Everything heading in right direction at Augusta
Confident, relaxed, excited and healthy. Those words sum up Tiger Woods heading into this week’s 76th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., and are why most oddsmakers consider him the favorite to win a fifth green jacket.
Tiger met the media Tuesday after a nine-hole practice round with Fred Couples and Sean O’Hair. Although he has tied for fourth each of the last two years at Augusta, Woods wasn’t sharp — especially off the tee and on the greens — but willed himself into contention.
This year, Woods enters with more competitive rounds under his belt and more self-belief. Two weeks ago, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla. for the seventh time. He had been close to a breakthrough, playing well at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and tying for second at the Honda Classic. Now, he has been rewarded for the hard work he has put in with swing coach Sean Foley.
“It felt good to go out there and play as well as I did under those conditions,” Woods said. “It wasn’t like it was easy that Sunday. The scores were pretty high. To go out there with the lead and increase the lead was a good feeling. It wasn’t given to me.”
Woods, who hasn’t finished worse than a tie for sixth in his last seven appearances at Augusta, is making his 18th start on the famed Alister MacKenize layout, which opened for play in 1933. He has practically grown up on the course and has picked the brains of veteran players since his first visit as an amateur in 1995, when he tied for 41st.
“I’ve spent just about half my life playing this tournament,” he said. “It’s understanding how to play this golf course, where to miss it. I’ve gotten just umpteen amount of advice from guys who have played here way more than I have. That’s really helped.”
Seemingly every year, the course has been altered — sometimes in small ways, other times with major changes.
“You still miss it in the same spots,” said Woods. “I think that’s one of the reasons why you see the older players in contention a lot. They just know how to play it.”
At 36, Woods now finds himself being asked for advice. That was the case with O’Hair on Tuesday, and he’s hoping Tiger will impart more wisdom in a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday.
“I do try to help them,” Woods said. “I think it’s just the role of being here, one, as a champion and being here a number of years is that you pass the knowledge on. It’s not something that we hold and are going to keep sacred. We pass it on from one generation to the next.”
The biggest changes this year are to the greens at the par-5 eighth and par-3 16th greens, which have been redone.
“I’ve noticed that there are different breaks on those greens,” he said. “And they are subtle. A subtle change is pretty significant at this speed. I’ve had to redo some of my charting on those greens, because the old breaks are out the window.”
Recent rain has left the fairways soft and the greens receptive. However, conditions can change quickly, especially since every green is equipped with a Sub-Air system that sucks out the moisture.
“You can play 100 practice rounds,” Woods said. “But Wednesday to Thursday, it’s just a totally different golf course. You’ve just got to make that adjustment.”
Woods will play the first two rounds with Miguel Ángel Jiménez of Spain and Sang-Moon Bae of South Korea. They tee off Thursday at 10:35 a.m. ET and Friday at 1:42 p.m.
“Everything is headed in the right direction at the right time,” Woods said.
A victory would mark his 15th major championship and would also tie him with Jack Nicklaus for second place on the PGA Tour’s all-time win list with 73.
“I’m here for the green jacket,” Woods said with a smile.
