“I don’t know what to say. I don’t feel bad about the game, but mentally I’m just really soft right now. I’m having a hard time focusing on the shot. I’m having a hard time seeing the ball go in the hole. But the physical game doesn’t feel bad. I don’t feel bad about the way I’m hitting it. I don’t feel like the misses are bad. I haven’t driven the ball this well ever, for how I feel anyways, but getting the ball to the hole, getting the shots close, getting the putts to go, I just haven’t been able to do it. So I feel like it’s more of a mental issue and I’ll go home and see if I can work on it.”

— Phil Mickelson, after missing the cut at THE PLAYERS. Here we are in mid-May, and Phil has yet to post a top-ten finish this year – proving, no matter how good you are, just how hard it is to play, and do so consistently, at the level professional golfers do, day in and day out.

“To win on Mother’s Day … we show our parents way too little. We always need some occasions to show them, which is what you realize when they’re not there anymore. So to win on those days … it adds a little bit of a nice thing to the whole week.

I think about her every day. I don’t need a Mother’s Day.”

— Martin Kaymer, after winning THE PLAYERS championship, speaking about the significance of winning on Mother’s Day and the fact his mother passed away (from cancer) six years ago. The way he played until Sunday’s rain delay was beyond impressive. Then, watching the drama unfold on the last three holes as he almost gave it all away, was as good a spectacle for television viewing as there is. Making that par on 17 from where his tee shot ended up is something that will be replayed at THE PLAYERS telecasts year after year.

“[Calling it a major] makes sense from a marketing standpoint. The tour wants to make every tournament matter and draw the best ratings possible. A simple way to do that is to label them as important. But prestige comes with an aura of exclusivity as well, and TPC Sawgrass will always have an element of that because it’s so unique.

It’s just not a major.”

SBNation’s Michael Jones, arguing – and with good reason – why THE PLAYERS should remain as it is. Not quite a major, but something just beneath that, for the sake of its own exclusivity, puts winning it in a very special category. I’m good with that.

“It was really good. I think the biggest takeaways were that I was gripping the club way too tight, was opening up with my upper body too early, and that I have to learn to swing more with my arms and hands. As the saying goes, over-analysis leads to paralysis, and those shanked warm-up shots a week ago left me questioning everything I was doing. He gave me a couple of simple drills to try when I’m at the range, and we’re both feeling confident that I’m not far away at all from where I need to be. All is good.”

— The Great White Shank, following his latest session with swing guru Alex Black.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Ian at this time. Following consultation with the players and caddies involved, however, it has been decided that play should continue and the tournament should finish.”

— The European Tour’s official statement upon the news that Ian McGregor, a 52-year-old caddie on the bag of Alastair Forsyth, passed away on Sunday after suffering a heart attack on the 9th fairway, Forsyth’s last hole of the Madeira Islands Open. Play was suspended for over a hour after the incident, with Forsyth deciding to complete the hole despite the tragic news. My prayers go out to McGregor’s family and loved ones, and that his soul will rest in peace. At the very least, they can take comfort in the fact that he died doing what he loved; not many of us will be able to say the same. In that regard, he was one lucky man, indeed.