Golf sports and leisure
Issue link: https://digital.insidegolfmedia.com/i/289944
5 l THE MAJORS OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE x SPRING 2014 x obsports.com 5 THINGS TO WATCH FOR AT THE MASTERS an absent tiger and a missing tree are among the storylines in this much-anticipated major BY Joe PASSoV P erhaps it's the soft piano music, accompanied by the Monet-worthy azalea palette that compels us. Maybe it's the reassuring tone of broad- caster Jim Nantz that draws us in. Whatever the hook, when the com- mercials start airing for the Masters, sometime in January, we can't turn away. After a brutal winter for most of the United States, the annual rite of spring is finally here and golf fans can't wait. Here's what to watch for at the 2014 Masters. TIGER'S TIME – AND TIMEOUT Each and every year at this time, talk turns to Tiger Woods. He's been stuck on 14 professional major wins since 2008, and his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' 18 victories is center stage every time he tees it up. As the pre-tournament favorite in 2013, he had his goal within his grasp for nearly half of the event, until he made news for all the wrong reasons. He clanked the flagstick with his wedge approach to the par-5 15th, then watched in shock as his ball caromed into the water fronting the green. To compound matters, he took an im- proper drop, but eventually was spared disqualification in favor of a two-stroke penalty, a controversial conclusion that was endlessly debated by the pundits. For the 2014 event, the discussion is moot. Woods is MIA, having undergone successful microdiscectomy surgery on March 31. Woods' winter of discontent ended in the operating room and golf fans are the poorer for it. Even in his absence, Tiger Woods re- mains the biggest story at the Masters. ••• TREE TALK By not competing, Tiger won't have one of Augusta National's most leg- endary arboreal icons to affect his play. The 65-foot Eisenhower Tree that pa- trolled the left side of the 17th fairway was so severely damaged in a February ice storm that it had to be removed. So named for Augusta National fi The author at Augusta.