Tiger Begins Grand Slam Quest Thursday

By John Nestor
SportsTicker Golf Editor

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Ticker) -- A Grand Slam may yet turn out to be a realistic goal for Tiger Woods. But it all starts with a quest for a green jacket. Woods is the favorite as the golf calender finally flips to spring when The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National.

Zach Johnson is the defending champion but is little more than a sidenote so far. Phil Mickelson has won two of the last four Masters but is being asked more about Woods' chances for pulling off the improbable feat of winning all four majors than he is about contending himself. Such is the furor that Woods has caused this season - both on the course and off. Woods helped fuel the Grand Slam hype by calling it "easily within reason." Never mind that fact that no one has ever won all four professional majors in the same season. But the Grand Slam is no ordinary goal, and Woods is certainly no ordinary player. After all, he has won four majors in a row already in his career - all that is left to do is win them in the same season. He's already won four times worldwide this season. "The reason why I said that, you have to understand why I said that, because I've done it before; I've won all four in a row," Woods said. "I think this is my 12th or 13th season out here, and nine of those years I've won five or more tournaments, so just got to win the right four. That's what it boils down to." Easy for Woods to say, and he is a prohibitive favorite this week - but the execution is still far from a given.

Johnson showed their was more than one way to tame Augusta last year, laying up on all the par-5s and playing them in 11-under anyway en route to his first major victory. Mickelson may or may not use two drivers again this season, but has shown he is as comfortable here as anywhere else he plays. Geoff Ogilvy has won a major and is playing some of the best golf on tour right now, with a win and a tie for second in his last two starts. In fact, a number of players are coming into the event with their games in good shape - and Woods' status as a favorite won't mean a thing come Thursday morning. "I don't think it really matters if you're favored or not or what people expect," Mickelson said. "I think how you're perceived heading into the tournament really doesn't matter."

What will matter is how a player putts and how the course is playing. After rain for much of last week, this week got off to a cool and cloudy start with the course playing soft and long. The weather has warmed up and the course has begun to dry out, which will shorten it to some degree and bring more players into the mix.

Last year, Johnson won with a score more suited for a U.S. Open than a Masters. Johnson finished at 1-over-par 289 while Mickelson won the year before at 9-under and Woods beat Chris DiMarco in a playoff in 2005 after they both finished at 12-under. "Last year, that's just the way the conditions were," Johnson said. "It was playing long, with the wind and being cold, the ball doesn't go very far when it is cold. "If it's wet, the longer hitters have a substantial advantage. If it is dry, I feel like us modest to short hitters have a chance." Mickelson expects scores to trend to the higher side, with conditions playing a factor as well as the length of the course, which is 7,445 yards and par-72. "I think that the scores may get a little bit higher and the length is the biggest factor," Mickelson said. "This is the most complete test of golf, I believe, because it tests all areas of your game."

It is a test that all but one player will fail. But it is one Woods must pass if he wants to collect his fifth green jacket, as well as keep the Grand Slam dream alive. Not that he seems concerned with anything other than continuing his run of success at Augusta National. "I feel pretty good and I've had some pretty good results here," Woods said. "Certain venues, if you look over my career, I've had some nice results, and certainly this is one of them."