- Title: USA: MASTERS GOLF PREVIEW.
- Date: 5th April 2005
- Summary: (S2) AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, USA. APRIL 5, 2005. (REUTERS - NO RESTRICTIONS) 2. PHIL MICKELSON DURING PRACTICE ROUND AT 7TH HOLE 3. PHIL MICKELSON AT INTERVIEW 4. (SOUNDBITE)(English) P. MICKELSON SAYING: "I think that it became very apparent in 2000-2001 that if we were going to compete and win tournaments with a player of Tiger's caliber, we were going to have to improve our game and get a lot better. So I don't know how to answer. I don't know what the answer is, if everybody's gotten that much better or what. I know that it's been very exciting this year to have a number of guys compete and win these tournaments." 5. P. MICKELSON PRACTICING AT 8TH HOLE 6. TIGER WOODS DURING PRACTICE ROUND AT 7TH HOLE 7. TIGER WOODS AT INTERVIEW 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) TIGER WOODS SAYING: "I'm not trying to go-everybody is always trying to say, you can try to get back to 2000. I don't want to get back to 2000. I want to become better. I want to become better than that. That's the whole idea of making a change. I won the Masters by 12 in '97. I changed my game. Do I want to go back to that? No, I don't. I want to become better than that and I was able to achieve that, and that's why I made this change." 9. VIJAY SINGH DURING PRACTICE ROUND AT 8TH HOLE TEE 10. VIJAY SINGH AT INTERVIEW 11. (SOUNDBITE)(English) VIJAY SINGH SAYING: "I don't think I'm afraid of anybody out there. I just think, you know, it's really up to me how I play. If I go out there and start worrying about Tiger or Phil or Ernie, then I'm in the wrong business. I've got to go out there and try to figure out how I'm going to play, how I'm going to manage my game, and how I'm going to beat everybody else in the field, and that's how I think out there." 12. ERNIE ELS WITH PRACTICE ROUND TEE SHOT 13. ERNIE ELS AT INTERVIEW 14. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ERNIE ELS SAYING: "Well you know if you give yourself just one oppurtunity to win here, I think you've done very well. Obviously I've given myself numerous oppurtinities to walk away with a green jacket-hasn't happened, but you know. That's a lot you can ask for right there is just to have the oppurtunity to have a chance on a Sunday to win this Championship. 15. JACK NICKLAUS ON GOLF CART 16. JACK NICKLAUS AT INTERVIEW 17. (SOUNDBITE)(English) JACK NICKLAUS SAYING: "Well, I don't have a whole lot to say other than over the last few weeks has been a very tough time for our family. I appreciate all of the support that I've gotten from all of you and from all of the friends, friends that have written and called and everything that's happened." 18. REPORTERS AT INTERVIEW 19. (SOUNDBITE)(English) JACK NICKLAUS SAYING: "So this will be my last time, somewhere in my head believing that I might be able to shoot a reasonable round of golf. But, you know, I may come back in five years, I may come back in ten years and decide I want to go tee up and play, I can do that. I'm not going to come back-I think you all know me well enough-I'm not going to come back and clutter up the field if I don't have to." 20. WIDE VIEW OF AUGUSTA NATIONAL 21. FRED FUNK WITH NICE APPROACH SHOT DURING PRACTICE ROUND Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th April 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAEBUJAAKS4VUR0ZQGNGCUK1I9Y
- Story Text: Defending champion Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and
Jack Nicklaus prepare for the upcoming Masters in Augusta,
Georgia.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson has been grouped
with Australia's Stuart Appleby and 2004 U.S. amateur
champion Ryan Moore for the first two rounds of the U.S.
Masters starting on Thursday (April 7).
Left-hander Mickelson, who ended a 12-year wait for his
first major title at Augusta National last year, launches
his title defence at 1038 local time (1438 GMT).
The 34-year-old American, one of the tournament
favourites, is expecting great things of his compatriot
Moore.
Moore, who is still an amateur, swept the board last
year with victories at the NCAA, U.S. Amateur Public Links,
Western Amateur, U.S. Amateur and World Amateur events.
World number one Vijay Singh, Masters champion in 2000,
has been drawn with Britain's Lee Westwood and American
Chad Campbell for the first two rounds. They start at 1049
(1449) on Thursday, one group behind Mickelson.
British Open champion Todd Hamilton will tee off at
0849 with South African veteran and three-times winner Gary
Player and U.S. mid-amateur champion Austin Eaton III.
South Africa's Retief Goosen, the U.S. Open champion,
has an 0949 start with American Stewart Cink and Australian
left-hander Nick O'Hern. Three-times Masters champion Tiger
Woods tees off at 1333 with Briton Darren Clarke and
Paraguay's Carlos Franco.
South Africa's Ernie Els, the world number three and
runner-up to Mickelson last year, has a 1344 start with
2001 U.S. PGA champion David Toms and Australia's Adam
Scott.
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