By Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

CHARLOTTE — Phil Mickelson's return to golf after winning the Masters was marred by illness. Tiger Woods' return to golf after finishing in a tie for fourth in the Masters was marked by a sense of normalcy.

The two best players in the world, who held back-to-back news conferences minutes apart Wednesday at the Quail Hollow Championship, were in good spirits after a two-week break and looking forward to playing in a tournament each said has a major championship feel to it.

But three hours after Mickelson talked glowingly about claiming his third green jacket and fourth major title he was being treated in the on-course medical center for dehydration. After feeling ill Tuesday night, Mickelson played just six holes in the pro-am before withdrawing.

The No. 2 player in the world, however, expects to play in Thursday's first round of the tournament that has drawn 11 of the top 16 players in the world and is played on a golf course very similar to Augusta National.

Before his withdrawal, Mickelson talked about his emotional Masters triumph, where he finished his three-stroke victory over Lee Westwood with a long embrace just off the 18th green with his wife, Amy, who is fighting breast cancer.

"It's probably the most important win that I've had, not because of having not won a major in four years or what happened at Winged Foot (where he made double bogey on the final hole to lose the 2006 U.S. Open by one shot) or anything like that, but because of the emotional tie and the tough year that we've had this past year and being able to share it," Mickelson said. "Amy and I were talking these last couple weeks about how glad we were that she was there, that the kids were there, that we could look back on that.

"That Masters is something I'll always cherish."

Mickelson did not pick up a golf club for a week after his Masters win.

"But for the last five, six days I've been practicing pretty hard," he said. "I feel like my game is starting to come around. I see the improvement each day, and I feel like it's back to a level close to where it was at Augusta, so I certainly have high expectations this week and next."

Woods, meanwhile, said his love for the game is back.

"It's been more fun, no doubt," said the world's No. 1, who returned to welcoming arms and loud applause at the Masters following a five-month absence following a sex scandal. "I've had a lot of struggles internally for a while now, and that's one of the reasons why it wasn't that much fun. The game is now where it used to be, and that's where it should be. It should be fun, and it is a game. Even though I do it for a living, it's still a game, and it wasn't that for a while."

Woods, who won Quail Hollow in 2007, said his game was "scratchy" during the pro-am that was played without incident. Perhaps it was the thermometer reading 45 degrees. Or the first tee time of the day at 7:30 a.m. Whatever it was, Woods' return was rather pedestrian. There was little buzz. There were no planes with disparaging messages on their tails. There was no heckling. Instead, there were fans just watching golf.

"I have to say this feels a heck of a lot more normal than the Masters did," said Woods, who signed autographs for 20 minutes after his pro-am and for another 15 minutes after hitting balls on the practice range.

Woods isn't among those concerned about the reception he'll receive in Thursday's opening round, although security has been beefed up for the sold-out tournament and the environment is far less controlled than it was at Augusta National for the first major championship of the year.

If he gets heckled, Woods said, then he gets heckled.

"Whether they do or not, it's happened before, and it happened before any of (his troubles) ever happened," Woods said. "But as far as the fans here over the years, they've been great. There's no reason why that shouldn't continue."

On the other hand, Woods is more concerned with his game.

"I've been working on a few things from Augusta," he said. "I had five months off, and I knew things weren't going to be quite right. There were some things I didn't like in my golf swing, so I started to work on that, simplify things a little bit, got everything more fine-tuned, and I feel very comfortable."