{"id":8238,"date":"2011-04-06T19:04:43","date_gmt":"2011-04-06T19:04:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-04-06T19:04:59","modified_gmt":"2011-04-06T19:04:59","slug":"Still-the-Tiger-and-Phil-Show-in-Augusta-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=8238","title":{"rendered":"Still the Tiger and Phil Show in Augusta?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a great part of The Masters\u2019 appeal that, for 75 years, things have gone down more or less the same way. And so, in a certain sense, fans \u2013 pardon, \u201cpatrons\u201d \u2013 know what to expect when the players tee off at Augusta National on Thursday. The course will be immaculate and devilishly difficult. The scoreboard will be operated by hand. The announcers will whisper. And, when the weekend\u2019s over, one of the players teeing off on Thursday will pull on a not-terribly-flattering green blazer and smile. Which brings us to one last way in which this year\u2019s Masters resembles those that came before \u2013 no one really knows who that player will be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At least this year we\u2019re not dealing with the standard Tiger vs. the field discussion.The consensus, though, is that defending Masters champion Phil Mickelson looks like the favorite again this year, which would indeed make this year\u2019s Masters like last year\u2019s. \u201cMickelson is suddenly the reigning king of the place,\u201d Yahoo\u2019s Dan Wetzel writes. \u201cHe\u2019s not just as the defending champion, either. For once, he\u2019s the favorite over longtime nemesis Tiger Woods with both oddsmakers and, as much as it can be measured, the general mood of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, there is one problem with this \u2013 until his victory in last week\u2019s Houston Open, Mickelson hadn\u2019t won anywhere since he last won at Augusta National. Tiger Woods, who has four green jackets to his name, would seem a decent pick as a favorite, had he not struggled so much of late while rebuilding his swing. And Tiger is still Tiger, whatever his swing looks like. \u201cThe debate about whether Woods is foolish to switch swing coaches \u2014 again \u2014 and tear down his game to its foundation at age 35 might miss the larger point,\u201d the Washington Post\u2019s Thomas Boswell writes. \u201cFirst, Woods has time \u2014 and a great deal of it \u2014 on his side. Second, as he has made clearer than ever here this week, his radical changes are more necessity than obsession.\u201d At Slate, Michael Agger looks at Tiger\u2019s recent stats and sees a player who is getting his groove back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greg Norman talking Tiger Woods swing Masters 2011 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n