Tiger Woods is back at Augusta National Golf Club in a familiar position after making it back to the number one ranked golfer in the world and as the Masters is set to get underway in Thursday he is the clear it favorite for the first major on the PGA tour this year.
Woods spent the weekend preparing on the course for the tournament and while other golfers were playing in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, the four time Masters champion continued to practice at Augusta. Woods is the favorite for the major after getting off to a hot start on tour this season, winning three times ahead of the Masters for the first time since 2005.
Woods last won the Masters in 2005 and the four-time champion is looking to win his 15th career major, which is a few off of the all-time record. He is starting the first round off with Luke Donald and Scott Piercy and he will tee off just before defending champion Bubba Watson, who actually hit a hole in one on the 16th hole in his practice round on Wednesday. Woods has been in Augusta since the weekend and he did not participate in the Par 3 and instead continued to work on his game.
People like to say that Woods is "back" and while that may not be true, the results sure say it is, as the now number one golfer in the world won the Farmers Insurance Open, the WGC Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational already this year and he has taken six wins in his past 20 starts, more than anyone else on tour. Woods is making his 19th start at Augusta and he has some stiff competition this year in Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson as well as Watson.
Last year Woods finished in 40th, which is the worst of his career, but he previously had five top 10 finishes and is expecting another this week. Woods has not won a major since 2008 and his best chances came last year when he had the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, but he ended up out of the running by the end of it. His last true shot at a major was in 2009 when he finished second at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy will be looking to improve on his 15th finish in 2011, which is the best of his career at Augusta. McIlroy has not had the best start to the year, but he has appeared to turn things around after finishing second at the Texas Open last weekend, finishing two strokes behind Martin Laird. McIlroy will start in the afternoon on Thursday before flipping on Friday and he will open the first round by playing with Keegan Bradley and Fredrik Jacobson, while Woods will be with Luke Donald and Scott Piercy. Watson will play right before Woods with U.S. Amateur champion Steve Fox and Ian Poulter in the first round.
The gates will open at the club ahead of the first group at eight in the morning and overage will be on ESPN Thursday and Friday before flipping to CBS over the weekend.
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