The first day of the Masters has come and gone and the clear cut favorite in Tiger Woods had a solid day on the course, shooting a 2-under-par 70 to finish four strokes behind the leader in Australia's Marc Leishman, who had a fantastic finish with four straight birdies to post a 66 on the first day of the tournament.
Woods is back at the Masters for the 19th time and he has posted that score four times in the past, including wins in three of those. He has gotten off to a hot start this season after winning three tournaments on tour and he has won six in his past 20 starts to give him some momentum, at Augusta. A number of players shot 69's to be three strokes back, including Dustin Johnson and Jim Furyk.
The Masters are here as the PGA Tour heads down to Augusta National for the first major of the season and Phil Mickelson has already started to prepare, as he played a practice round at the golf club with one of its newest and most prominent members, former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
According to ESPN.com, Mickelson and Rice played a practice round ahead of the 77th Masters tournament at Augusta National, where the golfer has been working on his game since Friday. Mickelson and Tiger Woods are considered to be the favorites for the tournament, as the new number one golfer in the world has won three times ahead of the event on tour this season. Mickelson spoke about playing with Rice, saying that she hit a 40-foot shot on the 18th hole and that her putting game is very strong.
The 58-year-old became one of the first women to be admitted as a member at Augusta along with Darla Moore last year and she is experienced with being in the spotlight after serving as the 66th Secretary of State for President George W. Bush. Rice also spoke with Tiger Woods on Sunday after playing her round with Mickelson.
Woods enters the major after winning six tournaments in his past 20 starts and is seeking his 15th major championship and his first since the 2008 US Open. Woods has won three times this year on tour, including two weeks ago when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament for the eighth time. The win was his 77th in Woods's career and he is now back to number one in the world after spending two years chasing the top spot.
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Woods last won the Masters in 2005 and is the overall favorite after winning three times and looking like his old self on the course. Many golfers were at Augusta over the weekend preparing for the tournament, including Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt and former tournament champs Zach Johnson, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw as well as last year's winner Bubba Watson, who played a round with his wife.
Woods is the top option for many making predictions, but there is a good chance Mickelson will have his mojo back, as well as Rory McIlroy, who after struggling most of the year lost the Texas Open by two shots over the weekend after adding the tournament to hi schedule after the last minute.