It’S Tiger Vs. Field At Masters First Major Opens With Speculation Aimed Solely At Woods

So what’s all the fuss about, anyway?

It’s not as if Tiger Woods has won anything in the last three weeks. In fact, he’s taken home the trophy only once in his last five starts. Who cares that he finished second three times? When last seen, he was dusted by Hal Sutton at The Players Championship, where he missed a playoff by one shot.

Nonetheless, everybody agrees Woods is the favorite to win the Masters, which begins today at Augusta National Golf Club. Just because he has eight victories in the last nine months, including the final major of the previous century, the 1999 PGA? Or owns 20 Masters records? Don’t they know that since he won the Masters in 1997 by 12 strokes, he hasn’t broken 70 here in eight rounds?

What can they possibly be thinking?

“Think about that,” said Greg Norman, who at age 45 is a sentimental choice to finally grab a green jacket. “When players say he’s playing at 80 percent and they’ve got to be playing at 110 percent to beat him, man, they’ve already been beaten … Tiger should be licking his chops.”

Which begged the question: Has Woods ever felt intimidated by anyone or anything?

He thought about it. Then he thought some more. Eventually, it came back to him.

“I did,” he remembered. “One time. It’s the first and only time. I was 11 years old and playing this 12-year-old in the junior world championships, and I had a chance to win if I played a good, solid round. There was a 290-yard par-4, and the guy drove the green. I was really taken back by that, like there was no way I could compete. I ended up beating him, but my dad and I talked about it. But from then on, no.”

That was 13 years ago. Now, Tiger is the hunted. And he intends to keep it that way for at least another decade or two.

He might not win this week. But he’s the one on everyone’s mind.

It’s almost as if he’s ahead before he even sticks a tee in the ground. Like Jack Nicklaus before him, he values a psychological meltdown.

“People are talking about me, every week I play,” said Woods, who tied for 18th last April, after tying for eighth two years ago. “That hasn’t changed. I’ve had to answer the same questions. I’ve been asked everything. Since I’ve been playing well, you just become the center of attention. It’s something I’ve had to deal with. I’ve been targeting this. Everyone has a plan. I know what I’m going to try and do.”

The greatest challenge comes from within.

“Your skill can only take you so far,” said Woods, who tees off at 10:38 this morning, with Australian amateur Aaron Baddeley and Stewart Cink. “Honestly, you need some luck. You can get yourself in position to win tournaments. And at times, you’re going to go out and play great golf and lose. Other times, you’re going to play not so great and luck yourself into a victory, which I’ve done before.

“The key to being a great player over a long period of time is consistency. If you’re in contention week in and out, you’ll get your share of wins. Jack was better than anybody who played the game in doing that. For about 15 years, he was in every major championship on the back nine on Sunday. He didn’t win them all. But he won more (18 as a professional) than anyone else.”

History, of course, is what Tiger always has stalked. He knows Nicklaus didn’t win the second of his record six Masters until he was 25. Woods, the youngest winner, turned 24 in December. Nicklaus once predicted Tiger would win more Masters than he and Arnold Palmer combined (10).

If Tiger has taught us anything, it’s that we should never underestimate him. Remember Pebble Beach, where he came from nowhere to win on the final nine in February? In two months, the U.S. Open will be held there, and people might be talking Grand Slam.

“I can’t control what (other players) think, what they believe and feel when they play,” he said. “The only thing I can control is how I’m going to hit my golf shot. If I’m playing well, then I have an advantage. I have a lot of belief in my own game. But it changes with every circumstance. I might be hitting it so good, it’s scary and easy coming down the stretch. Then there are days when you’re skanking it around, trying to use whatever you’ve got going.

“Sometimes you make mistakes and you lose. Sometimes the person flat-out beats you. Every defeat is different. I analyze what I could have done better. You have to keep balance. You can’t always knock yourself, with what you did wrong. You can’t win everything. (Losing) gives you great motivation. I’ve always heard, mostly in the press, that you can learn more by losing. There were times when I won and learned an awful lot.”

Woods completely changed his swing after the 1997 Masters, knowing he was in this for the long haul. He wants to be the best there is, the best there ever will be. His goal might not be unrealistic.

“Even the best player isn’t unbeatable,” said Darren Clarke, who beat Woods, 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final of the Anderson Consulting World Match-Play Championship in February. “He just plays fantastic more often than the rest of us. That’s why he’s No. 1.”

“Right now, people think any event he plays in is Tiger’s to win,” said David Duval, who’s ranked No. 2. “Not too long ago, that was the case with me.”

Times change. Woods appears comfortable moving with them.

