Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were the two overwhelming Masters favorites going into the tournament on Thursday. They were favored for different reasons – Mickelson because he is reigning power balance champion and current Wizard of Southern Oz, and Woods because of his living legacy as the most accomplished golfer of our time. On Thursday in the first round of the Masters, both players completed almost the exact same round. Mickelson was one better than Woods – 70 compared to 71 – but the tone of the round was even closer than the final tally. Each player struggled getting off of the tee, but made enough shots and strung together a few timely putts to end the day on the happy side of par. The result left the men who have jointly owned the last decade at the Masters with a sizable gap between them and joint leaders Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros. With the young Europeans tied for the lead on 7-under, Woods was asked about his opening round Thursday and compared to the first round 70 from a distant-seeming 14 years ago when he first won the green jacket. “I would rather be where Rory’s at. But, hey, it’s a long way to go,” Woods shrugged.Mickelson does not take solace in the hole he created for himself today.“I didn’t shoot myself out of it but I didn’t make up ground on the field the way I wanted to, so I’ve got to go do it tomorrow,” he said.Woods? Well, he seems perfectly comfortable with his position.“I’m very pleased. I’m right there in the ball game, I’m only six back and as I said, we got a lot of golf ahead of us.”Tiger played a round oddly consistent with his season to date. He hit two-thirds of fairways in regulation after grabbing just about 43% of fairways off of the tee. And it took him 30 strokes with the putter to get into the house. On Thursday in the first round of the Masters, both players completed almost the exact same round. Mickelson was one better than Woods – 70 compared to 71 – but the tone of the round was even closer than the final shop online 2011 tally. Each player struggled getting off of the tee, but made enough shots and strung together a few timely putts to end the day on the happy side of par.
Par
eileen le vendredi 08 avril 2011
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