not very grown up about a lot of things, but I'm very grown up about that." The group that bought into ISM includes two-time major champ Mark O'Meara, Setanta broadcasting founders Leonard Ryan and Mickey O'Rourke, and wrestler Shane McMahon.

12.The Hips Don't Lie ... on the billboard top 10 or in golf. All of which means Shakira thinks she has a hip-up on golf. "I love golf. I'm really bad at sports, believe it or not. If you threw a ball at me, you would probably break my face because I have no reflexes whatsoever. But in golf, you just need concentration, of which I have plenty, and hip swing is very important."

13. A couple weeks to go in the FedExCup points race and the bubble boys -- top 125 get in -- include ... Ernie Els (126), Tiger (129), Padraig Harrington (130), Oosthuizen (145).

14. When Nick Faldo suggested that major winners -- male and female -- collaborate on the design for the Olympic course for 2016, all Q-18 could think is ... HOW? All those design signatures, all those, uh, personalities. All we could think was a course like the old Tour 18 in the Houston area with 18 totally different holes. Who designs what? Draw straws? Greg Norman was realistic when he said that wouldn't work. The chances of putting 18 major champs in a room and coming up with a cohesive, coherent plan -- let alone a routing? Hasn't the world learned a lesson watching Congress?

15. Just a thought, but ... McIlroy's decision to play the TOUR next year makes sense on a couple levels. He seems to be more comfortable on U.S. courses on a more full-time basis. He's got another great market to build his brand. He's on the 2013 Ryder Cup team -- hands down. His girlfriend has a place in Florida too.

16. How's this for prescient? Jennifer Stallings got her Boston Red Sox-crazed husband Scott tickets to the Red Sox-Yankees series that will be played during The Barclays. The kicker? She got them BEFORE he won The Greenbrier and assured himself of a spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

17. Historical perspective. Today, in 1974, the nation stopped to watch as Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate scandal. Later that week, Lee Trevino one-upped Jack Nicklaus to win the PGA Championship at Tanglewood Park. Just thought you'd like to know.

18. And, finally, we leave you with this memory from Mickelson's Sunday 2001 post-PGA press conference ... While Phil was talking, Q-18 was sitting next to Amy, who was seven months pregnant at the time. The baby was tossing, turning and kicking and Amy kept rubbing her stomach to try and settle things down. Q-18 asked -- a bit tongue-in-cheek, if it was time to get to the hospital. Amy grinned said no, the baby was just feeling the stress of the day -- dad's major loss down the stretch to David Toms. Two months later, Mickelson daughter No. 2, Sophia, was born. Two and a half years later, Dad won his first major.

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.