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Your name is announced. You step up to the tee box on top of the hill to the scattered applause (or a roar, if you are a Phil, Tiger or Rory). And, in the ensuing respectful silence, you visualise your first drive, off the first, in the 2013 Masters Tournament. You see the fairway dropping away into the valley and bending just a little at the landing area about 250 yards away, before rising again towards dangerous sloping greens.
A huge, deep white against the emerald green fairway, bunker has been sadistically placed to virtually penalise you a shot. You see the towering loblolly pines and breathe in their typical wonderful and therapeutic pine aroma wafting to you on the gentle breeze and the comforting but treacherous beds of fallen pine needles under them. You see the spectacular, sparkling blue sky with nary a cloud and you feel a surge of adrenalin; now you must commit. Everybody faces this - Tiger, Phil, Rory or any of the others, or the journalists fortunate enough to get a chance to play on Monday following the conclusion of the tournament. It's the most exhilarating feeling, as this is the first Major of the year and the rest of the season lies ahead of you. You know it is guts-and-glory time or fading away into oblivion. Game on!
After that, it's easy. Every par five is easily reachable in two (Oosthuizen even scored an Albatross, or a double Eagle, on the second last year) and 16-under in the four rounds is doable, provided one doesn't look for eagles too ambitiously, as a pushed or a pulled drive, even a tad, looking for those few extra yards, could render the second shot to the greens risky. Water fronts 13 and is dangerously present behind and in front of 15.
The other easy part is putting on greens that are in superb condition, have speeds greater than 14 on the Stimp (faster in the morning than in the afternoon, when the grass has grown somewhat) and predictably true. He who makes the least three putts adds immensely to his chances of winning. Tiger and Rory have already had their share of these in their run-up to the Masters. I have seen Tiger on 13, putting for eagle from 15 feet, only to find his ball trickle into the water beyond. Anything is possible and the best putters in the world can cough up great surprises, should there be even a momentary lack of concentration.
And, don't forget the loblolly pines that line most fairways; they are awesome and spectacular to look at, but could surely cost you important distance if you find yourself among them. Also, there are the Azalea beds on different holes, where balls could be lost, and the Magnolia forest on 18 (from where Angel Cabrera miraculously escaped - it wasn't the 'Hand of God' here, as in the case of another famous Argentinean, but the Grace of God was surely present in abundance), the exit from which can only be sideways. Cabrera's famous dictum of "bogey for him, birdie for me", when trailing by two shots on the final couple of holes, becomes relevant, as often, victory or loss is only by a stroke or two.
Is all this enough to make a reasonable contest? Wait, there's more. The weather through the four days could be very warm and balmy, with virtually no breeze, or freezing cold with icy winds slicing through all your equanimity; it could be pouring rain with plugged lies (and no relief allowed) or exceptionally dry, when fairways and greens would not hold, and the ball would roll forever. Everyone's faith is severely tested. And, of course, there is the innocuously named Golden Bell (the par three twelfth) on the pivot of Amen Corner, where the winds are completely unpredictable, swirling at one point and blowing against or with your shot unexpectedly at another. All this pooled together (some say) with the spiritual presence of ancient tribes who once resided here, could cause the golden bell to toll for thee!
This is what a winner has to overcome and it cannot be done without a good dollop of luck, or, what I prefer to call, the Grace of God. With outstanding shots at Valero, Rory Mcilroy is showing traces of his capability, though he has had trouble with his driver and the flat stick at times; Phil Mickelson is strangely quiet, but is always waiting in the wings. No one can match his daring (six iron on 13 for his second to set up an unlikely eagle, which led to victory) but also his bad luck last year on No. 4, when he had a good chance. And Tiger? Well, he is putting brilliantly; his shots to the Green from fairways are unmatched. Now, the challenge for him is to find the fairways with his driver. Right now, he would probably rank the second-worst in the current field of less than a 100, as he ranks 147th (Rory is 164th) in driving accuracy on the tour for 2013. If he can get to the 50th rank, which would mean hitting about 70 per cent of the fairway, nobody would be able to touch him. That is why, now, he is three to one against the entire field.
The writer is the Chairman of Mawana Sugars Ltd and Co-Chairman of Usha International Ltd
