Ready for a Masterful Weekend

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are looking up, hoping for other players to slip down the leaderboard. (Image by Donald Miralle of Getty Images)


There are many signs of Spring. Robins appear, flowers sprout up, and Tiger Woods sightings are all over SportsCenter. At the half way point of The Masters fans are braced for a great weekend full of possible story lines. At -1 after shooting rounds of 72 & 71, Tiger Woods is 7 strokes off the lead, trailing Trevor Immelman who shot his second 68 on Friday.

Also in the mix is Phil Mickelson, whose ability to hit incredible shots as well as horrific shots (Winged Foot anyone?) makes him exciting to watch. Between Woods and Mickelson they combine for five of the last seven green jackets given out at what many consider to be the year's biggest event. Mickelson will tee off in the second to last group at 2:30, while Woods will beat him onto the course by 80 minutes with his 1:10 start.

While ESPN and other media outlets have pointed out the statistic that only one golfer has ever come back from being more than six back to win the Masters, Tiger Woods is far from out of contention. With tougher conditions expected for the weekend, Woods is still holding his status as betting favorite to win the tournament, rivaled most closely by Mickelson. Woods also came from six-back to win the 2005 Masters.

Trevor Immelman is a steady player and might not be as likely to slip up as a more volatile player like Mickelson or Sergio Garcia (Garcia's not in contention, but I can't pass up a chance to bash on the deliberate and streaky player..or his Chaquita Banana wardrobe), but he also hasn't been in as many pressure situations with the type of field on his heels as he'll have this weekend. Joining Woods in the group of players on the border of contention are Retief Goosen (-2), Vijay Singh (-1) and Jim Furyk (-1). While Woods will almost certainly make a move, expect one of these players to put on some pressure as well. With how they're playing right now, I expect Singh to be that person as he is only a hot putter away from really going low.

It's not a popular opinion because Tiger is always Tiger, but all the talk of Woods winning every major this year is getting really preemptive and winning the Masters is certainly in doubt at this point. After two rounds I like the steadiness of Immelman's game and the focus of Mickelson. If conditions really toughen up Tiger will be in position to make his move, but the field will have to come back to him a little, and with so many strong players at the top Woods will need to make more birdies. Tiger has had a few bad breaks with approach shots not holding or putts lipping out, and a few luckier bounces and a bit of momentum in his favor could be all he needs to make his charge.

If Mickelson falters and Woods fades, will you be watching CBS on Sunday?