Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods already have a lifetime of memories from the Masters and there is nothing to suggest their collective achievements at Augusta National Golf Club won’t continue to expand.

With the field set for 97 players, the two golfers, winners of five of the last six Masters, are likely to be in the hunt.

Mickelson will defend his title this year. He has won the Green Jacket twice in three years.

Woods is a four-time winner and it’s the tenth anniversary of his historic 1997 victory when, as a 21-year-old first-year professional, he displayed a brand of golf that was, in a word, breathtaking.

Woods won by the unlikely total of 12 strokes with a 270 total, setting records at every turn along the way.

Woods and Mickelson arrive this year already having won on the PGA Tour. Woods opened the season with a victory at the Buick Invitational and won the WGC-CA Championship at Doral, his final tournament appearance before the Masters. Mickelson won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

It is little surprise, then, that Mickelson and Woods can’t wait to return to Augusta National. And they’re not alone.

“We have the biggest anticipation for the Masters,” Mickelson said.

For Woods, the tenth anniversary brings with it a flood of memories.

“There were so many different stories that week,” said Woods. “For me personally, now that my father is no longer here, how important that hug was to me on the last hole.

“He went down to Augusta that week of the Masters against doctor’s orders. He wasn’t supposed to travel. I could not have won without him there.”

Earl Woods died shortly after last year’s Masters.

Golfers always arrive at Augusta National with great expectations. They love everything about the Tournament – the course, the organization, the towering cathedral pines and the demeanor of the patrons. And they’re eager to see if Augusta National will play firm and fast.

“As a player and as a fan of the game – I’m sure you guys are the same way – we’re curious to see (any changes),” Woods said. “We (wonder) when we’re going to have a dry year and what that score might be. Last year going into the event, we were all thinking, if you shoot even-par (maybe) a couple over par, you’ll probably win the Tournament pretty easily. But obviously the rains changed everything.”

Mickelson had a winning total of 7-under-par 281 in 2006, 2 strokes better than South African Tim Clark.

Since Augusta National has undergone changes in recent years, the golfers have anxiously awaited a time when the course plays firm and fast, the way it was envisioned when architect Tom Fazio implemented alterations.

Augusta National now plays 7,445 yards. There are no short cuts. The course offers unique challenges every step of the way. Mickelson can attest that the notion of success depending on playing the par 5s particularly well has become passé. Today, there is balance throughout the golf course.

“I can’t single out any four holes and say that’s the key,” Mickelson said.

But the components for success – driving, short game excellence and putting acuity – remain constant.

“Driving at Augusta is critical because with the first cut now, the ball will not roll as much down No. 9, let’s say,” Mickelson said. “If you miss the fairway, you now have a much tougher downhill lie. Also you don’t know exactly how the ball is going to come out, so distance control is a lot more difficult.

“Short game is always going to be important at Augusta because of all the room around the greens to chip. If you miss a shot, you still can get it up near the green and try to get an up and down. Short game will always be important, but driving is probably underrated at Augusta.”

Englishman Paul Casey can’t wait to return to the Masters where he believes his all-round game may someday earn him a Green Jacket.

“I think the Masters suits my game best,” said Casey, who has made a steady climb into the game’s upper echelon. “At Augusta National, you need to work the golf ball both ways but a high, soft flight is what you need with the irons, and I’ve got that. You need a good short game. That gives me the best opportunity to win a major and, hopefully, I can get close to that this year.”

There’s never been a debate on the skill required on Augusta National’s majestic greens. They are undulating, firm and fast. They demand precision in pace and direction. A poorly struck putt will have unpleasant results.

Another important component at Augusta National is experience.

“Well, I don’t know if you ever feel totally comfortable there,” said Mickelson, who will be playing in the Masters for the 15th time. “It did take me a lot longer than I thought it would. I remember showing up the first year (1991) thinking, ‘Oh, I can play this golf course no problem.’ I think I opened with a 69 and was excited.”

It took Mickelson eight rounds, until the first in 1995, to shoot in the 60s again. He achieved a round in the 60s only once in his next 10 competitive rounds at Augusta National.

“The fact is, when you go to all different pins, when you start using four, five different pins, the breaks, the subtleties in those greens, places to miss it that you just can’t go, some places where you need to go, it really took me almost a decade to learn or to understand exactly how I want to attack each hole for each pin placement and feel comfortable doing so,” Mickelson said.

Not surprisingly given those sentiments, it wasn’t until his 12th appearance in the Masters than Mickelson won his first Green Jacket.

Mickelson retold a story from the 2006 Masters – “One of my favorites,” he said.

“I’m not going to say who, but I was playing a practice round,” he said. “We came to the 11th hole. I put a little mark down in the front left pin position, went 40 feet back right, where a very common shot would go. If the pin is front left, you’re going to play a little bit longer to the right. A very common putt.

“I said, ‘Here, hit this putt.’ The player had never played at Augusta National. He aimed about four feet to the right of the cup, was expecting it to break a little bit left because he thought the green was pitched back-to-front. I said, ‘No, no, no.’ He hit the putt, missed it way right. I said, ‘It’s over here.’ I aimed 18 feet left of the cup.

“I mean, that just happens at Augusta. The first time I played it, I saw what he was seeing. It happened to me. Until you see these breaks, it’s very difficult. You just can’t pick ‘em up in the first couple of rounds. It takes years of repeatedly having this happen over and over before you finally grasp it.”

Source - www.masters.org