AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods will be the elephant in the room this week at Augusta National. The elephant with four green jackets.
For the first time since 1994, the Masters will commence without Woods in the field when the opening round begins Thursday morning with ceremonial tee shots hit by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
The absence of Woods, who recently had back surgery that might keep him out of tournament golf until late summer, would have a much more profound and negative effect on any tournament other than the Masters.
The Masters is different. The Masters stands on its own, regardless of who is playing, because of its theater, its tradition and the fact it is the first major championship on the calendar and so ardently anticipated.
“It’s a big loss for the tournament any time a world No. 1 is not going to play; it’s a huge loss,’’ Adam Scott, the defending champion, said. “But it’s the nature of sports, and guys get injured. It’s an unfortunate timing for that.
“But, as every year here, this event produces something special no matter what. It just has a way of doing it, and it’s not going to involve Tiger this year, but it will involve someone else and it will be a memorable event anyway.’’
At first glance, the absence of Woods would suggest this Masters is as wide open as it has been in years considering his dominance of the sport. But the reality is Woods, who has not won a major since 2008, has not been the threat at Augusta he was in years past. So this Masters was going to be wide open whether he was in the field or not.
“Having Tiger in a tournament definitely creates more buzz, more of an atmosphere,’’ Rory McIlroy said. “You know where he is on the course just by the crowd and the gallery that follows him. [But] as a player, it doesn’t really make any difference.
“I think people will miss him at the start of the week, but by the end of the week, when it comes down to who is going to win the golf tournament, there’s going to be a worthy winner and it will produce a lot of excitement. No matter who is in contention or who is going to win this week, the Masters always provides a great finish regardless of who is there.’’
The list of legitimate contenders for the green jacket is longer this year than it usually is, partially because there are a record 24 first-time participants in this field, some of whom are the hottest players in the world.
No Masters rookie has won a green jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
But go tell Patrick Reed, who has won three tournaments since last August, including the WGC-Cadillac Championships in March, he cannot win this week. Go tell Jimmy Walker, who has won three times this season, he’s playing this week for the experience, not a green jacket. Go tell 20-year-old phenom Jordan Spieth he doesn’t have a chance.
“There’s so many guys here this week that will feel like they have a chance to win,’’ McIlroy said.
As Walker said when asked if a rookie can win this week: “I don’t see why not.’’
“I don’t feel like a rookie; I feel like I’m a pretty seasoned vet,’’ Walker said. “It is a new golf tournament for me, but I’ve been doing this a long time.’’’
It’s a new tournament for Reed, too, but Reed has some Augusta National experience, having played the course when he played golf for Augusta State.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve played here once or if you’ve played here 50 times, when it comes down to it whoever is playing the best is going to win,’’ Reed said.
“I think in the past, certainly it’s been easy to go to events and look at a guy who is the guy to beat,’’ Scott said, referring to Woods. “I think that scope has kind of broadened now. There’s a lot of guys with the talent and the form that aren’t necessarily standing out above others, but on their week, they are going to be tough to beat.
“There’s probably a list of 20 guys you could go through here, but if they play well, they are going to be there on Sunday at some point. I’d like to think my name is one of those guys. That’s how I see it this week.’’