Apr. 9, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff
The first groups are ready to tee off in today's first round of the Masters. Here's how it sets up:
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| Groups We're Watching |
10:34 a.m. ET
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Padraig Harrington, Ryuji Imada, Mike Weir Harrington tees it up with a former Masters champion as he looks for his third straight major win. |
1:52 p.m. ET
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Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Jeev M. Singh Tiger looks for his fifth Masters win and makes his first start in a major since last June's U.S. Open. |
| 2:03 p.m. ET |
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Ryo Ishikawa, Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy The trio of young guns, led by two-time TOUR winner Kim, look to make an impression at Augusta National. |
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FEDEXCUP NOTES: THE MASTERS
The winner this week receives 600 points -- 100 more points than usual. This increase in points means that there are 10 players who could pass Geoff Ogilvy with a victory this week.
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| Thursday's forecast |
 Mostly sunny Temp: 76 high/55 low A beautiful spring day for the first round of the Masters. Winds from the west, southwest at 10 mph. |
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One player not included in that group of 10 players is Tiger Woods, who can only move as high as second in the standings with a victory.
Both Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney could move past Ogilvy with a second-place finish this week.
Only 33 players not in the top 10 can move into the top 10 with a victory this week.
Ogilvy and Mickelson are the only two players to be ranked in the top 10 in the FedExCup standings entering the Masters in each of the first three years of the FedExCup competition.
Seventh in the FedExCup standings, Reteif Goosen could pass Ogilvy with a victory this week and could move into the top 5 with a second- or third-place finish.
Goosen has tied for third or better at Augusta National in three of the last four years, and he has not finished higher than a tie for 17th in his last seven starts at this event. -- Mike Vitti
| Stat of the day |
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Since winning his first Masters in 1997 (his first as a pro), Tiger Woods has never gone more than three years without winning at Augusta National. He starts this week having not won since 2005. |
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| The Film Room |
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Opening Shot Marc Fein and Brian Katrek recap Paul Casey's win in Houston, and talk about the field of contenders at the Masters. Watch it |
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Odds on Paddy As Padraig Harrington looks to win his third consecutive major. Tiger Woods and others discuss his chances. Watch it |
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Tiger remembers Tiger Woods reflected on his first trip to Augusta National and was reminded he is not one of the "young guns" any longer. Watch it |
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