I was horrified. Absolutely heart sick. All I could think of was that after 23 years together, I'd lost my faithful ally. I couldn't sleep, couldn't get the loss out of my mind. It was like discovering that someone in my family had died.

The areas off the greens are masterpieces. I don't think there's anything like it in North America.

My golf game's gone off so much that when I went fishing a couple of weeks ago my first cast missed the lake.

It's emotional for every champion who decides to step down, it's a tough decision. It's probably easier for some, like me. But I'm just going to try to take it in stride. It's part of life.

I have felt terribly from the beginning when I saw the problems and recognized that they would be ongoing. We were hired to put back the contours of the greens as closely as possible to George Thomas's designs and were real proud of what we did. It's a sad situation now

But, if you miss (the supposedly easy pin) by just a little bit, you're looking at the next putt from 30 feet. The ball just rolls away.

This is happening all over the world. It's not just this golf course. Hopefully, if it stays dry, it will let a few more people in (contention). If it gets wet, though, there's only a few people where it's attainable.