Quick 18: Tough draws, Fred's over-50 victory and more

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Dustin Johnson has one of the toughest draws this week at Dove Mountain.

Editor's note: PGATOUR.COM's Melanie Hauser will be shaking out the mental lint and pulling together the "Quick 18" on Mondays this year. Here are her thoughts after the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am:

1. Now that Dustin Johnson has our attention -- not to mention Corey Pavin's -- it's time to test his mettle at match play. Johnson drew Camilo Villegas in Round 1 of this week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play and, if he gets by Camilo, it doesn't get any easier. In his bracket? It's the toughest one of the four. Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and defending champ Geoff Ogilvy. As for history? He lost his first round match a year ago, but he was on America's winning Walker Cup in 2007.

2. Seven guys you don't want to meet in match play anywhere, but especially this week? Ogilvy, Westwood, Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, David Toms, Ernie Els and Chad Campbell. And, of course, the-out-of-sight-and-not-in-this-bracket-but-definitely-never-out-of-mind duo of Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie.

3. County Down the days . . Ok. I'm not funny. But David Feherty is. You don't have a conversation with Feherty, You listen. You laugh. You drink in his ramblings and chuckle. The player-turned-CBS analyst is funny, irreverent and positively brilliant. He's also an Irishman -- he was born in County Down -- for the next week. Come Feb. 23, the Dallas resident will become an American citizen, "as long as Homeland Security doesn't improve between now and then." I'd love to be there for the post-oath quips.

4. The best news out of Naples this week? Fred Couples' back stood up to the chilly temperatures and a seriously long -- for Fred -- start to the season. Second in his Champions Tour debut, a winner in his second event. And, in between, a tie for 37th with the kids at the Northern Trust Open. We're keeping our fingers crossed that his ambitious twin-tour schedule has enough down time built in to rest his back.

5. Best fashion observation last week went to AP's Doug Ferguson, who found Smurf and Gumby playing together Thursday. Smurf was Rickie Fowler, all in smurfy blue with a white cap, and Gumby -- all green -- was Ryo Ishikawa.

6. Twin sport wizard? Well, kind of. Anthony Kim, who played ball growing up as a kid, hit the floor in the Celebrity Game at last weekend's NBA All-Star Game in Dallas. AK's a pesky defender, but his shots need a little work.

7. Olympic spirit? More like a short vacation if you ask us. Yes, Stewart Cink prepped for this week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with a trip to the slopes. Specifically, Utah's Solitude, where he stuck to the basics -- no moguls for him.

8. Shiver ran through me when I saw wind cancel first round of the ACE Classic. Same thing happened in Houston last year when balls wouldn't stay put on the greens. Of course, neither compares to an Open Championship. Most recently 2008 at Birkdale where the wind broke my GustBuster.

9. Low-handicap amateur/actor/Kate's brother/Goldie's son Oliver Hudson grew up playing just about every sport, but he's settled on golf where he carries a 2 handicap. So what does he think about the game? "Everyone seems to have the same problems, just at a different level... The of hitting a beautiful shot and the horrible, horrible feeling of hitting a shank, just balancing those probably makes it the greatest game ever."

10. The men behind -- well beside -- the men. It's no coincidence. At least we don't think so. Yes, Steve Stricker and David Duval have worked their tails off to get their games to their current levels, but we happen to think at least a bit of the credit should also go to Jimmy Johnson and Mitch Knox -- their respective caddies. Johnson's simply one of the best on the bag and Knox was the man who helped Duval to No. 1 in the world.

11. Should Pavin keep an eye on Tom Watson? Absolutely. As long as Watson is playing like he's 40 instead of 60, why not? Sure, it's thinking way out of the box and there's still a long way to go. But, bottom line? Watson's a heck of a bad weather player -- and there's lots of that in Wales -- and they love him in the U.K., even if he is a Yank. Five Open Championships -- and nearly a sixth (twice) -- will do that.

12. How did golf help the 49ers win the 1995 Super Bowl? Glad you asked. Seems tight end Harris Barton, guard Frank Pollack, trainer Ray Tufts and equipment man Ted Walsh carpooled to home games back in the day and started a tradition of stopping before they got to Candlestick Park to each hit a golf ball into the bay. "It was kind of scary," Barton told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Cars are whizzing by at 75 miles-an-hour a few feet away and these 300-pound guys are hitting golf balls into the bay."

They kept tradition going on the road too, finding rivers or lakes to hit into as they won 10 games in a row. They couldn't find any water in Minnesota, though, so they blew it off and lost that final regular-season game. The ritual returned for the playoffs and they even found a lake on their way to the big game in Miami. The result? The 49ers beat San Diego 49-26.

13. No tournament may grow the game better than this week's Mayakoba Golf Classic. The tournament's Golf PARa Todos initiative, which has monthly programs that actually introduce children and adults to the game. These aren't your basic weekly clinics. The tournament, instead, puts clubs in the hands of the area's working people who have never touched a club.

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Murray

14. No one does Pebble Beach like Bill Murray. A look. A wink. A sight gag. A hula hoop? Yep... But one that make me smile? Tom Brady stripes it off the first tee, then drops back long down the fairway to his caddie Will McDonough. Ah, kids.

Bing had to be smiling.

15. Think they'd come back in June and hang with the galleries? Anything will be a welcome respite come June when the USGA will have a tight grip at Pebble. No matter what they do to the course -- and you know they will -- we'll have a chuckle if someone bangs one off the rocks like Hale Irwin did mumblesomething years ago.

16. No one needs a week off more than Phil Mickelson. What could have been a fast start has turned into a thisclose and thisfar opening to 2010. He debuted with a 19th at the Farmers Insurance Open, a tie for 45th at the Northern Trust Open and a share of eighth at Pebble Beach. The good news? After a week away, he takes on the TPC Scottsdale, where he's a hometown favorite and two-time champ.

17. David Duval keeps telling us he's close. Non-believers, listen up. He could be the man to beat at the Mayakoba this week, even if he doesn't like the spotlight "I'm just going to go try to hit a lot of fairways in Mexico and hit a lot of greens," he said. "It's really a simple recipe. Successful golf is a very simple recipe.''

18. Got some extra cash laying around? Just in case you'd like to know, there was a home for sale just off the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach. Four bedrooms for a mere $35 million. Monthly payment? $158,980.92. Scenic address? Priceless.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.