At 10:44 a.m. today, Tiger Woods will try to rewrite history — again.
His journey begins at the par 4,435-yard hole 1 at Augusta National, where he will state his case to 92 competitors and the world to become the first ever to win three straight times at The Masters.
In 2001, Woods shot nothing worse than par down the stretch. It was good enough for his first of the possible trifecta.
Last year’s lead on the back nine showed Woods’ poise to win his second straight as some of the world’s best crumbled.
No player has ever been able to threepeat at The Masters. Only Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66 and Nick Faldo in 1989-90 remotely had a chance.
In Nicklaus’ third attempt, he shot a second-round 79 and missed the cut by just one stroke. The Golden Bear didn’t miss another cut at The Masters for 27 years.
Faldo made the cut in his third attempt in 1991. Although he headed into the weekend nine strokes off the lead, he was only able to finish 12th, just five strokes behind Ian Woosnam.
Now, with the 76th Masters beginning, the question is not whether Woods can win, but whether there is anyone who can stop him.
The problem surrounding the rest of the golf world is that no one can stop Tiger. All you have is a group of five individuals who, on their best day, may have a chance to make a run or contest for second place.
Who is this group of five individuals that make up The Masters “B”-squad, might you ask? Allow me to introduce them.
Ernie Els has never won at Augusta, although he finished in the runner-up position in 2000. Els is one of the many players whose greatness is shadowed by the aura of Tiger Woods, and many people forget that in the first two months of 2003, Els won four times.
When Els finished runner-up in 2000, he fell two strokes shy of Vijay Singh. Singh wore the green jacket for the first and only time of his career, although now he is recovering from a rib injury. He is a long shot, but he has tasted victory before and knows the feeling.
At age 39, Davis Love III is running out of time in his prime, or at least some would think that. Love just shot a final round 64 at the Players Championship two weeks ago. If he can use his experience to guide him and with deadly putting, he could have a shot.
Then there is Retief Goosen, the no-name of the group. Not much to say except he was runner up last year after holding a tie for the lead with Tiger after 54 holes. One can only hope he will learn from his experiences after falling three strokes off the lead in the final round.
Last but definitely not least is Phil Mickelson. Talk about someone who is overdue. Mickelson will be competing in his 43rd major and so far, not a single victory. He does have 21 PGA Tour victories and he is the one who always seems to finish second or third behind Tiger.
And if you factor in the chance of rain almost every day, which makes the course play much longer, long hitters like Tiger get an edge. As if he really needed one.
So now we must think of not if Tiger will win, but how will he win?
Could it be a four-stroke victory and a coast through the home stretch? Could it be a record-breaking final round after sitting fourth or fifth after 54 holes? Or could it be a playoff matchup with one of the so-called contenders listed above?
Some things are for sure. Tiger is the No. 1 player in the world. He is the favorite to win at The Masters and has shot the lowest score in tournament history of 270 when he won in 1997. And when he reaches hole 18 on Sunday, Tiger Woods will walk into history, again.