Rain, Woods, Mickelson and McIlroy will be this week’s stars
The run-up to the 2012 Masters has been anything but smooth.
Ten years after Martha Burk, famed Augusta National faces another challenge to its policy of exclusion. Mother Nature has whipped up a tempest as well, rendering the hallowed grounds saturated and its azaleas well past their peak.
But as fans wonder whether the same is true of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, golf’s glittering showcase is set to tee off Thursday amid a storm of anticipation. Rain is forecast for the first two rounds, but little can dampen the enthusiasm for the season’s first major, especially with the potential for a showdown of the sport’s three superstars.
With four-time Masters champion Woods resurgent after two lost seasons, three-time winner Mickelson, 41, showing no signs of losing his edge and 22-year-old Rory McIlroy primed to ascend the throne, the 76th edition promises plenty of intrigue. All three have captured PGA Tour events this season.
“It’s great for the game of golf and the Masters tournament that it’s been such a good run into it with the top players winning big events and Tiger coming back into form,” Lee Westwood told reporters. “You know, it’s whipped up a bit of a frenzy, I suppose.”
Despite the severe weather, beautiful Augusta still has the ability to awe. This is the first Masters for Keegan Bradley, golf’s most recent major champion.
“I couldn’t believe how green it was,” the PGA Championship winner said. “It’s everything that I thought it was and a lot more. I’ve never been to a place that’s exceeded the expectations by so much.”
Is it possible that fans are expecting too much of this weather-dependent event? Augusta chairman Billy Payne wouldn’t rule out the possibility of using lift, clean and place rules.
On the subject of women’s membership, however, Payne was less forthcoming. The club has a controversy brewing with the hire of IBM CEO Ginny Rometty. All of Rometty’s predecessors, all men, have been members. The club has yet to extend the privilege to Rometty.
“That deals with a membership issue, and I’m not going to answer it,” Payne said in response to one of several questions on the matter.
