ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2001 - Augusta is key player challenging Woods

Associated Press
Thursday, April 5

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- One bad swing. One gust out of Amen Corner.

Just like that, Tiger Woods' chance of winning the Grand Slam began to slip away. He surrendered five shots to par in two holes, signed for 75 in the first round and never caught up in The Masters.


	Tiger Woods played with the crowd during Wednesday's round, but he'll get serious on Thursday.

That was last year.

It was a time when Woods was so dominant that he had won or finished second in 10 of 11 PGA Tour events when he arrived at Augusta National. And it was a time when everyone, including Woods, assumed the Grand Slam meant winning all four major championships in the same year, starting with The Masters.

The circumstances will be similar when the 65th Masters begins Thursday.

Woods is the overwhelming favorite, especially after winning his last two tournaments at Bay Hill and The Players Championship.

A Grand Slam is at stake, even if the definition is subject to debate.

Woods is the reigning champion in the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship, and now has a chance to become the first player in history to hold the trophies of all four professional majors at the same time.

"If Tiger Woods wins this tournament, it will be the greatest achievement in modern-day golf," Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson proclaimed Wednesday on the final day of practice.

One other thing will never change.

No matter how talented Woods is, no matter how much control he has of his game or how much intimidation his name on a leaderboard is worth, his greatest challenge will come from the course.

Augusta National always has the final word.

The humps and bumps on the most severe greens in championship golf can turn a seemingly good shot into a disaster. The wind blows as it pleases. It requires nothing short of precision, from the opening tee shot to the uphill climb at the 18th.

"That's one of the reasons why we love to play, that challenge of it," Woods said. "You know what you need to do, and sometimes it's just tough doing it."

It all starts to unfold Thursday at a course that has been softened by two days of light rain. Sam Snead and Byron Nelson will hit their ceremonial tee shots at 8 a.m. to kick off one of the most anticipated tournaments ever.

"The bigger the tournament, the more excited all of us are about playing," Woods said.

The contenders are numerous.

Defending champion Vijay Singh has finished no worse than fourth in his last six tournaments and never has been so confident about the treacherous, contoured greens.

"I'm not going to lay down this week," said Singh, trying to join Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only repeat Masters champions.

Phil Mickelson has won five times over the past 14 months, twice at Woods' expense. Davis Love III had a Tiger-like comeback to win at Pebble Beach, then played in the final group Sunday in his next three tournaments.

"When you get out there and get excited about The Masters, you seem to do everything a little bit better," Love said.

The challenge might come from 46-year-old Greg Norman, who is keenly aware that Nicklaus was 46 when he won The Masters -- although Nicklaus already had won five of them and the Shark will have to block out the memory of five close calls.

Still, all the attention is on Woods.

	“	When he plays at his best, I don't think there is anybody that can challenge him when he is in top form. But he's not always in top form. ”
		— Darren Clarke on Tiger Woods

"When he plays at his best, I don't think there is anybody that can challenge him when he is in top form," said Darren Clarke. "But he's not always in top form."

Woods was last year until the first round at Augusta, when a 7-iron into the bunker on No. 10 led to a double-bogey and a blast of wind through the pines at Amen Corner knocked his tee shot into Rae's Creek on No. 12 for a triple-bogey.

"The only time I replay it is when people asked me," Woods said curtly when those two holes were brought to his attention.

Woods often talks about complementing his awesome skills with a little luck, and that always seems to be a winning recipe at Augusta.

In 1987, Larry Mize hit a 140-foot chip at No. 11 in a playoff against Norman that might have rolled through the green toward the water except that it went in the hole for an unlikely victory.

Five years later, Fred Couples' tee shot on No. 12 somehow stuck to the bank like Velcro instead of trickling down into Rae's Creek.

"There's a lot of tricky things that happen out there," Love said. "You can get some funny bounces and you hit good shots that suck back off of a green. You have to be patient."

Woods can attest to that.

Four years ago, in his first round at The Masters as a professional, he had a 40 on the front nine and was in jeopardy of an early departure. He played the next 63 holes in 24-under par to win by a record 12 strokes, with a record score of 270.

He hasn't given himself a good opportunity since then.

"I tried, and it just didn't work out," he said. "That's part of playing a championship, especially majors. The key is to keep putting yourself there. If I can keep putting myself there, I'll win my share."

This one is all that matters.

Bobby Jones, who started The Masters in 1934, won the four majors of his time in 1930 and gave true meaning to the term "Grand Slam." Ben Hogan won three straight majors in 1953, but lost in a playoff in the 1954 Masters when going for his fourth in a row.

When asked if this might be his only chance at history, Woods smiled.

"I have my whole career in front of me," he said.

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