Dustin Johnson ready for US Masters challenge after ‘disappointing’ absence in 2017

“He has 125 miles per hour and a couple of green jackets”, he added, referring to Woods’ swing speed and experience.

Woods had his game face on, and for his legions of fans thats probably a good thing.

He is proud of the No. 1 ranking, mainly for reaching the top.

Pain free at last after spinal fusion surgery last April, Woods has ignited expectations with one runner-up finish and a tie for fifth in five official PGA Tour starts this year – his best finishes since 2015. Perhaps even the most intriguing contest in the history of this great game. I think everybody remembers Sergio draining that putt on 18 to win last season. The club does not publish a membership list but in 2012, when it first allowed women in, it only had two female members. Just like always, Woods walked up the stairs to the locker room reserved for Masters champions. No need to register.

“I’m very fortunate to do the two things I love”, he said.

Michael Lester was on the prowl at Augusta National, Tiger Hunting.

“And this is what I live to do, I just enjoy it so much, preparing for the event and then also competing”, Parziale said. He probably won’t need to be ideal this week but he certainly needs to be patient and maybe take some of Paul McGinley’s latest advice on how to play Augusta (by way of Kenny Rogers) and “know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em”. “You know what tee shots and where to hit it and the flags and kind of how to attack the golf course”.

“It is literally.it’s a players’ heaven”. Until Tuesday, it had been 20 years since Woods and Mickelson last played a practice round together before the Los Angeles Open at Valencia in 1998.

Mickelson’s practice round was chock full of past champions.

The 21-year-old from India, a rising star on the European Tour, is making his Masters debut and has his sights set on meeting Woods. Just 10 months, the most famous photo of him came from a Florida jail after his arrest on a DUI charge stemming from the wrong combination of prescription drugs.

The image of Woods pumping his fist in that red shirt was replaced by the sunken eyes of his mug shot.

Mickelson pointed to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, when he played and Woods was an assistant captain, as a turning point in their relationship.

That it took Woods until he was in his 40s to be able to relate to most of his fellow players — and some of his fans — isnt all that surprising for anyone who has read the exhaustive new biography “Tiger Woods” that details his great successes and biggest lows.

The simple statistic of five green jackets between them since 2004 is quite compelling evidence that the theory has a basis in serious fact.

“I’m just building toward April”, he said. So is everyone else.

It was Woods, of course, who transformed golf 21 years ago by winning his first Masters at the age of 21. He won the US Amateur, and is the first chairman of the club who actually played in the Masters himself, in 1976, 77, and 78. The 14-time major champion last won in 2013. The playoff victory over Justin Thomas in the Mexico Championship was the validation that Lefty needed.

He had won his last three tournaments against three of the strongest fields of the year, which not only elevated him to No. 1 in the world, it made him the biggest favorite at the Masters since Woods was at his peak. “This certainly boosts my confidence and gives me a lot of encouragement”. The third top betting choices are world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Thomas and Rory McIlroy.

England’s Justin Rose insists his runner-up finish to Garcia a year ago left him not demoralized but determined.

“The Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship embodies that principle, and we believe this event will have a significant and lasting impact on the future of the women’s game”.

Johnson will make progress simply by teeing off.

In Spieth’s case, he’s nearly as anxious about the verbal beating he’d take at Woods’ hands if ever got back to the top of the game as he is about losing to him on the golf course. This year’s tournament is chock-full of storylines.

And all that’s without mentioning world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who missed previous year following a freak injury from slipping down stairs at his rental home on the eve of the event.

“Why? There’s nothing you can do about it”, he said.