Tiger Woods has been on fire this year on the PGA Tour, which makes the anticipation for the Masters even greater as the first major for the season gets underway at Augusta National in Georgia with names like Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson looking to get a green jacket.
The Masters are considered to be the most prestigious tournament of the year and after some strong play earlier this season, Tiger Woods is the clear favorite to capture his 15th major championship. The tournament will run from Thursday to Sunday barring any weather issues at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia and television coverage will be split for ESPN and CBS.
The first days of the tournament will be on ESPN in the afternoon and the evening, while the Saturday and Sunday coverage will be in the afternoon on CBS. ESPN will also be airing the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday afternoon that is traditionally held before the start of the tournament. Last year Bubba Watson earned $1,440,000 for his win out of $8 million and the format for the tournament is a stroke play for 72 holes with the top 44 making the cut.
Last year's event was very exciting, with Watson making an amazing shot to give himself a comeback victory and this year Woods will be looking to get the excitement even higher, as he appears to be back after dealing with a sex scandal and not winning for two years on tour. Woods is gearing up for his 19th Masters tournament and will be looking to add another trophy to the case next to his 14 majors.
Woods has been on a hot streak lately, winning six times over the past 13 months, most on the tour and he has also won two starts in a row with the WGC Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he won two weeks ago for the eighth time in his career. The 37-year-old came out publically with his relationship with Olympian Lindsey Vonn and the openness has clearly helped him as he tries for his third win in a row.
Woods has been putting out of his mind over the last month and he set a personal record at the WGC. Woods has done good work at the Masters during his career and he has four wins and five top five finishes while also adding a top six finish and last year's 40th place finish, the worst of his career. The last time he won the tournament was in a playoff in 2005 against Chris DiMarco.
Bubba Watson won last year and while a repeat would be an excellent story, only three players have done it in the past, including Tiger Woods. Mickelson is looking to win for the fourth time in his career, which would tie him with Arnold Palmer and Woods, while McIlroy is looking to get a green jacket for the first time. Lefty usually does well at Augusta and he has three wins at the club since 2001 and he also has finished in the top five multiple times.
Woods will likely have no issues making the cut and neither will Mickelson, as both have the top two active streaks at making cuts at the Masters, with Woods going 16 straight times since 1997 and Lefty doing it 15 times since 1998.