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The world of golf was all about getting back together and splitting up this week.

The Zurich Classic was first hosted by TPC-Louisiana two years ago, but damage from Hurricane Katrina forced the event to find a temporary home last year before returning this week.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Phil Mickelson will discontinue working with swing instructor Rick Smith, instead opting for Butch Harmon.

The Weekly 18 starts with this latest development -- one that should have everyone talking.

There isn't much off-the-course golf news that can provoke mainstream talk-show pundits to opine on this fair game ... unless it has to do with one of the big-name superstars.

As Golf World's Tim Rosaforte reported this weekend, the Mickelson-Harmon player-coach relationship will become official at this week's Byron Nelson Championship. And yes, that'll get 'em talking.

There are those who will proclaim this a last-ditch attempt by Mickelson to bring respectability to his game. (Never mind his win at Pebble Beach and near win at Riviera earlier this season.) They will contend it's an effort to save face after losing the U.S. Open on the final hole last year. (Believe us, no player has ever switched instructors based on one bad swing.) They will say Mickelson needs a mental guru more than he needs a new swing instructor. (Well, they might have a point there.)

It's a swift change of direction for Mickelson, who told Golf World during the Masters, "Rick's still my guy, but I will keep having Butch check me now and then for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. That's where it stands."

We've seen the dreaded "vote of confidence" inevitably seal the fates of coaches in other sports and, like them, a golf instructor is only as good as his players' performances. Of course, in golf, where coaching isn't allowed inside the ropes, the amount of culpability is even more limited.

All of which means what happens next for the Mickelson-Harmon team will become overblown and overdone. This much is certain: Should Mickelson find success in coming months, Harmon will receive too much of the credit. Should he fail to win, Harmon will receive too much of the blame.

Either way, everyone will be talking about it.

If Mickelson was watching the Zurich Classic on Sunday, he likely was doing so with a smile on his face. That's because champion Nick Watney is a Harmon protégé, one who credited the instructor for helping with his game recently. "I have to say thank you to Butch Harmon," he said. "I mean, I love him. I've been working with him now almost two years, and I hit the ball really, really well all four days, and I have to give him a lot of credit for that." It showed. For the week, Watney was T-9 in greens in regulation and T-1 in total birdies.

We've noticed a pattern. Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship and the Funai Classic in 2005 ... and didn't play in either event last season (although the Nelson came during a nine-week hiatus after Woods' father passed away). The pattern is holding so far this year, as Tiger will not compete in this week's Nelson tournament, either. It used to be a fixture in his schedule, as he never finished lower than T-12 while missing the tournament only once from 1997 through 2004, winning it during the first edition of that run. Of course, for Woods to maintain this pattern of failing to show at an event after missing the cut, he'll next need to skip ... the U.S. Open, at which he failed to reach the weekend last year after shooting 76-76. Uh, don't count on that happening.

Nice touch by many players this week -- more than half the field, by one count -- in support of the Virginia Tech community after Monday's massacre. Players either wore Virginia Tech hats or, as those with Titleist contracts donned, maroon and orange hats with the company name on the front and a VT logo on the side. Watney was one of those players. "If it helps even one person, then it's worth it for us," he said. "Hopefully, we can do a little bit to help ease the pain that they're feeling up there."

Perhaps Mark Calcavecchia should hit the pro shop before every tournament. Earlier this season, Calc paid $258.18 for a putter and used it to win the PODS Championship later that week. Before the Zurich, he bought a new headcover, Albert the Alligator, to represent his University of Florida alma mater, perhaps trying to capture a little mojo from the school's championship football and basketball teams. "Great year for Gators," Calcavecchia said into a TV camera while walking down a fairway with Albert attached to his hand like a sock puppet. And maybe it worked. Calc finished T-5 on Sunday.

Speaking of that store-bought putter, it found its way out of Calc's bag in a hurry; he removed it last Sunday at the Verizon Heritage. "Last week at Hilton Head, I had no clue, honestly," Calcavecchia said. "My caddie would say, 'Just outside the lip,' and I would say, 'What lip?' I didn't have a clue." His stats proved as much, as Calc averaged 29 putts per round on the relatively small greens of Harbour Town. At the Zurich, though, he was much-improved, taking just 26.8 putts per round, sixth in the field.

We've heard of athletes getting fingers jammed in car doors, slipping on ice or straining body parts with extended video game playing, but those are, of course, all off-the-field injuries. On Saturday, Calcavecchia suffered about as fluky an in-action injury as we've seen when he got frustrated after a poor shot late in the third round. "I decided to throw my hat on the ground, and I hurt my back," he said. "Luckily, there was only a couple holes left."

If you saw Chris Stroud's T-5 finish at Zurich coming, well, we don't believe you. No one could have seen it coming. In five previous PGA Tour starts this season and two more on the Nationwide Tour, Stroud had yet to make a single cut. Last year, he made the cut in only four of nine starts on the minor league circuit (and didn't compete in any PGA Tour events), but he earned tour status by successfully playing his way through all three stages of Qualifying School, finishing T-16 at the final stage.

