Masters champions Mark O'Meara (left) and Tiger Woods both hit out of the sand bunker near the No. 10 green Wednesday during their practice round. (Michael Holahan/Augusta Chronicle file)
Tiger vs. the field
Web posted 04/05/00
For months, the talk of the tournament, which begins today at the 6,985-yard Augusta National Golf Club, has been Woods, Woods and more Woods.
With good reason. The 1997 Masters champion has elevated his game to such heights in the past 10 months (10 victories, including the last major championship, the PGA Championship) that he's the player to beat anytime he tees it up. Eleven of Woods' 18 tour victories have come in the past 12 months.
When someone does outplay the 24-year-old Woods, as Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke did in the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship in February or Hal Sutton did in The Players Championship two weeks ago, the storyline is not so much who won, but that Woods lost.
According to Las Vegas odds, Woods is a 2-to-1 favorite to win this week. David Duval and Ernie Els are off at 10-to-1.
Dating back to June's Memorial Tournament, Woods, the world's No. 1-ranked player, has won eight times. In 2000, he leads the tour in victories (three) and money earned ($3,231,731). ``He's unquestionably the best player in the world,'' Clarke said. ``But even the best player in the world isn't unbeatable. He doesn't play fantastic every day. He just plays fantastic more often than the rest of us. That's why he's No. 1.'' Since the Official World Rankings were created in 1986, only two players - Ian Woosnam in 1991 and Fred Couples in 1992 - have won the Masters while holding down the top spot.
Woods, however, isn't your typical No. 1 player. He leads No. 2 David Duval by 12.64 points, the widest margin between Nos. 1 and 2 in the ranking's history.
Meanwhile, in the annual prelude to the Masters, Chris Perry won the Par-3 Contest in a sudden-death playoff. He shot 4-under-par 23, as di
