Just catching up on all the news around golf this week and wanted to share some links:

• Terrible news in the world of golf yesterday, as Amy Mickelson has been diagnosed with *** cancer. As a result, Phil will take a leave of absence from the Tour immediately and for the foreseeable future. Our deepest sympathies and best wishes for Amy and the entire Mickelson family on what will surely be difficult times ahead.

• Ian Poulter is one of the hottest players coming in to this week’s EDS Byron Nelson Championship. So far this year on the PGA Tour, he has six top 20 finishes, including a T5 and 2nd in his last two events. Check out this profile of Poulter by Stan Awtrey on PGATOUR.com.

• Padraig Harrington has been struggling a bit this year but is working as hard as ever to prepare for the US Open next month and his title defense at the Open Championship in July. Harrington will look to become just the fourth golfer to win three consecutive Open Championships and first since Peter Thomson (1954-1956). Harrington began his research this week when he visited the Ayrshire course at Turnberry for the first time.

• PGA Tour caddy, Mark Long, helped develop the industry-leading SkyCaddie Rangefinder devices. He also helps develop the yardage books that professional caddies use to help their player navigate some of the toughest courses on Tour…like Bethpage Black, site of this year’s U.S. Open. Jason Sobel from ESPN.com spoke with Mark about what’s involved in mapping the course for one of golf’s most prestigious tournaments.

• Several player websites that we check out on a regular basis: Padraig, Ian and Parker McLachlin.

• Other websites to check out: GolfWRX, HookedonGolfBlog, the Sand Trap, Devil Ball Golf, Golfweek Tour Blog, Titleist Tour Blog, Scotty Cameron Blog and the Cobra Tour Blog.

Any other golf sites you like to visit that we should check out? Let us know in COMMENTS.