2023 Masters schedule, The anticipation for this year’s Masters is at an all-time high as we approach the first major of the year.
There are many captivating storylines as the golfing world descends on the sport’s most illustrious location, including the return of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the first meeting of LIV Golf and PGA Tour players at Augusta National Country Club, as well as Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy continuing to play hot potato with the No. 1 world ranking.
What to look out for in Georgia this week is as follows:
What can we expect from Tiger this week?
Mark Schlabach: Tiger turned up at the Masters last year after an absence of 508 days from competitive play and made his 23rd straight cut. Throughout the course of the first 36 holes, he performed admirably, but the chilly weather took a toll on his surgically repaired right leg and back, making one of the toughest walks in golf even more challenging. His worst performance at the Masters was a 6-over 78 in each of the last two rounds.
While he claimed that his right leg is now stronger than it was a year ago and that he felt better physically at the Genesis, his right ankle continues to trouble him. Because he is the expert in the field when it comes to the course, I believe he will once again make the cut. A top-25 result for Tiger isn’t absolutely out of the question in my opinion, but I have trouble believing he can perform much better.
Considering what we witnessed at Riviera, where Tiger appeared more at ease when walking and his game displayed numerous encouraging flashes, aolo Uggetti: I believe making the cut will be the modest bar that he should be able to overcome. The five-time champion would have preferred to make at least one more appearance before the Masters, but his health comes before keeping his game in top shape. Tiger can win at Augusta if he can win anywhere with just one competitive tournament under his belt. The warm weather should aid him, even though the walk is harder than other courses. I’d hazard to assume that he will start early on Thursday and take a lot of time off before his second leg.I won’t claim he’ll compete, but it should be another encouraging development in this new phase of his career.
What can we expect from Phil this week?
Schlabach: I wouldn’t expect much of anything from Mickelson given how he performed in the majors last year and how he performed in LIV Golf’s first three events this season, finishing 27th in Mexico, 32nd in Tucson, Arizona, and 41st in Orlando, Florida. It will be a spectacle at Augusta because he isn’t playing well and hasn’t in a while. After skipping this tournament, which he has won three times, in 2022, there will be a spotlight on Mickelson during practise and the early rounds. He won’t have a formal news conference to address the media before the Masters begins on Thursday. Some customers will continue to support him.
Uggetti: I really don’t know. Since leaving for Florida, Mickelson has appeared to be a shell of himself both figuratively and practically, and his play in the 2017 U.S. Open, the last major he competed in, was especially dismal. Mickelson has displayed absolutely no signs of life in any of LIV’s events since thumbing his way out of that competition, consistently placing close to the bottom of the scoreboard. Eight of his ten appearances have resulted in a 27th-place finish or worse. But, Mickelson has already won this tournament, so it would be a strange twist to the PGA Tour-LIV Golf tale if he somehow managed to play this week.
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