A must-see Masters with Tiger Woods back among the best

Adding to the specialness of the week for Garcia was an image tweeted Sunday by Augusta National of his new Champions Locker Room plate alongside that of Spanish countryman Jose Maria Olazabal. Suddenly, Watson was a contender entering Augusta, where his shot-shaping takes a back seat to few others not named Tiger or Phil. The left-hander and three-time Masters champion captured his 43rd career US PGA title at age 47.

However, Garcia wasn’t the only Masters champion in attendance during the family day.

Sergio Garcia prevailed over Justin Rose in a play-off past year to end his long wait for a major title, in the process following in the footsteps of fellow Spaniards Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal to don the iconic green jacket.

He became the first defending champion to attend the reception Saturday night.

AMEN CORNER answered Sergio Garcia’s prayers when he won last year’s Masters.but only after bringing him to his knees! According to those in attendance, Garcia came on stage and showed the real thing. Garcia conducted his Masters champion teleconference recently in the hospital in Austin, Texas, as his wife Angela was in labor.

“You’ve got a handful of players that are playing exceptionally well, and the star power, the guys that you hope will be there on Sunday, so I think we’re in for a fantastic week of golf”, North said.

The Drive, Chip and Putt competition began with 268 local qualifiers across all 50 states last summer.

“I’m just building toward April”, he said. Adam Scott replaced him as the world’s top-ranked golfer, then was succeeded by the likes of McIlroy, Spieth, Day and Johnson. The Argentine tied for 32nd at the Honda Classic, then missed the cut at Bay Hill and the Shell Houston Open before winning the 2009 Masters. US player Dustin Johnson arrives in Augusta ranked number one in the world for 57 weeks but seeking redemption from his 2017 Masters debacle, when a fall in his rental quarters left him too sore to play. After four mediocre tournaments, McIlroy recaptured his old brilliance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago. It seems like everything is in a much better place for him coming back from the injury this time than any other attempt he’s had. Since Woods last won the Masters, Danny Willett, Charl Schwartzel, Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson have won it.

“I have no idea how the formula works”, Faldo said, though he wasn’t the least bit bothered. Mickelson has three top-10s in his past four tournaments. He has never missed a cut in 18 appearances at this event as a professional, and in that span, he has a sublime 13 top 10 finishes.

“I was right around 10th”, Watson said.

“Making par on 12 should have settled me, as it is a hole where disaster lurks. I made a 20-footer for a 10”. But if there’s any asterisk that can be attached, it’s that all of their victories have come when Woods was either away from the game or a non-factor. Now, gearing up for his first Masters since 2015, Woods is excited to return to Augusta National as a player.

The 14-time Grand Slam victor drummed up interest in his most-recent comeback at December’s Hero World Challenge, but the full wave of fans didn’t show up until his second-place finish at the Valspar Championship in March.

“It’s incredible to be out there, not even playing, just to be out there is incredible”, Nimmo said.