Tiger Woods is poised to engage in a formidable struggle against the course's demanding layout and his own atypically modest anticipations as he prepares to compete in the 87th Masters held at Augusta National.
Woods has always insisted that winning was his only reason for entering a tournament, even when making one of his numerous comebacks from lengthy injury lay-offs.
That was the case in 2022 when he competed in the Masters less than 14 months after suffering severe injuries in a car accident, the 15-time major winner simply answering "I do" when asked if he believed he could win.
But a year on, Woods was noticeably less bullish in his pre-tournament press conference, talking more about being able to "appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories."
"You know, if he didn't have to walk up these hills and have all of that, I'd say he'd be one of the favorites," Rory McIlroy said after a nine-hole practice round with Woods.
"He's got all of the shots. It's just that physical limitation of walking 72 holes, especially on a hilly golf course."
While Woods is among the early starters on Thursday, McIlroy faces a lengthy wait before getting his ninth bid to complete the career grand slam by winning the Masters underway.
McIlroy, who finished second to Scottie Scheffler last year after a stunning closing 64, is due to tee off in the penultimate group at 1:48 p.m. (5:48 p.m. GMT), with Scheffler starting 12 minutes earlier in his bid to join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus in winning back-to-back titles.
The par-five 13th has, after many years of speculation, been lengthened by 35 yards in an attempt to reintroduce what Augusta National's co-designer Bobby Jones called the "momentous decision" to go for the green in two.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley admitted that more players opting to lay up could result in less excitement but believes a player in contention taking on the shot with a long iron in the final round will ultimately prove it was the right move.
The top three players in the world rankings sharing favoritism may suggest a lack of imagination from the bookmakers, but it is hard to argue with their logic. Defending champion Scheffler has finished 19th, 18th and first in his three appearances and has won twice this season.
McIlroy won in Dubai in January – as Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia did before their Masters' triumphs in 2016 and 2017, respectively – and was runner-up 12 months ago thanks to a closing 64. Jon Rahm had four straight top 10s before last year's tie for 27th and won three times in five events earlier this season.
