Did Phil Mickelson anger the golf gods? Or did he at least move the Augusta National Golf Club competition committee to prove a point?
The first tee shot clattered through a pair of pines on the left side of the 13th fairway, finally landing on the wrong side of Rae's Creek. Tiger Woods tried again, and this wasn't any better. Fans peered across the fairway and only heard the ball rifle through some bushes.
Notable pairings include Tiger Woods with Luke Donald and Scott Piercy at 10:45 a.m., and 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson with Ian Poulter and Steven Fox at 10:34.
Three months into the season, Rory McIlroy feels as if it's already been a long year.
At 14, Tiger Woods was running cross-country and trying to stay on top of his homework. Adam Scott was psyched to finish second against a bunch of 17-year-olds. Rory McIlroy had thoughts of playing in the Masters, but it was the European Young Masters.
There was a time not long ago when Britain's golfers ruled Augusta National like no other country. Now, the latest group of talented Brits is determined to end the empire's 17-year drought at the Masters.
Around every corner at Augusta National is another reminder that Tiger Woods isn't getting any younger.
Tiger Woods will play the first two rounds of the Masters with Luke Donald and Scott Piercy.
Fox, a 22-year-old senior attending the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, won the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship in August, rallying from two down with two to play and winning in extra holes. He described that week as a dream.
