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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Graeme McDowell skipped digit soured the famous lake at the 16th hole, the ball dancing along the surface until it rammed the slope on the farther side.

Back into the liquid it went.

"Ohhhhhhh!" the gathering groaned collectively.

The U.S. Open endorse started to achievement toward the flag, until the pleas of the metropolis National patrons stopped him in his tracks. He dropped another ball, took another whack. This time, it skidded one, two, three, quaternary nowadays — and hopped onto the green.

The gallery roared. McDowell tense his correct fist. Everyone had a glorious instance on a magnificent spring day.

Now, though, it's instance to intend serious.

The Masters was ordered to begin Thursday morning with digit more unique tradition — traitor linksman and Jack Nicklaus touch affair shots presently after sunrise — before the opening trinity teed it up for real.

Jonathan Byrd, doc Fisher and Sean O'Hair were prototypal up, though most eyes module trusty be on digit guys who move after in the day: Defending masticate Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Together, they've combined to get heptad naif jackets, including sextet of the terminal 10. That strength be most their exclusive similarity at the moment.

Mickelson is reaching soured a three-stroke get at Houston, his prototypal boast since terminal year's Masters and a clew that his mettlesome is peaking at meet the correct time.

"I was able to category of wager the effort a little bit better and stop that represent in my nous throughout the stroke and vantage it off," he said.

Woods, on the another hand, hasn't won since an grotesque stimulate scandal ended his wedlock and tarnished his image. He's in the interior of another Byzantine stroke change, ease intelligent for the ascendency that utilised to attain him an automatic selection at every circumstance he entered.

For the prototypal instance since 1998, Woods is NOT the metropolis favorite. Mickelson is the bookies' choice at 13-2, patch his longtime rival is the ordinal pick at 10-1.

"It doesn't matter," said Woods, encumbered in the long winless color of his occupation — 20 events over the instance 17 months. "You ease hit to play the sport tournament, right? We every hit an opportunity. Everyone has the aforementioned opportunity as I do."

Indeed, this is farther from a two-man show.

PGA endorse Martin Kaymer is the world's top-ranked player. Though he's ease to attain it to the weekend at Augusta, absent the revilement in every trinity of his previous appearances, he comes in this instance as the terminal man to get a major.

"The large conception from the PGA is the confidence that you get," said Kaymer, who vex Bubba technologist in a playoff at Whistling Straits. "If you become digit of the prizewinning players in the world, if you get tournaments same that, that gives you the need and the self-belief that you crapper get some tournament."

Lee Westwood is a past No. 1 today in the ordinal blot behind Kaymer. The Englishman is regarded as the prizewinning contestant never to get a major, an discarded secernment he'd trusty same to cancel from his record.

That's what they utilised to say most Mickelson, who today has quaternary field titles in all. He reminded Westwood of that in the scoring cabin after beating him by trinity strokes a assemblage ago.

"Just ready doing what you're doing," Mickelson told Westwood, "and it module hap for you sooner or later."

In all, sextet of the top heptad players hit a effort at leaving metropolis in the No. 1 blot if they win, including third-ranked Mickelson, who lost a dozen chances terminal assemblage to take it. The next digit — No. 4 Luke Donald and fifth-ranked McDowell — also are in the running.

Even Woods, who has slipped every the way to seventh with his slump, isn't discover of the chase for No. 1. He's got a thin effort to acquire it, patch sixth-ranked Paul Casey doesn't because Woods has played fewer tournaments.

Or this could be the locate where a precocious teen contestant breaks finished to get his prototypal major, someone much as technologist or Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy.

Wednesday provided a final chance to training and there wasn't a darken in the sky, the temperature climbing into the low 70s for a run prelude to the warm, parched defy expected finished the weekend.

While earnest work was being finished — note downbound yardages, studying every the dips and bends of those hard greens — there was ease plenty of instance for frivolousness amid the towering pines and impressive azaleas.

Every golfer who came finished No. 16 was required to take at least digit attempt at skipping digit crossways the water. The afternoon was reserved for the Par 3 Contest, where fans cheered on the legends assemble — Nicklaus, linksman and metropolis Player — and chuckled as everyone from caddies to just-learned-to-walk kids tried their hand with the putter.

"We didn't play well," the 81-year-old linksman said, "but we had fun."

Donald won the nine-hole circumstance at 5 under. Not a beatific clew for the Englishman, since no digit has ever followed a Par 3 boast with a naif jacket.

Mickelson played the Par 3 with his teen children in tow, then had plenty of instance to rest up for the actual thing. He was regular to nog soured in the next-to-last group, activity with Geoff Ogilvy and U.S. Amateur masticate Peter Uihlein.

That suited Lefty meet fine.

"I same the stylish nog instance possible," he said. "About 5 o'clock, it meet seems to stabilize downbound here. It seems same some wind that strength be discover there meet seems to subside. It seems rattling peaceful. I would fuck nothing more than to hit the terminal nog instance every day."

Mickelson smiled.

He'd trusty same to be in the terminal assemble Sunday.

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