“Tiger Woods is not back until he wins a major.”
That was the verdict from Sir Nick Faldo at Augusta National and it is essentially what lends this, the 77th Masters, such significance.
Of course, there will be other storylines once play begins at 8am on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy has the talent, personality and fan-base big enough to share headlines with the 14-time major winner, while in terms of what it could mean for the game’s development in China, the record-breaking participation of 14-year-old amateur Guan Tianlang far exceeds any 72-hole total.
Yet Woods is the man again. In both the rankings and the narrative.
On Wednesday, Woods partnered Fred Couples and Keegan Bradley in his final warm-up before leaving the tournament to its faux glory. While McIlroy larked around with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki on the bag, Woods retired to his lodgings to plot his path through the Georgia pines. – telegraph
