It?s Masters week, considered the most special of the year?s four major championships and India?s sole representative this year ? Jeev Milkha Singh will be looking to improve upon last year?s performance.
The excitement starts with the Par 3 Contest, which is traditionally played on Masters Wednesday, which saw a lot of children caddie for their golfing celebrity fathers. The event gets such a lot of viewership that it was telecasted live all over the USA for the first time this year. It witnessed legendary golfers like Jack Nicklaus, who returned to Augusta National for the event alongside Gary Player once again and all the leading players in a more relaxed and jovial frame of mind, a day before they get down to serious business.
Jeev who is making his second Masters appearance after he received an invite to play the tournament, will play his first two rounds in the group ahead of Tiger Woods and behind defending champion Zach Johnson.
Three-time Masters champion, Gary Player, will create history when he makes his 51st appearance at the Masters. He played his first Masters in 1957 and won his first green jacket in just his fourth attempt!
While Arnold Palmer has played the Masters 50 times, the record for the most number of appearances now shifts to Gary Player. At 72-years-old, he is fit and is bursting with an energy that should see him around for many more years.
Meanwhile, no points for guessing that Tiger Woods is pitted as the favourite to win the title. But most people also think that he is playing well enough to win the grand slam of golf ? all four major championships ? this year. This week will tell if he can do that, but Tiger who has won four majors in a row ? he won the US Open at Pebble Beach, The British Open in St Andrew and the PGA Championship in a playoff in 2000 followed by the US Masters in 2001 ? has already claimed a grand slam of sorts, only it is aptly called the Tiger Slam. However, if there is any one professional who can do so in the present era, it is definitely and probably only, Tiger.
But like I always say, the others are all there to play golf too. South African Ernie Els has already won once this year and in his own words during an interview this week, he is in ?excellent form.? Phil Mickleson ? who has won two of the last four Masters ? is another favourite while Irishman Padraig Harrington?s putter is hot. He is currently the only player to average 27 putts per round and that will be his strength at Augusta National, which is known for its treacherously quick greens. The Europeans are looking to improve their performance at this major and with rain early on in the week, the course will be playing a little slower and longer, something they are quite used to on the European Tour.
Regardless of the outcome and the fact that live action will keep us up all night, I am sure all golf fans will be home every evening as they look forward to watching every shot that is struck at the Augusta National Golf Club.