“I’ve grown up through trial and error and experiences, just like everyone else my age,” Woods said. “If you look on demands as a burden, and let it weigh you down, then it will. I just like to play golf.”

So is there anything that might intimidate him now?

Again, he pondered. Finally, it hit him.

“Maybe to step in the ring with (Mike) Tyson,” Woods answered. “I wouldn’t feel too good about my chances.”

These 3 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. FACTS

Masters

Dates: Today through Sunday at Augusta National.

Length: 6,985 yards.

Par: 36-36-72.

Field: 95 players, including six amateurs.

‘99 champion: Jose Maria Olazabal.

TV today: USA, 1 p.m.-3:30, 9 p.m.-11:30 (replay).

2. Perry prevails

Chris Perry defeated Jay Haas, Jerry Pate and Hunter Haas on the first playoff hole Wednesday to win the 41st Par 3 tournament at Augusta National.

Perry rolled in a birdie putt for the victory after the four golfers finished at 4-under 23 in the nine-hole event, played on the eve of the Masters’ opening round.

Notah Begay III had the only hole-in-one of the day, sinking his shot at No. 9.

3. MASTERS

Hole-by-hole

AUGUSTA, Ga.

Hole-by-hole description of the Augusta National Golf Club, site of the 64th Masters to be played April 6-9:

No. 1, 410 yards, par 4: One of the two par-4 holes that favor a left-to-right tee shot, with a bunker down the right that requires a 257-yard carry. Anything left could catch the trees. Bunker guards left front of green.

No. 2, 575 yards, par 5: Bends to the left, only reachable in two by the longest hitters because of the new box that added 25 yards. Bunker to the left comes into play, meaning most players will use 3-wood. Two bunkers in front of the green.

No. 3, 350 yards, par 4: Drive is uphill, with four bunkers down the left that must be avoided. Tiger Woods has tried to drive the green in the past. Second shot is a wedge to an L-shaped, plateau green, guarded by steep slope at the front.

No. 4, 205 yards, par 3: Very wide green is about 20 yards below tee, but even long hitters may need a wood. Large bunker front-right.

No. 5, 435 yards, par 4: Drive is across a valley to an uphill landing area on the slight dogleg right. Green is open at front, allowing a run-up approach to a two-level green.

No. 6, 180 yards, par 3: An elevated tee looks down on a two-level green that has a large hump on right.

No. 7, 365 yards, par 4: One of Augusta National’s tightest fairways. Approach is uphill to small, elevated green guarded by three deep bunkers in the front and two bunkers in the back.

No. 8, 550 yards, par 5: Uphill drive must avoid bunker in right portion of fairway. Can be reached in two, but massive mound left of the green makes for a difficult shot if the approach is missed to the left.

No. 9, 430 yards, par 4: Downhill, dogleg left. Second shot is uphill to a green that slopes sharply to the front. Anything that lands on the front of the green likely will spin back 50 yards into the fairway.

No. 10, 485 yards, par 4: Hill on the right and severe downhill slope compensates for extreme length. A well-placed, drawn tee shot can set up short iron into a shaded green that can be the fastest on the course.

No. 11, 455 yards, par 4: Tee shot is out of narrow chute to open fairway. Approach from the right gives better view of green, which slopes toward the water on the left.

No. 12, 155 yards, par 3: The narrow, canted green is guarded in front by Rae’s Creek. Sand shot from bunker in back of green, toward the creek, is one of the most intimidating in golf.

No. 13, 485 yards, par 5: Rae’s Creek runs along the left side of the fairway and crosses in front of the green. Can be reached in two. Best shape is a right-to-left drive around the corner that set up a mid-iron for the second shot.

No. 14, 405 yards, par 4: The only hole on the course without a bunker. Straightforward hole until you reach the green. It slopes severely left to right with a nasty 6-foot ridge at the front.

No. 15, 500 yards, par 5: A cluster of pines trees replaced mounds on the right that put a greater premium on accuracy and makes the hole play longer. Still reachable in two, but pond guards the front and any approach must avoid bunker on the right.

No. 16, 170 yards, par 3: Carry is all over water to green that provides some treacherous pin positions. Green slopes sharply from right to left.

No. 17, 425 yards, par 4: The Eisenhower Pine is left-center of the fairway about 195 yards from the tee, forcing a right-to-left shape off the tee. Green is fronted by two bunkers and has a slight crown that makes it difficult to hold.

No. 18, 405 yards, par 4: Uphill, dogleg right protected off the tee by two bunkers at the left elbow. Approach is to a two-tiered green.

-Associated Press