Long Beach residents John Mallinger, John Merrick and Peter Tomasulo have played a lot of golf together over the years, but we can't imagine they've ever seen as much success together as they did Sunday. Mallinger shot a final-round 5-under 67 to capture his second top-three result this season and likely secure his card for 2008, and Merrick earned his first career top-20, squeezing in at T-18. Meanwhile on the Nationwide Tour, Tomasulo shot a final-round 70 (disappointing only in that it concluded with a final-hole double-bogey) to finish T-14. Three top-20s for the Long Beach kids in one weekend; that's a pretty good showing.

Although he's still searching for his first top-10 finish of the season, rookie Michael Putnam has made the cut in all eight starts so far in 2007. He has reached the weekend in 10 straight starts overall, which places him -- amazingly enough -- in a share of sixth place for consecutive made cuts on tour. He finished T-28 at the Zurich.

The Zurich Classic sounds like a tournament that should be played in Switzerland, so -- true to their roots -- officials have designated a spot in the field for Swiss pro Martin Rominger each of the past two years. He became the first Switzerland native to play in a PGA Tour event when he missed the cut a year ago, and Rominger earned another first this time around, becoming the first from his country to make the cut, shooting 73-68 in the opening two rounds. Of course, it's not as if he had much competition among his countrymen. "There's not many," Rominger, 27, said about the number of Swiss touring professionals. "We probably have four or five playing on a pro level, on a tour, but no major tour. They're all smaller tours." For the tournament, Rominger finished T-78.

Despite not having reported anything on David Duval in a few months, the Weekly 18 has received as many reader e-mails about the 13-time champ lately than anything we have written about. Duval has competed in five PGA Tour events this season -- making the cut in three, with a best finish of T-36 at Pebble Beach -- but hasn't been seen since the Nissan Open in mid-February. Why the long break? The Associated Press caught up with Duval this week, reporting that he's taking time away from the course to be with wife Susie, who is having a "difficult pregnancy." According to Duval, "This is something unexpected. I had planned on playing, but family jumps ahead of everything else." The couple has one child together and three from Susie's previous marriage. But good news for Duval fans who would like to see him back in action: He still has a one-time exemption for being among the top 50 on the PGA Tour money list that could give him full-time status for next season. He's 24th on the all-time career earnings list.

Jay Haas first became eligible for the Champions Tour before the 2004 season, but with a Ryder Cup bid hanging in the balance, he chose to compete in only three events on the senior circuit that year. Still with full status on the PGA Tour in '05, Haas upped his number of Champions starts to 10 and finally became a full-timer last year, playing 21 tournaments. Let's just say he's enjoying it. Haas successfully defended his title at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, beating Tom Kite in a playoff Sunday. His Champions Tour record stands at these eye-popping numbers: 43 starts, eight wins, seven runner-up finishes and 30 top-10s.

We've said it before and, quite likely, we'll say it again: Having bye weeks on the LPGA Tour schedule is a recipe for disaster -- and this latest circumstance is a perfect example. Last week, the tour saw up-and-comer Brittany Lincicome defeat superstar Lorena Ochoa and future Hall of Famer Laura Davies in a fast and furious -- not to mention dramatic -- final round at the Ginn Open. Instead of building on that momentum, the tour was dark this week. So what should be done? With a regular-season schedule that includes 31 events, plus the Women's World Cup, Solheim Cup and Lexus Cup, there are certainly enough events to carry through a majority of the calendar. The LPGA needs to play every week if it wants its product to continue reaping the benefits of entertaining tournaments like its most recent event.

Two years ago, up-and-comer James Driscoll took Tim Petrovic to a playoff at TPC-Louisiana, losing on the first extra hole. He finished the season 100th on the money list and was poised for an even better performance in 2006. Instead, Driscoll took a step back, making the cut in only 11 of 29 events and losing his PGA Tour playing privileges. He's now full-time on the Nationwide circuit, but owns only one made cut (a T-26 in, coincidentally enough, Louisiana last month). At this week's Athens Regional Foundation Classic, he failed to make the number by 7 shots.

Longtime Duke University men's coach Rod Myers passed away earlier this month after a bout with leukemia, but his memory has continued to serve as an inspiration to some former players. Nathan Smith, an honorable mention All-American in 2005, won his first career Hooters Tour title Sunday and moved into third on the money list. "This win goes out to Coach Myers," said Smith, who shot 71-67-65-67 to win the Capitol Chevrolet Classic by 1 stroke. "I felt him with me today, and I just knew I could do it." His win came just one week after that of 2001 grad Kevin Streelman, who also continues to lead the money list.

"People over here always ask how I can eat haggis and if I know what's in it. I ask them the same thing about hot dogs."
-- Scotland native Martin Laird, winner of the Nationwide Tour's Athens Regional Foundation Classic this week.

"I need a hug."
-- Boo Weekley, to a tournament official on the 17th hole, while in the midst of an opening-round 77 on Thursday.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com