A few thoughts before the Quail Hollow Championship gets too far away:
-- The golf world is buzzing about what Rory McIlroy did over the weekend at Quail Hollow, particularly what he did on Sunday. Coupled with the 58 shot by 18-year old Ryo Ishikawa on the Japanese tour, it was a monumental weekend for golf, especially the new generation.
The temptation is to say we've found the new Tiger. Not so fast. What we've found is a group of young players -- Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim belong in the disucssion -- that is exceptional. Talking to Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo, he said "At worst, one of them has to be very special."
I think he's right. If I had to pick just one, I'd pick McIlroy. But I'd take any of them.
-- I was surprised by Phil Mickelson's comments about the greens at Quail Hollow but I think some of it was frustration after the day he had on Saturday. Mickelson generally has an agenda when he says something like that. Just what the agenda was, I'm not certain.
Maybe he was talking to the PGA Tour set-up staff, suggesting better hole locations. Maybe he was talking to Quail president Johnny Harris and Kerry Haigh of the PGA of America and telling them if they're serious about bringing a PGA Championship to Quail Hollow, soften some of the greens.
I thought Harris handled it perfectly, saying he'd rather know how Phil feels than not know. It doesn't mean Harris agrees with Mickelson but it will generate some discussion about what, if anything, to do next. The funny thing is Mickelson didn't say anything about the eighth green.
-- I don't have high expectations for Tiger Woods at The Players Championship this week based on what we saw at Quail Hollow. He looked lost as a golfer. There are swing issues he's dealing, for sure, but there's more than that.
As good as he's been at compartmentalizing things, he may have more than he can handle right now.
The funniest thing about it is to hear people saying he's finished at age 34. No, he's not. Not even close. I still think he wins a major championship this year.
-- It was another terrific week at Quail Hollow, maybe the best from start to finish given the multiple storylines. From Tiger's return to Phil to McIlroy and everything else, it was pure gold.
Congratulations again to the many people -- officials, volunteers and fans -- who make it what it is.