Masters Golf Essay

Submitted By kmah2
Words: 757
Pages: 4

On the weekend of April 10th, the Masters, the first of the four major golf tournaments gets underway, however, with quite a different narrative than in previous years. In the beginning season, we’ve seen previous Master’s winners and the yearly favorites such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and last year’s champion Adam Scott struggle through injuries and inconsistent play. Just recently, Adam Scott failed to capitalize on a chance to move to number one in the world by blowing a lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitations to American Matt Every. Scott’s performance at the Palmer Invitational has mirrored his play during the early part of the season, which does not bode well heading into perhaps the most revered tournament in golf. Even though repeating is uncommon at Augusta, the last being Tiger, or old Tiger, in 2001 and 2002, Scott still remains a likely contender but will have to put together a full 72 holes, especially with the putter which has failed him so far this year.
Phil has arguably had a worse start to the year than Scott, in large part due to injuries. This past weekend at the Valero Open, Phil came in looking to make a statement. Instead, he was forced to exist early in the fourth round with an oblique injury. Not good news for Phil who was already recovering from a back injury he suffered at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January. If there is one thing we know about Phil though, is do not count him out. Even though he’s failed to finish in the top-10 this year, he is still coming off of three wins last year and has the ability to regain that championship mentality at any moment.
As for Tiger, Tiger still remains the most intriguing story line heading into the Masters as he searches for that elusive major, something he has not won in over half a decade. Yet, like Phil, Tiger has been battling injuries, this time his back, but something Tiger is far too familiar with at this stage in his career. Tiger is officially listed as questionable for the Masters but its hard not to see Tiger play and if he does, he’s in it to win it. Prior to the back injury, Tiger had been playing just average but showed signs of improvement. Yet the odds are not in his favor entering the Masters as he’s had little to no tournament experience over the last month, and we all know Woods can get rusty with a lack of tournament play. And to make matters worse, Tiger has not won the Masters since 2005…However, like Scott and Phil, Tiger, if he plays, remains a legitimate contender and in some people’s minds, the favorite to win the green jacket. Regardless of his performance, the Masters will tell us a lot about the season we should expect from Woods. What we already