Jason Day admits he has felt lost this year as his mother battles lung cancer, but the world number three's mental state has improved going into the Masters.
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The Australian withdrew from the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, citing the severe ill-health of his mum during an emotional news conference in Texas.
The psychological strain appears to have taken its toll on the 29-year-old's game, with Day managing just one top-10 finish in six tournament appearances so far in 2017.
"This year I've been kind of lost," he was quoted as saying by Golf Channel.
"When I've been out here [on the PGA Tour] I'm just like, I don't know what I'm doing.
"My emotions are feeling high some days. Then some days you're sitting there and you're feeling bad because of the situation. And then other days you're feeling guilty because you're not feeling bad enough. It's really strange. It's been up and down.
"There's been a lot of things go on this year that have been somewhat distracting to my golf.
"Golf was the last thing that I was ever thinking about when this first came about."
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 1, 2017
Day's mother underwent surgery last month and the 2015 US PGA Championship winner, who lost his father to cancer when he was 12, is starting to cope better as he seeks to improve on a record of three top-10 finishes at the Masters since 2011, when he tied second on debut at Augusta.
"I'm in a much better place now," he said.
"I feel happier to be on the golf course and enjoying myself out here a lot more than I was the last month or two."
Of his game, Day added: "It's feeling a lot better.
"My mind was so far away from golf that I was hitting shots out there on the golf course and I'm like, 'What am I doing?' It would be a wedge from 140 yards but I'd be 20 yards out.
"My mind was totally off. I'm coming into this week focused a lot better."