Tiger shining bright ahead of tournament

Augusta, April 4: Tigermania has blossomed along with the azaleas at Augusta National, but 14-time major champion Tiger Woods is just one of the contenders at a Masters that promises to be a classic.

“I don’t think there’s one clear-cut favorite,” said Woods, who is vying to pull off a comeback.

His quest to better Jack Nicklaus record of 18 major titles stalled after he grabbed number 14 at the 2008 US Open. He owns four Masters green jackets, but hasn’t even teed it up in the stately confines of Augusta National in two years as back trouble threatened to end his career.

Pain free at last after spinal fusion surgery last April, Woods has ignited expectations with one runner-up finish and a tie for fifth in five official PGA Tour starts this year — his best finishes since 2015.

Woods himself is at a loss to explain the impressive swing speed and driving distance he never expected to see after having vertebrae in his lower back. “For some reason it has come back,” he said. “All of a sudden I have this pop and my body and my speed’s back and my timing.”

He’ll need all of that, and his vaunted short game and solid putting, on the course famed for the difficulty of its fast, undulating greens.

The course, however, isn’t the only obstacle standing in Woods’s way, and he knows it.

Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson signalled their intentions with recent wins, Mickelson ending a near five-year title drought in March and Watson halting a two-year dry-spell at Riviera before hoisting another trophy at WGC Match-Play.