OMEN
04-06-2006, 12:06 PM
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AWWW DAD, YOU GAVE ME THE WRONG LINE: Phil Mickelson watches his daughter Sophia putt during the annual par-three tournament before the start of the Masters.
AUGUSTA: The US Masters has almost become an annual right for Tiger Woods over the last five years.
The world's No. 1 golfer has claimed the prized green jacket three times in that period and is the overwhelming favourite to win the title for a fifth time in this week's 70th edition.
Although the course has been stretched to 6807.7m since Woods triumphed last year in a playoff with fellow American Chris DiMarco, his all-round game is ideally suited to Augusta National.
Arguably the best putter in history from inside 15 feet, Woods is a creative genius around the greens and knows the course's nuances better than most.
One of the biggest hitters in the game, he is well equipped to handle the second longest course to stage a major championship, especially if he drives the ball straight over the next four days.
The only question mark over an 11th career major for Woods is the failing health of his father Earl, who has been battling prostate cancer since 1998.
The pair are exceptionally close and Woods missed the last practice day before the Players Championship in Florida two weeks ago to visit his father in Cypress, California.
However, Woods junior has been a confident and relaxed figure during practice at Augusta, an ominous sign for his rivals at the first major of the year.
Last April, Woods was under pressure to end a run of 10 consecutive majors without a victory. Twelve months on, he has added two more to his collection and arrives at Augusta with three victories in seven starts worldwide this year.
"Any time you get wins prior to Augusta, you're going to feel pretty good," said Woods earlier this week.
"I'm pretty excited at the start I've had this year."
While the lengthening of the course has effectively put the title beyond the reach of the shorter and several of the medium-range hitters, Woods has another advantage over his challengers.
Having spent the last two years revamping his swing for the second time since he turned professional in 1996, he feels as ready as he can be for his 12th successive Masters.
"I don't have as far to go to get ready for the Masters this year," said Woods, who won his first green jacket in 1997 by a record margin of 12 strokes.
"Last year I had a long way to go. I had a lot of different things I needed to fix to be ready for Augusta.
"This year the list has been a lot shorter and the changes aren't as big. From that standpoint I've got a head start on last year."
Many of his peers agree.
Britain's Luke Donald, who tied for third on his Masters debut last year, said: "If Tiger's hitting it straight and long, he's going to have a great chance to win.
"He's going to go in with nine-irons when I'm hitting five-irons. If he's playing extremely good golf and putting well, he might run away with it like (Phil) Mickelson did last week."
Mickelson, the 2004 Masters champion, returns to Augusta as confident as anyone.
The American left-hander romped to a 13-shot victory at the BellSouth Classic on Sunday, a seven-under-par 65 leaving him on an astonishing 28-under 260.
"It was a nice preparation, a nice week last week and a big confidence booster to start playing well," Mickelson said.
"But this week is a whole set of different challenges.
"I cannot fire at pins here at Augusta like I was able to at BellSouth. I'm going to have longer putts. I'll have more 60-footers."
With the Augusta greens running lightning-fast after several days of bright sunshine, world No. 3 Retief Goosen is another who could shine this week.
"He's got one of the best touches that I've ever seen on fast greens," Mickelson added.
"He putts greens like this at Augusta, like the US Open, better than just about anybody I've ever seen."
South African Goosen, who tied for third at Augusta last year, won the last of his two US Open crowns on the sun-baked greens of Shinnecock Hills in 2004.
The 2006 Masters starts on Friday.
http://stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/reuters.gif
AWWW DAD, YOU GAVE ME THE WRONG LINE: Phil Mickelson watches his daughter Sophia putt during the annual par-three tournament before the start of the Masters.
AUGUSTA: The US Masters has almost become an annual right for Tiger Woods over the last five years.
The world's No. 1 golfer has claimed the prized green jacket three times in that period and is the overwhelming favourite to win the title for a fifth time in this week's 70th edition.
Although the course has been stretched to 6807.7m since Woods triumphed last year in a playoff with fellow American Chris DiMarco, his all-round game is ideally suited to Augusta National.
Arguably the best putter in history from inside 15 feet, Woods is a creative genius around the greens and knows the course's nuances better than most.
One of the biggest hitters in the game, he is well equipped to handle the second longest course to stage a major championship, especially if he drives the ball straight over the next four days.
The only question mark over an 11th career major for Woods is the failing health of his father Earl, who has been battling prostate cancer since 1998.
The pair are exceptionally close and Woods missed the last practice day before the Players Championship in Florida two weeks ago to visit his father in Cypress, California.
However, Woods junior has been a confident and relaxed figure during practice at Augusta, an ominous sign for his rivals at the first major of the year.
Last April, Woods was under pressure to end a run of 10 consecutive majors without a victory. Twelve months on, he has added two more to his collection and arrives at Augusta with three victories in seven starts worldwide this year.
"Any time you get wins prior to Augusta, you're going to feel pretty good," said Woods earlier this week.
"I'm pretty excited at the start I've had this year."
While the lengthening of the course has effectively put the title beyond the reach of the shorter and several of the medium-range hitters, Woods has another advantage over his challengers.
Having spent the last two years revamping his swing for the second time since he turned professional in 1996, he feels as ready as he can be for his 12th successive Masters.
"I don't have as far to go to get ready for the Masters this year," said Woods, who won his first green jacket in 1997 by a record margin of 12 strokes.
"Last year I had a long way to go. I had a lot of different things I needed to fix to be ready for Augusta.
"This year the list has been a lot shorter and the changes aren't as big. From that standpoint I've got a head start on last year."
Many of his peers agree.
Britain's Luke Donald, who tied for third on his Masters debut last year, said: "If Tiger's hitting it straight and long, he's going to have a great chance to win.
"He's going to go in with nine-irons when I'm hitting five-irons. If he's playing extremely good golf and putting well, he might run away with it like (Phil) Mickelson did last week."
Mickelson, the 2004 Masters champion, returns to Augusta as confident as anyone.
The American left-hander romped to a 13-shot victory at the BellSouth Classic on Sunday, a seven-under-par 65 leaving him on an astonishing 28-under 260.
"It was a nice preparation, a nice week last week and a big confidence booster to start playing well," Mickelson said.
"But this week is a whole set of different challenges.
"I cannot fire at pins here at Augusta like I was able to at BellSouth. I'm going to have longer putts. I'll have more 60-footers."
With the Augusta greens running lightning-fast after several days of bright sunshine, world No. 3 Retief Goosen is another who could shine this week.
"He's got one of the best touches that I've ever seen on fast greens," Mickelson added.
"He putts greens like this at Augusta, like the US Open, better than just about anybody I've ever seen."
South African Goosen, who tied for third at Augusta last year, won the last of his two US Open crowns on the sun-baked greens of Shinnecock Hills in 2004.
The 2006 Masters starts on Friday.
http://stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/reuters.gif