AUGUSTA, Ga. - Tiger Woods is making his 10th appearance in the Masters, and those words alone were enough to make him shake his head.
Woods first played in the tournament as an amateur in 1995 at age 19. He has gone on to win the tournament three times. The first was in 1997, when Australia's Nick Flanagan, now 19, was just 12. Woods played with the reigning U.S. Amateur champion on Monday.
"He was telling me the story, the reason he took up the game, because I won in '97," Woods said. "I said it didn't seem like it was that long ago. (Tuesday) I played with (U.S. Amateur runnerup) Casey (Wittenberg), and he's 19. I was trying to remember back when I first played in my first Masters, and I was 19 years old. It's hard to believe. Kind of goes by fast, doesn't it?"
SCARY 11TH: The biggest change to Augusta National this year is to the right of the fairway, where 36 pine trees, measuring 25 to 35 feet, have been added. The 490-yard par-4 that played as the most difficult in 2003 should be even more so now.
In the past, balls that landed in the area of the trees typically bounded down the hill. The wide space allowed players to bail out to the right and take the pond at the front left of the green out of play.
"I thought it was one of the hardest holes on the course already," Brad Faxon said. "It makes the tee shot much more difficult, the precision you need. It was never a hole where you thought, "Boy, this is a tough tee shot.' Now it's a tough tee shot."
Several players also suggested it will be difficult to get a ball to the green from the trees.
AROUND AUGUSTA: Tampa's Fred Ridley, president of the United States Golf Association and an Augusta National member, played a practice round Tuesday with Arnold Palmer. Ridley, as a former U.S. Amateur champion, is permitted to play practice rounds during tournament week. ... The tournament will begin Thursday morning with former Masters champions Tommy Aaron, Charles Coody and Sandy Lyle teeing off at 8. Woods is in the second-to-last time of the day, 1:30, with Wittenberg and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn. Palmer begins at 9:39 with amateur Nathan Smith and Bob Estes. ... Faxon needed a caddie because his regular, Tommy Lamb, had to leave for the birth of his child. Faxon recruited Mike "Fluff" Cowan, who has caddied at Augusta for Peter Jacobsen, Woods and Jim Furyk, who is out with an injury. ... Phil Mickelson leads the PGA Tour money list with more than $2.3-million. It is the first time Mickelson has been on top at any point since 1998.
